Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published:
June 26, 2012
Pages: 358
Source:
For Review from Simon & Schuster Canada (Thank you!)
Rating:
2.5 Stars
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.
In short: Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha van Leer was a cute read, but ultimately too fluffy and lacking in substance for my taste.
I loved the concept of finding out that your favourite story is real and getting sucked into the pages, getting to meet the characters that you already know so well, reliving the scenes that you know by heart. And I really liked the imagery of the text of the book floating in the sky and the characters being whipped into place to act for their scene as the pages were turned. All very neat ideas that were executed well - and I credit Jodi Picoult's sixteen-year-old daughter, Samantha van Leer, for coming up with them.
Unfortunately, I would've appreciated the concept a lot more if the story hadn't been so fluffy and if the writing had been a bit more sophisticated. I am also split on the illustrations - some were quite nice, clearly expertly drawn, and could only be even more beautiful in colour in the finished copy of Between the Lines, compared to my ARC copy. Other little pictures that were included among the text seemed entirely random and unnecessary, however:
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| An example of the illustrations in Between The Lines (ARC) |
Other Reviews:
365 Days of Reading
The Bookworm is Here
Xpresso Reads
Author Links:
Website
I'm sorry you didn't enjoy this one. That's unfortunate that they're trying to group the book as YA when it's more MG! I'm not big on fluffy books either, but I loved that you enjoyed the imagery! I didn't know that she wrote this with her daughter, that's awesome!
ReplyDeleteI personally feel like they would've been more successful if they had just decided to go with the MG route. Because it really didn't feel like YA to me. But yeah, I thought it was sweet that this was a mother-daughter book!
DeleteOh my. That is sooo weird and random.
ReplyDeleteWow.
Sounds like I should pass on this one.
Thanks for the review.
Yeah, most of the illustrations were pretty random and unnecessary, unfortunately.
DeleteI appreciate the honest review. I still want to check this out at some point, but I know what you mean about not really enjoying cute/fluffy in large doses if you will.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely check out Jodi's adult books. they are very, very good with a lot more substance and depth.
-Lauren
Thanks, Lauren - I think I will! I'm pretty sure I would be more impressed with something of hers that's a little more adult and a little less fluffy.
DeleteThat does look unnecessary, and also a little weird. I've heard so many good things about this book and because of them, I considered buying it. That and because Picoult is a widely known author and I was excited to read something by her for the first time. Sorry this wasn't your thing though, and thanks for sharing your thoughts. :)
ReplyDeleteReally? I actually didn't read any good things about this one, maybe one marginally good review. I should look into reading another POV because I would be curious to hear what they liked about it so much.
DeleteI'm sad that your first experience with Jodi Picoult was one that you didn't like. I was slightly curious about this one, and I might give it a shot one day just to see, but it's not all that likely.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to give her adult books a try, I would recommend starting with Salem Falls, Nineteen Minutes, Perfect Match, or My Sister's Keeper. Of course, most of her books that I've read, I've liked. I couldn't really get into Mercy, and Harvesting the Heart bored me, even though I liked the premise, but overall, I've really enjoyed them. And I'll stop the rambling now. :)
I'm sad too. Thank you so much for the recommendations! They're really appreciated. I want to make it my goal to read a Jodi Picoult book soon - I'm eager to change my mind!
DeleteHmmmm. I think this one is definitely too young for me as well Aylee. Did it feel like it was dumbed down because it was for a teenage audience, or did it feel like it was just meant for a much younger YA crowd? I think a lot of times illustrations enhance a story, but the one you showed above doesn't seem to be that type of illustration at all. I think the interruption would bother me. Thanks for the review, I'm going to pass on this one!
ReplyDeleteIt felt like their aim was for a YA crowd, but they weren't successful. Certainly not to the level of sophistication and complexity that most YA books have. Most of the illustrations seemed pointless and often distracting. Some were absolutely beautiful though! They should have just stuck to those ones.
DeleteI've seen a lot of reviews saying the same thing, I'm disappointed to hear that it was a lot younger than it seemed because I love Jodi Picoult books. I still want to check it out, but that picture you show really makes me wonder about the book.
ReplyDeleteI really need to read an adult Jodi Picoult book because I dislike being disappointed too. I wish they had marketed it differently and done away with those silly images.
DeleteAylee, I haven't read any of Picoult's novels either which was why I was excited about her YA debut. Just from the synopsis, this one sounds like a cute and fluffy read and since I like fairytales and princesses (I'm guessing a lot more than you), I think I might like this one a bit more. So, I may give it a try in the future.
ReplyDeleteThe illustration you chose does look weird and unnecessary. It looks like one of those games where you have to decode what word the pictures sum up.
I was excited too, to see what all the hype surrounding her was about. Which is why it was so disappointing. I think you may like this one quite a bit more too. And OMGosh! You're so right about the picture decoding, haha.
DeleteI think it's so hard to critique a book that wasn't for you and I hate when part of it it's because the book was a little too young because on one hand there is nothing really wrong with the book, but on the other there is no way to really enjoy it once you're a little older than the target audience - and I agree that the cover is a bit misleading, I would think it was a more sophisticated book from the cover.
ReplyDeleteStill, the concept sounds good.
And I hate to say those images were a little creepy.
Yeah, it's hard. But at the same time - I am able to enjoy books that are too young for me, when they're done well. I don't know, the type of young books that I like to read are charming - this was only sometimes charming. And it was largely because of the concept. On the whole, it was silly - and not in a good way. Especially those images.
DeleteHonestly, before Between the Lines I didn't know anything about Jodi, which is why i was really eager to try Between the Lines, to get a feel for her work. I like fluffy things as much as I like more serious things, but had you not explicitly stated that about it I would've expected something else and been disappointed. So thanks =)
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! I definitely wasn't expecting something so silly and fluffy from what I had read and the cover. I'm not sure that this book would give you the best feeling for her work though - all the rest of her stuff is adult. This seemed influenced by her daughter quite a bit.
DeleteI felt about the same with this one, I knew not to expect Jodie's usual stories but this had a very MG feel and it was just wasn't what I expected. I loved the images in the book though they were fun even though most felt random haha. That cat one cracks me up it's so odd O_O Great review!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I wish I had known going into it that it was going to be so young. I liked some of the images, but some were like WUH? Very strange.
DeleteSorry to hear that this book didn't work out for you! :) I think I'll give it a shot anyway, because I kind of like fluffy reads sometimes and I love the fairytale feeling of it.
ReplyDeleteThen I think there's a very good chance that you would enjoy it tons more than me!
DeleteWhatever possed you to read a book like this one? I'm not surpirsed it didn't agree with you. Very thoughtfully reviewed though. I think I'm on your side, not sure the illustrations would be something I'd appreciated. I'm more into fantasy type illustrations, I think.
ReplyDeleteOh, it was sent to me by the publisher unsolicited. I didn't request it. But I still like to do my best to read and review all books sent to me by publishers - even unsolicited ones. Some images were fantasy type, very beautiful - others were just distracting.
DeleteI have to admit, I absolutely adored this book. It's not my usual thing at all (I normally can't stand fluffy YA) but somehow it just clicked with me.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the little black illustrations were unecessary though - they just distracted me and added to the idea that it's aimed at younger readers.
I'd definitely read another of her books though - you can't even IMAGINE how different they are!
Really? Well, I'm happy that you loved it then! That's nice that you loved it even though it's not really your thing. I think I have an idea of how different they are from this! Because this was childish and silly MG - and I assume her adult books are nothing like this.
DeleteThe concept sounds fabulous, but what is up with the illustrations? I love illustrated books (Wanderlove uses them perfectly), but I'm pretty sure random illustrations like an Obama Cat would annoy me very fast.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the honest review! I'll probably pass on this one, just because it seems too silly.
Oh, I didn't know that about Wanderlove... and now I'm curious to read that one! But yeah, these illustrations didn't really tickle my fancy.
DeleteHi! I just came across your site and it is really lovely! I happily followed you and will enjoy reading your updates. You can find me over at Rainy Day Reads, www.rainydayreads.com It would be great if you could stop by and I would love have a fellow book lover as a follower. Christine x
ReplyDeleteI have yet to read a JP book, but I don't think I'll be starting with this one. I'm also surprised to hear the tone was so MG, and the illustrations... just weird.
ReplyDeleteYeah, not for me, but, like you said, I'm sure it will find it's audience.
I'm also sort of upset that I started with this one because it's given me this strange image of the kind of books JP writes - which I am sure is absolutely false.
Delete