I
am a huge Jodi Picoult fan. When I
learned she was going to step into the world of YA, there were certain
expectations I had – a controversial topic, a court case, tears. This is not what happened with her new novel,
written with her daughter, Samantha Van Leer, and it was a pleasant (and
refreshing) surprise. My husband works for B&N and was able to secure an ARC for me - GO HUBBY!
Summary (from book
jacket):
What happens
when happily ever after…isn’t?
Delilah
hates school as much as she loves books—one book in particular. In fact if
anyone knew how many times she has read and reread the sweet little fairy tale
she found in the library, especially her cooler classmates, she’d be sent into
social Siberia…forever.
To
Delilah, though, this fairy tale is more than just words on the page. Sure,
there’s a handsome (well, okay, incredibly handsome) prince, and a castle, and
an evil villain, but it feels as if there’s something deeper going on. And one
day, Delilah finds out there is.
Turns
out, this Prince Charming is real, and a certain fifteen-year-old loner has
caught his eye. But they’re from two different worlds, and how can it ever
possibly work?
My thoughts:
First,
let me say that this is such an interesting concept for a YA novel – what if
the story continues after the cover of a book is closed? I am surprised that we
have not seen this story told a lot because we see this idea with toys.
There
are three different stories in this novel: Delilah’s, Prince Charming, and the
fairy tale Between the Lines. These
three wrapped together create an intriguing story about longing, friendship,
and teen angst.
What
I loved about the novel: the plot concept and the illustrations.
The
plot concept is intriguing – what happens when we close the cover to books we
read? Does the action stop, or are the characters merely actors playing their
parts? This element of the novel was one of my favorites because it was
interesting to see some of the characters feel they were living their parts more than their lives. It reminded
me of actors like Daniel Day-Lewis who stay in character while shooting movies.
It was especially amusing to read the interaction between Prince Charming and
the villain and to learn that in the end, the characters are more like a family
on a film set.
To
make the novel even more appealing, Picoult and Van Leer sprinkle illustrations
throughout. I think this will appeal to tween and teen readers. My students
especially discuss how much they love when writers include those illustrations.
This is where Picoult and Van Leer are really playing to the audience.
What
I struggled with while reading this novel: the changing writer’s voice.
With
that said, let me say that writing a novel with her daughter was an interesting
idea. The storytelling is true Picoult-style with alternating points-of-view,
but there were parts that I found difficult to read because the writer’s voice
would change, sometimes in the middle of a paragraph. I found myself saying in
my head, “This part is all Picoult,” and then a few paragraphs later, “This is
all her daughter.”
There
is a note in the front of this novel where Picoult discusses how she and her daughter wrote this
novel together. If that note is in the final copy, be sure to read it. If you’ve
never read one of her books, you more than likely will not notice the
difference. It is slight, but it is still there.
Overall,
tween readers will especially enjoy this novel because the concept and execution
will appeal to them.
I
recommend this novel to all YA readers because of the interesting concept, and
really, who does not enjoy a good fairy tale once in a while?
Between the
Lines
is on sale June 26, 2012 – add it to your summer reads!
