Saturday 21 July 2012

Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult & Samantha Van Leer (Young Adult)




5th July 2012, Hodder & Stoughton
374 pages, Hardback
Review copy

Themes: solitude, escaping in books both literally and figuratively, estranged parents, parent not understanding teen, keeping a friendship, mental health, problem solving, unicorns, video games, going awol, concussion, fish tank having an unexpected visitor, desperation, teen romance (slushy thoughts), a little fighting

Summary from Hodder & Stoughton
Delilah knows it's weird, but she can't stop reading her favourite fairy tale. Other girls her age are dating and cheerleading. But then, other girls are popular.

She loves the comfort of the happy ending, and knowing there will be no surprises.

Until she gets the biggest surprise of all, when Prince Oliver looks out from the page and speaks to her.

Now Delilah must decide: will she do as Oliver asks, and help him to break out of the book? Or is this her chance to escape into happily ever after?

 
Nayuleska's thoughts
I was intrigued at the thought of book characters coming to life. I enjoyed what the characters did when the book was closed, and the various means of keeping characters safe. I laughed a fair amount as Delilah wasn't my kind of protag. She needed to get a life, work on her current friendship & sort through the messy divide between her and her mother, which was only an issue because of Prince Oliver in the book. 

This is a light hearted read with a compelling concept that had me wanting to read on to the end, even if I didn't care all that much for Delilah in this 8/10 read. The black and white illustrations which would suddenly appear on the pages were perfect for the fairy tale feel in the story. My favourite was when Delilah was....[spoiler not being put here!]... on page 267.


Suggested read
For less friendly character coming to life check out The Vampire Stalker by Alison Van Diepen

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