A very “different” kind of book by Jodi Picoult, as she
explains in a lengthy note at the opening of the novel (I shouldn't be surprised, she did a great job with "Wonder Woman" as described in an earlier review. Definitely an author that likes to stretch herself out of the box now and then). This one is a fairytale, inspired by and
written with her high school aged daughter, “Sammy.” Stories within stories, it is clever and
creative with capital “Cs.” Oliver is a
prince in a fairytale who is bored with doing the same thing over and over … he
wants out. Delilah is a teenage girl who
craves something more. Until the day
that she realizes the characters in the book are alive. What follows is a strongly-woven fable that
cycles between the actual fairytale and the perspectives of Oliver and
Delilah. Crazy “rules” are created in
these blended universes, but Picoult and her daughter remain absolutely
committed to the strictures they invent.
The characters in all three storylines are smart and their occasional
drifting into over-the-top romanticism can be excused as they don’t linger in
the place of sighing, lingering looks (it is a fairytale, after all). The book isn’t just an enjoyable read, it is
pretty to look at. The fairytale
drawings are detailed and rich in color, crosshatched for depth. Ironically, the non-fairytale sections have
two dimensional black cut-outs – which are nonetheless intriguing. It makes you think about reality when the
fairytale images are more fully realized than the real-world images, but
questioning reality is a major theme here.
Delilah’s sections are written in a clean, green, non-serif font, while
Oliver’s voice is portrayed in a more traditional “Times New Roman” font, in a
subtle indigo hue. Everything about this
book is that carefully chosen … the images, the layout, the words. It is a fun read but also exquisitely executed. Brava.
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