Between the Lines

Between the Lines

Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha van Leer is a captivating story about an adolescent girl, Delilah, and a boy the same age, Oliver, who both want to be somewhere else and live someone else’s life.

Plot Summary:

Delilah is a 14 year old girl who is miserable. She and her father split after he decided she and her mother just were not good enough to live with. She is completely depressed until she finds a beautiful, hand illustrated, children’s fairy tale hidden between an assortment of books on the shelf. She had never seen this book before. She becomes obsessed with the book because she can connect very well to the main character of the fairy tale, Oliver. Oliver’s father died in the beginning of the story.

Oliver is a 16 year old boy who, much like Delilah, is miserable. He acts the same part every time a Reader opens the book. He hates being stuck in the same boring world day after day after day. When Delilah starts reading the book multiple times a day however, he begins noticing her. He discovers she is fascinated with his story and begins to see if she will notice some slight changes he makes in the illustrations, for she has now memorized every word, picture, and plot line. She is the first Reader to ever notice him and they begin to talk everyday. Delilah’s mother and people at her school begin to think she is crazy for talking to a book.

This is where their two worlds collide. Oliver and Delilah become fascinated with each other and their lives and worlds. Oliver wants to get out of his world and Delilah wants him in her’s. Follow Oliver and Delilah on this fantastic journey to get Oliver out of the book and into Delilah’s world.

Author Praise/Critique:

Jodi Picoult and Samantha van Leer wrote very well together. Professionalism and humor are evenly balanced in this book. The plot is well developed, but there are no ups and downs in the plot. The basic story stays the same throughout the entire book. There is no rise in tension. The characters, however, are very well developed. One of the best parts of the book is meeting all of the characters in the fairy tale from Oliver’s perspective. The setting is also well developed. The author paint the picture very well. The best part of the book is the ending. (*no spoilers) This is where everything comes together. The authors did an amazing job with this resolution and tying the loose ends together. However, the book can be quite slow in the middle. The middle is made up entirely of conversations between the two main characters. Most of the conversations include the same topics, their failed attempts of getting Oliver out of the book, flirting, and talk of the outside world.

Rating and Reasoning:

I rate this book three stars. There was simply too much impossibility in this book for my taste. (I am not a fan of extreme fantasy.) Also, the book was quite slow in the middle. (The beginning and end were great.) The humor element to this book was terrific.

Audience: 5th graders to 7th graders who are light readers

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Date Published: June 26, 2012

ISBN: 9781471202797

Format: Paperback

Genre: Fantasy/Fairytale