Between the Lines

Between The Lines is a young adult novel co-written by Jodi Picoult and her daughter, Samantha Van Leer. Essentially, it is the story of a young Prince who is stuck in a fairy tale and desperate to stop repeating the same script every time someone reads the book, and the teenage reader who loves the book, hears and understands his plea, and vows to help him (he is pretty hot, after all!). As usual with a Picoult book, there are multiple narratives, in this case, three: the fairy tale itself and the voices of Prince Oliver and of Delilah, and each narrative is printed in a different colour and font. The fairy tale itself is filled with all the classic essentials for such a tale: a King and Queen, a clever and loyal Prince, a faithful dog, a handsome steed, an evil villain bent on revenge, a wizard, mermaids, trolls, pirates, a dragon, a kidnapped Princess, a quest, word puzzles and some bizarre implements to help the Prince save his Princess. Along the way, the dialogue between Delilah and her mother, Oliver and her best friend, Jules, includes some astute observances about being a teenager, what love is, growing up and friendship. The aspect of the life that characters lead when the reader closes the book reminded me of Jasper Fforde’s marvellous Thursday Next series. I may not be a young adult, but I certainly enjoyed this novel.