The Fiction Conniption

This review can also be found on my blog: http://hdsreadingcorner.blogspot.comWhen I first saw this book pop up for pre-order in the Nook book store, I practically jumped up and down. A young adult novel by the woman who wrote Plain Truth, My Sister's Keeper, and Keeping Faith?! Hell yeah I want to read that! My name was on that pre-order list so fast I'm sure I had to be one of the first. But this has to be said - for Picoult fans - this is absolutely not the insightful, deep story telling that you can normally expect from Jodi. In fact, nothing at all in this story would remind you even a little bit of Ms. Picoult's writing. It pains me to say it, but I fear that her name was put on the cover so prominently so as to help her daughter's novel push through to the shelves easier. But I wasn't done yet - I decided that even though it wasn't truly a Picoult novel, I would still give it a fair shot. I'd give this one a weak 3 stars. Don't get me wrong, I adore young adult novels, and can get caught up in an angst ridden relationship just as easily as the next girl, but Delilah and Oliver's relationship just doesn't ring authentic at all in this story. After only a few short conversations that consist mainly of Oliver watching Delilah read the book - he declares himself completely and utterly in love with her and ready to be wed. And Delilah's fall for him seems just as compulsory and shallow. It seems she only falls in love with Oliver because they both grew up without a father. But even then, Oliver reveals that it was just how he was 'written' in the book, not truly his childhood that she had been relating to. The narrative alternates between Oliver, Delilah, and randomly - the fairy tale itself. I admit, about halfway through, I just starting skipping the parts that were supposed to be part of the fairy tale as they seemed to serve no actual purpose. It'd be one thing if they were being used as a device to let the reader get to know Oliver better - but Oliver spends the entire book complaining about how his 'character' in the fairy tale has absolutely nothing to do with the real him. I was really bummed that this story didn't pull me in as I had hoped, because the concept actually did seem incredibly interesting. It's that sort of story that could have been so amazing, but it read a little too forced and a lot too skin-deep and predictable.