Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer

Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer
Release Date – June 26, 2012
Publisher Website –  Simon and Schuster
Publisher Social Media -  Twitter
Pages -   358 pages
My Rating- 3/5
**received from Ottawa Blogger meet up and swap**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

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.

The words Once Upon A Time and Happily Ever After bring to mind beautiful princesses, handsome princes, dangerous dragons and frightening witches. What if the Happily Ever After wasn’t what it appeared to be? What if it was just something that allowed those beloved characters to go back to their real, but hidden, existence?

Fans of Jodi Picoult expecting one of her classic novels with a jaw dropping twist at the end may find themselves disappointed. This is a classic fairytale in every sense of the word.

Oliver, the fairytale prince who dreams of a life outside his storybook pages. He wants the excitement and adventure of something else. Delilah is also looking for something else. She’s always felt average and not special. Since her  father’s death Oliver’s fairytale has been a source of comfort. Book lovers everywhere will find it easy to identify with Delilah. The premise will appeal to every reader out there. How many of us have fantasized that our favourite characters would interact with us, or somehow become real?

I found this novel to be rather endearing and sweet. Simplistically so. I think that older middle grade readers will really enjoy this novel.  Parents look for a entertaining, and safe read for their children before bedtime will find this more than meets those expectations.

This novel ends with a beginning rather than a happily ever after, and it is quite fitting for the theme of the novel. It shows that our happy ending is what we make it, and to always reach for what makes us happy.

A sweetly magical tale of a young woman trying to save her prince that is quite charming. Those looking for a deeper story may want to look elsewhere, but those who want a classic fairytale will find much to love in these pages.