Between the Lines, Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer

I was so excited when I saw this - a YA Novel by Jodi Picoult!! She's one of my favorite writers, but her books are sometimes a little mature for middle school readers. Between the Lines, though, is a novel she co-wrote with her daughter, who's a teenager. It's her first YA novel.

Almost every girl can remember a childhood crush on a fairy prince. Well, Between the Lines takes this childhood crush to a whole new level. Delilah is the main character, and she's sort of a social outcast. She really only has one friend, Jules, and the rest of the school seems to hate her, largely because of the frequency with which she accidentally injures school cheerleaders (you'll have to read to figure that one out!). Delilah makes up for her social isolation by spending lots of time reading. She checks out an old-fashioned fairy tale - the kind with the gold-edged pages and beautiful illustrations - from her school's library and instantly feels a unique connection with the book and its characters. Her mother thinks that Delilah's gone crazy, but Delilah knows the truth - she and Prince Oliver of the fairy tale are just meant to be together, and she's got to get him out of the book so that they can live happily ever after together.

It sounds odd and a little far-fetched, but this book is a perfect mix of reality, fantasy, and the old traditional fairy tale. The book itself is beautiful, too. There are lovely illustrations during the fairy tale scenes, and it alternates point-of-view between Delilah and Prince Oliver. Delilah and Oliver's narrations appear in different colors, which makes it really easy to follow.

Here's a trailer for the book: