“If a character sits in a book and no one reads it, is he truly alive? As your eyes move across the pages, as you heard the story in your head, the characters moved for you, spoke for you, felt for you. So you see, it’s quite difficult to know who owns a story. Is it the writer, who crafted it? The characters, who carry the plot forward? Or you, the reader, who breathes life into them? Or perhaps none of the three can exist without the other. Perhaps without this magical combination, a story would be nothing more than words on a page.” – p. 4
Hello Readers,
When I first read the above quote in Off the Page (one of our May picks) by Jodi Picoult and her daughter Samantha Van Leer, I was captivated. The idea that characters exist between the front and back covers of a book even when it’s closed is magical. Everyone who has ever read and fallen in love with a story would like nothing better than to know that the characters they love so dearly don’t cease to exist when the reader puts the book down.
Off the Page is the sequel to the first book the mother-daughter team co-authored together, Between the Lines. I recently read the first book in anticipation of Off the Page and found that I thoroughly enjoyed the concept, but didn’t love the execution in either book. Having a reader fall in love with a character in a book is nothing new (don’t pretend you don’t have a list of literary crushes), but having the character recognize, communicate, and fall in love with the reader is something most bibliophiles only dream of (again, stop pretending you think I’m insane).
I don’t want to spoil the plot of either novel, as some of the language in the book is beautiful and the concept is great. My issue with the story is the lack of character growth. Both the reader and the character she falls in love with are sort of one-dimensional. The only justification I can muster for this is that the target audience for these books is young adults. The main characters are sixteen years old and that seems to be the age the reader would need to be to sympathize with them. I would love to see Picoult and Van Leer take this concept and apply it to classic literature or at least develop a leading couple with some more depth and a plot with higher stakes.
Did you get a chance to read it? What is your reaction? Leave a comment below with your thoughts and be sure to tag your copy of the book on instagram with #TWTBookshelf.
Live, Love, Learn,
Candice & The Write Teacher(s)
“But without a reader, a story is only half complete. It’s like blueprints that never get built; like a swimming pool without water. The foundation’s there, but it’s useless. Without a reader, the words just sit on the page, waiting to come alive in someone’s imagination.” – p. 38