Between the Lines -- Reviewed by Stephanie Best

Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha van Leer
Reviewed by Stephanie Best

Delilah, a high school girl who feels very out of place, one day happens upon a children’s fairy tale called Between the Lines. She instantly becomes obsessed with the book, and the main character, Oliver. Inside the story, a whole other world exists. When the book is closed, the characters have different lives. Rapscullio, the evil-doer, is actually a nice guy, and Oliver, who is supposed to be in love with the beautiful Serephima, couldn’t want any less to do with her. The people inside the story can see the reader, but the reader, can see them. That was, until Delilah came around. Having fallen in love with Oliver, one day Delilah wishes out loud to Oliver that he was real. Usually when the characters are doing something while the book is closed, the story sets itself right when the book is being opened. However, things begin to change. What starts with a chess board in the sand, quickly becomes contact between Oliver and Delilah that turns into a growing friendship, resulting in trying to find Oliver a way out of the book.

                Between the Lines was one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. At first, I was really confused when it was explaining how inside the fairy tale work, but I quickly realized how much of an amazing idea it was. I loved how in depth the story inside the story was. I loved how each and every character was different when the fairy tale was closed and I loved how the story went into detail about so many of the fairy tale’s characters. Anyone who has read Beastly, A Kiss in Time, or Cloaked, by Alex Flinn would like this novel because these stories are very similar in concept. I would completely recommend this.