Between the Lines - Jodi Picoult & Samantha van Leer - ★★★★

AUTHOR: Jodi Picoult & Samantha van Leer

GENRE: YA Fantasy

RATING: 4 stars.

Imagine this. The characters in the book you are reading have a life of their own, beyond what is written for their characters. And they do what they want to every time you close the book, only to be pulled back in their roles when you reopen the book. Unbelievable, right? Goes without saying then that I've never read a story like this before! That doesn't necessarily mean that I loved it. But the concept is mind-blowing for sure.

Delilah, a fifteen year old introverted bookworm, is shocked to discover something new appear in the illustrations of her latest favourite read, a fairy tale about a cowardly prince who uses his wits rather than his valour to fulfill his royal duties. Soon, she realises that the protagonist, Prince Oliver, can actually talk to her, that he dreams of getting out of his routine and predictable "plotlife", and that the book world has a life of its own. Can Delilah help Oliver escape his two-dimensional fairy tale?

Jodi Picoult fans need to keep in mind that this is unlike her typical work, which is much darker thematically. As she has co-authored this with her teenage daughter, the plot is distinctly YA in flow and content. So you need to realign your expectations accordingly. You will find Jodi's usual twists and turns, and you will also find her favourite style of writing from multiple perspectives (which works wonderfully in this book.) What you won't get is emotional or moral dilemmas, something that is omnipresent in her books.

I found the plot quite intriguing, though not foolproof. There are a few loopholes in the book character's breaking of the fourth wall. I tried hard to keep the logical side of my brain turned off but sadly, it turned out to be stronger than my romantic side, which is long past its expiry date! Then again, for such a storyline, I imagine writing something without a single gap in the plot would be impossible. As a YA Fantasy-Romance, it does its job pretty well. And for the sheer idea itself, of getting a book character to fantasize about the reader and about escaping from the restriction of the pages, the book deserves a try! Teenagers will certainly enjoy it more than us rational kooks.

My teenaged daughter relished this book and wanted me to give it 4.75 stars.("I didn't like the way the plot dragged in between, so I can't give 5 stars, Mamma." ) I was bordering more towards a 3.5 - I liked it enough without loving it. So a happy compromise is to rate it 4 stars.

Give it a try if you want to read a storyline that is quite unique, even if the execution could have been better. But remember, it's a YA book. Don't think too hard about the solidity of the plot. It serves its target readers well, and that's what matters.

I'm off to read the sequel.