As an avid Jodi Picoult fan, I was keen to read Between the Lines, which Jodi co-authored with her daughter, Samantha van Leer. Although it is a departure from Jodi’s usual novels, I was not disappointed. Between the Lines is a classic fairy tale with a modern twist. When Samantha approached Jodi with an idea for a young adult novel, Jodi knew immediately that the idea was a great one. “What if the characters in a book had lives of their own after the cover was closed? And what if one of those characters desperately wanted to get out of his book?”
In the story, Oliver, the handsome prince, lives his life over and over again, each time the fairy tale is read. But once the covers are closed, he secretly yearns to escape the story and live in the real world. When fifteen-year-old Delilah discovers she can communicate with the characters in the book, she plots to help Oliver escape his repetitive life.
Together, Samantha and Jodi have created a delightful imaginary world that co-exists alongside the modern world. With many twists and turns, the story is entertaining, charming, and highly imaginative. The book has beautiful colour illustrations at the beginning of each fairy tale chapter, as well as amazing silhouette drawings scattered throughout the chapters that alternate between Oliver and Delilah.
I hope Samantha continues to write. She has a real talent and I look forward to reading more of her stories.
Kristah Price 