New Year's Resolution?

With 2013 well and truly underway, it was time to put into practice one of my new year’s resolutions – reading more YA books. And as serendipity would have it, a good friend had gifted me a copy of a YA novel entitled Between the Lines, written by Jodi Picoult with her teenage daughter Samantha van Leer.

When I first saw this book in a bookstore several weeks ago I just knew I had to have it – and it wasn’t only the title that made me think this way; it was the fact that the ‘grab’ on the front cover refers to a fairy-tale prince.
Why, you might ask, would teenagers be interested in reading a fairytale? And perhaps even more perplexing is why an adult would want to. Well, the story is about a fifteen-year-old, and hey, I’m a sucker for fairytales.
I read Between the Lines in less than two days which is pretty remarkable for me. Usually I have at least two books on the go and I find I read mostly at night, in bed, and usually fall asleep after a couple of chapters. But yesterday was a scorcher, temperature-wise, and today is much the same so reclining somewhere cool with a good book seemed the most logical thing to do. And this book certainly didn’t disappoint.
Between the Lines is a wonderful story, written from three different points of view in alternating chapters. First there’s the fairytale story about Prince Oliver’s search for a missing girl; then there’s Oliver’s own story in his own words. And finally we hear from Delilah, the fifteen-year-old who is actually reading the story. What a fascinating premise.
On top of this, each of the three points of view appears in a different coloured font, and scattered throughout the pages of the book are numerous black and white silhouette drawings. But the biggest surprise of all is the collection of wonderful full colour, full page illustrations, each beginning a new section.
Between the Lines is not just a good read, it’s an absolute delight for the eyes as well. Why not lose yourself in it, like I did, or better still, thrill a teenager with a read worthy of their attention.
Happy reading everyone!