Review // Between The Lines - Jodi Picoult & Samantha van Leer

Published - 5th July 2012
Published By - Hodder & Stoughton
Format - Hardback
Goodreads Synopsis - Delilah is a bit of a loner who prefers spending her time in the school library with her head in a book—one book in particular. Between the Lines may be a fairy tale, but it feels real. Prince Oliver is brave, adventurous, and loving. He really speaks to Delilah.

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.

For a long time, Jodi Picoult has been my favourite author and so when I heard that she was releasing a YA book, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. Between The Lines was composed by both Picoult and her daughter, new author, Samantha van Leer. 


First, let me start by saying the physical book itself is beautiful! The cover is gorgeous with a slightly raised gold trimmed border and the art is just perfect. Inside, the book is filled with both full page stunning illustrations and smaller, text related pictures along side the words. Each narrating character has their own font, and font colour which is a first for me! The purples and greens really worked and helped the overall magical feel of the story. It is truly beautiful. 


The story itself is one that I imagine every book lover can get into - I mean, who *doesn't* get sucked into the book? My favourite line throughout this wonderful fairytale is this, ""Did you really think that a story exists only when you're reading it?" Because, of course, the story always exists.

Delilah and Oliver were adorable characters and I was sad to say goodbye to them at the end of the novel. In fact, I don't think there was a single character I didn't like. I even loved Seraphima...eventually. It was just a lovely read and has definitely inspired me to read a little more outside of my reading comforts.

Between The Lines is definitely different (by miles!) from anything that Jodi Picoult has written before but please don't let that put you off. It was beautifully written and the perfect way to introduce younger readers to Jodi's writing.