I love the concept of the story and the story building of the book world, but that's really about it. I guess I had high expectations because I have read many of Picoult's stories before, but this book doesn't read like a Picoult. I'm not sure if it is because she's never written YA before, or a fantasy, or (perhaps even more likely) it is because she mostly allowed her daughter to take the lead in the writing, but it all falls flat. You can tell that a high schooler wrote it and she's making up a world instead of trying to capture the one she lives in, so it feels fake. The love story was disappointing - clearly their attraction to each other was because they were "different" than anyone else they've met and, okay, they both lost their father, but there's nothing solid they can hang onto after that. That's a real lost opportunity here, since the focus of the WHOLE story was how to get Oliver out of the book instead of developing their relationship along the way.

Others have commented that this book doesn't read like YA and I agree - definitely more middle school, with the fluffy story line and illustrations. For a first time writer and a high schooler, I could be more forgiving, but due to the fact that it holds Picoult's name on the cover, I feel betrayed. The sad part is - I would had picked up this book without the Picoult connection and probably would had lowered my expectations and enjoyed this story more.