Tuesday, May 26, 2015

'Off the Page' by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer

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From #1 New York Times bestselling authors Jodi Picoult and her daughter and co-writer, Samantha van Leer, comes OFF THE PAGE, a tender and appealing romantic YA novel filled with humor, adventure, and magical relationships.
 
Sixteen-year-old Delilah is finally united with Oliver—a prince literally taken from the pages of a fairy tale. There are, however, complications now that Oliver has been able to enter the real world. To exist in Delilah’s world, Oliver must take the place of a regular boy. Enter Edgar, who agrees to take Oliver’s role in Delilah’s favorite book. In this multilayered universe, the line between what is on the page and what is possible is blurred, but all must be resolved for the characters to live happily ever after. Includes twelve full-color illustrations, and black-and-white decorations throughout.
 
Full of humor and witty commentary about life, OFF THE PAGE is a stand-alone novel as well as a companion to the authors’ bestseller Between the Lines, and is perfect for readers looking for a fairytale ending. Fans of Sarah Dessen and Meg Cabot are sure to appreciate this novel about love, romance, and relationships.

The characters were okay. I liked some. Disliked others.
Edgar was cool. I would have loved to be his friend. He was quirky. He had some cool things about him. The video game thing. The love for his mom. These things made him pretty awesome. He was loyal. But he was a bit of an oddball. Knowing random things. Edgar had a lot of personality. Witty retorts. Funny remarks. He was great. He had faults. And the yearning to see his mother. Homesickness. He was an adventure seeker. He was pretty cool.
Oliver could have been better. He was ignorant. That made him funny. He wasn't the best romantic. But he was good at being charming. (Honestly. How is he not Prince Charming?) He was kind. But very ignorant. Which I thought was hilarious. His lack of knowledge about the real world made his remarks funny. The fairy remark? Wow. Amazing. He was very good at talking with people. Which makes me wonder how he got with Deliliah. (Not reading the first book is bad. Bad.)
I simply dislike Deliliah. She annoyed me. You have to have a life outside guys. She had to be annoying... She was a bit obsessed. There wasn't much personality in her character. She was attached to Oliver. And became a mopey teenager otherwise. She had no life outside of the book. It's like grades didn't matter. No extracirciulars! Alas! The teenager in her natural habitat. Pining after people who may never notice her. But her someone did. Which is the odd thing.

The plot wasn't bad. I thought it would be all cutesy, but it turned out to only snippets of that. It was a bit of a hunt for the wishes. I wanted more of Seraphima and Oliver in the real world, though. That was perfect. They were so hilarious. I couldn't stand it. I had to laugh. The plot wasn't the most interesting. It was interesting to see their hunt for a wish. That was cool. We got to explore the book more. And the book was a cool place. Towers and castles and unicorn meadows. Unicorn meadows. I can't help but smile at the thought of unicorns pranching around a meadow of daisies and Whatnots.
There was a lot of romance, though. Which isn't bad... I didn't particularly like Delilah and Oliver. Edgar and Jules was so much better. The romance was funny when Deliliah had to pretend to like Edgar. Dear god. That was hilarious. I swear I felt palpable sexual tension in that mini golf course scene. Dang.

There wasn't a lot of action. It was mostly a lot of drama. Which was okay. It wasn't anything quite amazing or important. Just dramatic. Oh my, look who has cancer. Look who needs to be out. Romance romance romance. If there were a few fighting scenes, I might have enjoyed this more. Oh well...

The Deliliah-Oliver relationship annoyed me. Probably because I didn't read book one (Between the Lines.) But Edgar and Jules? Nice. There was more chemistry with Jules and Edgar. More tension. It was funny to see them try to resist kissing. They struggled. Delilah was wimpy when she was away from Oliver. And Oliver was too accepting. Another reason why fantasy princes shouldn't be dating real girls.
It seemed like everyone was pairing off, though. I mean...seriously? The real world isn't like that. Who didn't get a relationship? Maureen? Everyone did. That's annoying. I don't think the world pairs off everyone. Shouldn't there be more single people? Like whoa. Even Chris got a girl! And I didn't like the actually-geeky-popular-girl thing. That's cliche. Way too cliche.

When Serphima entered the real world...it was hilarious. I loved it. What's a mall to them? A food court? It was funny. Good comedic relief. It was perfect.
And her argument with Allie. That was amazing. Cat fight! (Sorry. I had to.) Both were cruel in their own way. Saucy in their own way. So that clash. It's like two opposing forces finally meeting. It was crazy. It was offensive on a different level. Snappy dialogue. I could imagine the scene right in front of my eyes.

The ending was...odd. I thought Jules would be pulled in. Seraphima might enjoy the real world in the end. Who knows? Maureen did. I felt like there could have been more. The end scenes with Jessamyn...not bad. Tension-building scenes. It's do or die really. And that was quite interesting.
But the ending ending? Meh. Less than I expected. Why couldn't Jules be happy too? I mean...why? Seraphima liked our world anyways. Just trade the two again. I don't get why Oliver and Delilah get a happy ending, but Jules doesn't. Excuse me? Jules was so much cooler than Delilah in her pinky finger. It didn't seem fair.
But fair isn't how stories work.

Weather:

Sunny with some clouds and a 35% chance of rain
3.5/5

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