New York Times "bestselling author Jodi Picoult and her teenage daughter present their first-ever novel for teens, filled with romance, adventure, and humor.What happens when happily ever after...isn't? Delilah is a bit of a loner who prefers spending her time in the school library with her head in a book--one book in particular. Between the Lines" may be a fairy tale, but it feels real. Prince Oliver is brave, adventurous, and loving. He really speaks to Delilah. And then one day Oliver actually speaks to her. Turns out, Oliver is more than a one-dimensional storybook prince. He's a restless teen who feels trapped by his literary existence and hates that his entire life is predetermined. He's sure there's more for him out there in the real world, and Delilah might just be his key to freedom. Delilah and Oliver work together to attempt to get Oliver out of his book, a challenging task that forces them to examine their perceptions of fate, the world, and their places in it. And as their attraction to each other grows along the way, a romance blossoms that is anything but a fairy tale.
Usually books about books tend to be about people from the real world being sucked into the storybook to fulfill their destiny. Well, Between the Lines flips that around. Oliver is a prince, and the star of his story, but he's bored. He's sick of acting out the same story over and over. Then one day someone finally hears his pleas. Delilah loves to lose herself inside the pages of books, and feels a particularly strong connection to Oliver. At first, Delilah thinks she's going crazy, but eventually she agrees to help the prince escape his story.
I kind of adored Between the Lines. It's ridiculously cute and fun, but at times it did read a bit young. Delilah is 15 and a bit immature, so that probably had something to do with it. There's also a lot of corny jokes that are so bad that they're funny. And we get chapters from Oliver's story, which was a nice addition, but they were pages from a childrens' book, so of course that added to the young feel.
I really liked how everything was explained in Between the Lines. Basically, the story characters exist outside of the story when the book is closed. They're like actors, and just go about their own lives when someone isn't reading their tale. They know they're part of a story, and most enjoy being performers. It's just Oliver who dreams of more. I also liked how getting Oliver out wasn't just as simple as Delilah ripping him out. They try a lot of different ways to alter the book, and nothing works! At least not until Delilah tracks down the author for help.
The ending did disappoint me a bit. I found the solution to Oliver's dilemma to be interesting, but I had a hard time accepting it. I can't say what they do in order to make it work, but I highly suspect that the author would notice this change. Between the Lines just ends once Oliver is out of the book, so we don't know how his plan affects anything, which bothers me. It feels incomplete, but luckily that's what Off the Page is about!
