A review by kosmond
Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult, Samantha van Leer

2.0

I was so looking forward to reading this book, and had high expectations. Maybe that's what I did wrong. Never expect the unexpected. Mrs Picoult is known for her stories and her ability to tell a story. She is my favourite author, with her talent for writing and creating an unforgettable story. Unfortunately, this didn't happen here. I'm not quite sure what role she had in writing this book, but it didn't seem like she had any. There was nothing in Between The Lines that was screaming Jodi Picoult.

I didn't hate the book, but I didn't love it either. Delilah, the main character was a young girl that I could relate with on some levels. She loves books, and live books. She brings characters to life (literally, in this book!), she lives the stories. Other than those points, I had a hard time with the characters. There wasn't much development with any of them, or between any of them before they fell madly in love and that was unfortunate. I just didn't get it. What I did get, and enjoyed were the different point of views, and the illustrations throughout the story. Both these aspects added a little something to the book.

There was a quote in Between The Lines, "An author makes a house, the reader makes it a home" (quoted from ARC, do not quote me on this) that I loved! It is so true and it really hit home for me. I've said things like that before, that the author is the one to tell the story and it is up to us, as readers to make it more. So to see that this quote was in this book, it was awesome.

In the end, Between The Lines was missing a lot for me. The story just didn't come alive for me, the characters didn't so anything for me. And the writing wasn't what I expected. I was really looking forward to reading this highly anticipated YA novel written by Jodi Picoult and her daughter Samantha Van Leer, but it fell flat for me.