Book Review: Off the Page

Off the Page was a dream come true. 

The companion novel to Between the Lines, which I also have a review of, takes place about a month after the first book. The story focuses on three main characters: Delilah, Edgar, and Oliver. In  Between the Lines, Delilah is able to take Oliver, who used to live in a book, out of the pages and replace him with Edgar. Soon into the story, the characters realize that their plan wasn't fool proof and things start to go awry.

In comparison to the first book, Off the Page had much stronger characters. I related and sympathized more with all of them, especially Edgar. I actually didn't like Edgar in the first book and he became one of my favorite characters in this novel. As a reader, we also see more of Delilah's world now that she isn't obsessing over the children's book anymore. It was really fun to see and experince high school with her. There were some great scenes were Oliver tried to fit in with high
school and I laughed out loud a couple of times. Delilah and Oliver grew so much as a couple in this novel, and I'm much more assured in their relationship than I was before. We also see more of some characters, particularly Delilah's best friend, Jules, and Seraphima. All the scenes with Jules in them were hilarious and I loved her character. As for Seraphima, I wasn't as annoyed with her as I was in the first book, but after awhile I couldn't handle her. Delilah grates on my nerves sometimes just because she doesn't really think of others that often, but I still liked reading from her point of view. She's a classic outcast high school girl. Oliver is by far, still my favorite out of all the characters in both of the books.

The alternate cover

Off the Page itself just shows more into both of the worlds. We get to see more about the characters and what life is like in the storybook, while we also see more of Delilah's world. Edgar's chapters where it was his point of view were really eye opening into what the differences were between our world and theirs, and I found it really cool to learn more about it. Throughout the story, we also learn more about the magic of the book. My complaint about the world building  is that the magic is never really explained as to why the book is that way, it's just given to us and we're supposed to roll with it. As for any of my other complaints, I liked the ending, but I feel as if two characters (Edgar and Jules) didn't get the happy ending they deserved. The first book's message was that everyone deserved a happy ending, so to see not all the characters get one was sad, but realistic. Unfortunately, I don't see a third book happening just because of the two characters and I don't think there would be a lot of material to even write about.

All in all, Off the Page was an endearing read and satisfying conclusion. I would recommend to read Between the Lines before you pick up this one, just because I think you'll appreciate the story and characters more. For me, there was just something missing in the book. While I really enjoyed it, I didn't love it like I did Between the Lines. 

With that, I give this book

4.2 out of 5 Stars!

TBR for July 2015

This month of July is going to be busy for me! I have my birthday coming up soon, and marching band camp starts later in the month. However, I am going to try to read at least ten books this month.

As of right now I'm reading two books, Off the Page by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer and The Journey of the Marked by Rebecca P. McCray. I'm about have way done with the former and just started The Journey of the Marked. Hopefully I'll finish these two in the next couple days. Off the Page is about a girl, Delilah, and her relationship with Oliver, a character who used to live in a book. The Journey of the Marked is a story that follows several characters who a marked to be warriors. These warriors are hunted down by the imposed government.

After those two, I will probably be reading Fairest by Marissa Meyer, which is book 3.5 in the Lunar Chronicles. It's a pretty short read, and I'm looking forward to learning more about Queen Levana's backstory. I'm also itching to pick up Angelfall, the initial book in the Penryn & the End of Days trilogy. Angelfall follows our main character, Penryn as she tries to find her sister after she has been taken by angels that have come to the earth and caused an apocalypse about a month before.

I'm also looking forward to reading A Court of Thorns and Roses, the much hyped up first book in Sarah J. Maas' latest series. My friend recently read this book and loved it, so I'm eager to pick it up. After that, I'm not too sure. I might pick up Miss Mayhem by Rachel Hawkins, which is the sequel to Rebel Belle. After those, I don't really know what I'll pick up! I'll just see what happens. What are you reading this month? Comment down below!