Between the lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer was originally published in June 2012 by Simon Pulse. The story is about Delilah who is not your typical high school student; She would much rather spend her time reading books and hanging out in the library than spending time with friends or participating in school activities. There is one book in particular she likes called Between the Lines, a fairytale meant for children. Delilah has felt a connection with the main character Prince Oliver because they both grew up without their fathers. She has begun carrying this story around with her wherever she goes even though her mother is not thrilled about her spending so much time fixated on the book. Once when Delilah was re-reading the book again she notices something in the illustrations was different. She is shocked when she starts talking to the Prince and he starts talking back. They start working together to get Oliver out of the book where he feels he doesn’t belong. I have read some of Jodi Picoult’s novels in the past so when I saw that she was writing a young adult book with her daughter I was excited to read it especially after reading the summary. The storyline really intrigued me first of all a book about a book is awesome, but to think about what happens when the book is closed is such a great concept. Who doesn’t want to know what goes on when you set down your book? To think that the characters have lives, hobbies and friends outside of the plot of the book they live in is so refreshing. Then I saw the finished copy of the book and was astounded by the beautiful color photos that are throughout the book. I also like that there are smaller pictures on most of the pages which made the book fun, interesting and race by so quickly. I really liked that each chapter is told by a different point of view, and the color of the font corresponds to the character which makes it so much easier to determine who is speaking and you never get confused. There are also chapters that are from the fairytale itself so you read along the story with Delilah and Oliver. So the storyline is a fresh idea and the artwork is fantastic, but the actual story fell a little flat for me. It’s supposed to be targeted to young adults but it’s written much younger like middle grade. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I felt that the writing was very juvenile and awkward at times. I like the story because I couldn’t guess what would happen at the end, but was slightly disappointed how it finished. I think it’s still a good story that I would recommend this book especially for the pictures, but I feel it could have been more. Check out my blog for more reviews: http://bibliophilesisters.wordpress.com/

I really like Jodi Picoult, she's an awesome writer, the mix with her daughter was great. I did find the story line a bit childish with the fairy tale but it mixed all together during the book. The world Jodi and Samantha created is magical and beautiful. The idea of this book is great, very creative book. I really enjoyed this book and the idea of this forsaken love or impossible love is awesome. This book is a must read. It's very different from my usual reads this is really a fairy tale, the ending is pretty much predictable but in a fairy tale the ending always is. I thought there would be a crazy twist at the end but there wasn't that might be what was missing for me.

I started reading this book and did not want to stop. On the train, walking toward my work, in the elevator I could not stop reading. very cute and definitely a fairy tale where the characters come alive and the reader becomes part of this fairy tale. beauuuutiful. Absolutely must read. unthinkable and extraordinary imagination.

I received this Advance Reader Copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive any compensation for my review, and the views expressed herein are my own. Between the Lines is a sweet story about a teenage girl who is looking for her prince, and she finds him in a fairy tale - literally! Delilah McPhee is a 15 year-old teenager, who comes from a broken home. Her parents are divorced, and she feels abandoned by her father who has since remarried and started a family with his new wife. Delilah's always had a thing for fairy tales, and she and her mother often watch Disney movies together. There is one particular book, a fairy tale, which brings Delilah great comfort. She has read it so many times that she knows the book by heart. One day, Delilah notices something different about one of the book's illustrations - something that wasn't there before. Then, she actually sees one of the characters in the story move on the page! When she hears the prince in the book speaking to her, Delilah thinks that she is imagining it but it is actually true! Delilah is determined to find a way to bring Prince Oliver from the book into her world. Meanwhile, Delilah's mom is growing ever-more concerned about her daughter's obsession with this fairy tale. She insists that Delilah needs psychological help. The only way to prove that she isn't really crazy is to prove that Oliver is real, but how can she do that? No one else seems to be able to hear him. Between the Lines is told from the alternating points of view of Delilah and Oliver. In Oliver's chapters, we find out what happens "behind-the-scenes" when the book isn't being read and how the characters within the story go about their every-day lives. In addition, there are chapters for different pages of the storybook which tell us about the actual fairy tale. To differentiate the different parts of the story, a different font is used and the names of the chapters are changed to either "Delilah" or "Oliver" or "Page X" with "X" being a scene from the fairy tale. Picoult co-wrote the book with her daughter, van Leer. It is a shame that I am not familiar with Picoult's work because I'd love to know what parts are Picoult's and which ones are van Leer's. Regardless, I really enjoyed their literary style. I thought the book was very creatively written, and I immediately felt a connection with Delilah. She is a very likeable and relatable protagonist. Some memorable quotes from the book: "No one ever asks a kid for her opinion, but it seems to me that growing up means you stop hoping for the best, and start expecting the worst. So how do you tell an adult that maybe everything wrong in the world stems from the fact that she's stopped believing the impossible can happen?" ~ Delilah "He understood, in the crystalline instant, that courage wasn't something you were bequeathed at birth, and it wasn't a lack of fright. It was overcoming your fear, because the ones you love mattered more." ~ Oliver I have a number of other Picoult books on my bookshelves, which I just haven't had a chance to read yet. I am definitely looking forward to reading more of her work! MY RATING: 4 stars!! It was really good! You should put it on your "To Be Read" list. Thanks to Simon & Schuster Canada for the review copy!

More review at: www.eyesonthepages.blogspot.ca Between the Lines is about a girl named Delilah who is absolutely obsessed with a middle-grade fairy tail called Between the Lines. Within this book is the main character Oliver, who Delilah just can't get enough of. He is her one and only fictional crush. Except. Delilah finds out one day that maybe Oliver isn't as fictional as she thought he was. And from there, the story takes off. Delilah and Oliver work vigorously on the quest of getting Oliver out of the book and into the real world. While reading this book, I found myself kind of watching the characters get through their problems rather than being right there with them and rooting for them. I think this was mainly because of the way the chapters of the book were put together. First you would get a snip of the story within the story, Between the Lines, and then a view point from Oliver followed by a view point from Delilah before it started all over again. With two different stories going on at once, it was very hard for me to stay on track with them. That is to say, I would just be getting into Delilah and Oliver's story only to be taken from it and thrown into the story within the story, shaking me of my anticipation from their story. This was because by the time I had come back to their story, I would be want to continue reading Between the Lines instead. It derailed me a lot in this way. Although, I have to say that I really enjoyed the little silhouette images that popped up along the margarine of the book. As well as the full-paged art. Truthfully, this is what sold me on the book. Yes, even though I am practically an adult, pictures in a book will make me want to read it more! While reading Between the Lines, I felt as if Delilah liked Oliver for the way the book made him out to be, not the way that he actually is himself. I believe at one point he even says that all he's doing is acting, that he's not very similar to his character at all. But I guess this isn't really something that can be explored unless Picoult and her daughter decide to write an epilogue type of thing about Delilah and Oliver. The ending, while confusing in reasoning (hopefully you understand what I mean if you've read that book), was very cute and definitely a fairy tale type of book. The ending made me want to coo at it as if it were a little kitten. All in all, Jodi Picoult and Samantha van Leer's Between the Lines was a read that I definitely liked, but probably won't end up picking it up again to read or be at the top of my recommendations list.

Between The Lines was truly an amazing book. I loved it soooo much!! You felt like you were in the story the whole time. I loved how the book is split into 3 parts, the actual tale, Oliver's point of view and then Delilah's point of view. I reccomend this for people who like books that are unique because this one sure is!!!!!!!!!

This was an amazing book. It felt like I was part of their world. I read it right before going to sleep for two days. But the book didn't stop when I fell asleep. My dreams were filled with the images and world in which Prince Oliver and Delilah live. I would recommend this book to anyone young and old. I hope that they write a continuation to this novel.

Her first foray into the realm of YA, Jodi Picoult teams up with her daughter Samantha Van Leer to write Between the Lines, a book about whether or not the characters in a beloved story take on a life of their own when the book isn’t being read. Akin to the likes of Toy Story, Prince Oliver and his kingdom come alive as soon as the covers of the book are closed. He longs to be free of the monotony and repetition of reliving the familiar story over and over again. Delilah, a teenager who finds herself inexplicably drawn to a children’s fairytale thinks she’s losing her mind when she notices changes in a book she knows so well. Neglecting the people in her own life, she attempts to help this fictional prince to freeing himself from the confines of his pages. The word that kept popping to mind as I was reading this book was cute. The story is cute, everything about it is very… cute. I felt it perhaps read more like a middle grade book at times rather than a young adult. Told in 3 voices – Delilah, Prince Oliver and the book’s actual fairy tale – it provides a nice pacing of all viewpoints as the book progresses. It basically feels like there are two separate, slightly-parallel, stories going on. There’s the fairy tale, told in broken out parts – interspersed with the other “real life” story from Delilah and Oliver’s point of views. The gorgeous drawings introducing each fairy tale chapter also provide a nice classic feel. Along with these beautiful illustrations are small silhouette pictures interspersed throughout the text that correspond with the story. If you’re looking for a typical Jodi Picoult-style book, this may not be what you’re looking for. It has a very different narrative style to it, and I’d respectfully guess that much of it was written by Samantha; a bit fresh, with so much potential for future works. Overall, it is a lovely twist on the classic prince-saves-princess tale, and an imaginative plot that explores all options to get to its intended ending. This, and other reviews can be found on my blog JustALilLost.com

With the popularity Jodi Picoult has, I am ashamed to say that this is the very first novel of her I ever read, but definitely not the last. Picoult and her daughter Samantha are an extraordinary team that has brought a delightful story to life. In fact, Between the Lines is their wonderful first success in the YA genre, and hopefully, the first of many more to come! The writing of this book is very captivating. This is a story that shines with beauty in its lines, (and in between of them as well) Between the Lines is the kind of book that you want bookmark and quote many, many times. Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer have definitely brought to the shelves a precious story where fictional characters have a different life between the lines. Delilah, a fifteen year-old girl, is in love with a picture book that she keeps reading over and over. Until one day, she realizes that the Prince of the story is much more than a fictional character. So, torn between fiction and reality, Delilah starts to fights for what she believes in, even if this goes against all reason (like believing that Oliver, the Prince, is as real as she is) I love so many things about this novel. Starting with the idea itself and the way the book is build. There are parts where readers can follow Oliver’s tale as it is written in the picture book. Then, there are parts that are told from Oliver's point of view while he is not playing the role of the Prince, and finally, there is Delilah's point of view. Also, the characters are pure magic and so many times, I wished them to be as real as Oliver was in Delilah's picture book. In addition, the story is accompanied by beautiful illustrations. However, in the advance reader's copy of this novel, only sketches are provided. Yet, I was dazzled with the sketches I had the chance to look at. Now I can only imagine how beautiful the final product will be like! Believe me, it is something worth keeping on a treasure chest! I really love this novel and I think that for Picoult and Van Leer's first YA novel Between the Lines is a great achievement! However, I have one BUT for this novel and that is the ending. Even though all of the characters get a happy ending, it is only a partial happy ending for me. There are some moral issues concerning the outcome of Edgar, a character that we meet almost at the end of the book that bothers me a bit (100% personal opinion). Without being specific and not giving much away, that's all I can say. Regardless that, I think this novel is beautiful! Between the Lines is a beautiful story where, for a few hundreds pages, you can let yourself believe that the impossible can happen and that fictional characters are real. Yet, regardless how well we know the differences between fiction and reality (if any of us actually know them), there is one things that should always prevail in fiction and in reality, that is that "everyone deserves a happy ending" (p.318 from arc) Don't you think?... still, whatever your opinion is, I highly recommend you this book!

Amazing. I'm so glad that Jodi Picoult decided to team up with her daughter to write this book because the outcome was amzaing. My favourite part are the illustrations that come with the book. It gives a great visual of what is happening. Also, not only do we learn about Delilah's point of view, we also learn about Oliver's point of view. So, we get a taste of the real and fairy tale world! This book is to die for.