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Off Book

Jessica Dall (Goodreads Author)

3.76 · Rating details · 21 ratings · 13 reviews

Twenty-year-old Eloise has learned all she can from the School, where characters live until joining their novels. No one knows genre and plot structure better than her, but despite her knowledge, she’s yet to be assigned to her own story. All her friends are off starting their lives with their authors—and if Eloise doesn’t get assigned soon, she’ll fade away, forgotten by ...more

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Published by REUTS Publications, LLC. (first published April 28th 2015)

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Average rating 3.76 ·

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· 21 ratings · 13 reviews

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Feb 27, 2015 Neil Cochrane rated it it was amazing

Shelves: santa-i-know-them

I had the pleasure of being the editor for OFF BOOK, and I have to say that this is one of my favorite projects to have ever worked on. OFF BOOK is a clever and inventive literary adventure that takes our favorite conventions and writing strategies and looks at them from the other side. One of my favorite pieces of advice is that as writers, it's our job to cause problems for our characters, and it's for our characters to solve those problems. Well, here we have exactly that, in a way that reall ...more

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May 08, 2015 Lauren rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: writers, English teachers, English majors

Recommended to Lauren by: Nicole Tone

This is going to be one of those books that sticks with me. Off Book boasts a unique storyline, fluid writing, and a concept unlike anything I've encountered in book form before. It's like Toy Story, but with book characters. I guarantee that no matter what book I read, Off Book will pop into my head, considering what the characters' lives will look like once they are no longer in-story. Very creative, and I think it is especially enjoyable for writers and English teachers, given all the literar ...more

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Apr 05, 2015 Jess rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own-kindle-copy, from-publisher

Visit my stop on the blog tour here

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to REUTS Publications and Jessica Dall*

Twenty-year-old Eloise lives at the School where characters are trained. Waiting to be assigned to a story, Eloise worries that she’ll never leave.

Then Eloise is offered a job at the Recording Office and she jumps at the chance. Her work colleagues are post-storied so Eloise pretends that she is too. She strikes up a relationship with Barnaby Fitzwill ...more

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Apr 09, 2015 Nicole Tone rated it really liked it

The premise of OFF BOOK drew me in immediately. Full disclosure: I’ve never read meta anything before, but I’m dying to read more like this. Eloise, the main character, was someone I instantly connected with: she’s smart, but doesn’t fit in. She’s watching all of her friends go off and become part of stories while she has to sit back and wait for something to happen—or fade away. Luckily, she’s given a job where she meets the handsome, former romance main character Barnaby.

While the romance didn ...more

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May 12, 2015 Andy Peloquin rated it really liked it

First off, I have to say that I loved the concept. It's unique and gives an interesting look at the world of writing--both from the perspective of the characters and that of being a writer.
The intro was pretty solid, but it lost my interest after a few chapters. It takes a bit to understand what the characters are talking about, but once you get it, the book makes a lot more sense.
The character of Eloise is solid, though perhaps a bit two-dimensional. There's no real character growth in the stor ...more

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Apr 10, 2015 Candice rated it really liked it

Shelves: arcs-and-earcs, own

** I received an eARC of "Off Book" from REUTS Publications, in exchange for my honest review **

Off Book is so unique. It gave me answers to things I’ve always pondered: what are the lives of book character’s like, before they’re in the books? Thanks to the amazing author, Jessica Dall, I finally know.

Off Book is intensely imaginative, and well thought out. The characters are interesting, and vastly diverse. To see the lives of the book characters before, during, and after being in their books ...more

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Apr 30, 2015 Carolyn Dall rated it it was amazing

What a fun book to read! It was a wild ride from the start with the most intriguing idea- that characters are in another realm waiting to be assigned to a book and appear as a Main Characters, minor characters or several other designations, but have an entire life "off book" first. When the main character of this book gets sucked into a story in which she does not belong it becomes the wildest read ever! Not like anything I've ever read before but includes poking fun at all the book types out th ...more

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Feb 22, 2021 LissyIszy rated it liked it

I loved the concept of the story, it's what drew me to want to read the story in the first place. I've not read many stories about characters waiting to have a story of their own and the idea of it intrigued me. I wanted to see and explore what the author had in mind for the characters.

The characters didn't quite hit me in the right places emotionally. I felt impartial to most of the characters. I suppose Barnaby is the one who I found most compelling because of his drive to help Eloise get out I loved the concept of the story, it's what drew me to want to read the story in the first place. I've not read many stories about characters waiting to have a story of their own and the idea of it intrigued me. I wanted to see and explore what the author had in mind for the characters.

The characters didn't quite hit me in the right places emotionally. I felt impartial to most of the characters. I suppose Barnaby is the one who I found most compelling because of his drive to help Eloise get out but I felt indifferent to Eloise. I could sort of sympathize with her and her situation but I felt that there wasn't enough at stake for me to care about any of the characters. I did like Alice though but she was a minor character.

I do think it's a unique read but I felt like it didn't quite live up to the expectations I had for it. The world building seemed incomplete and lacked in details. I couldn't imagine the world as vividly as I would have liked because it didn't allow me to fully immerse in the story. We don't get to see how or why people get chosen for the stories. We do sort of see it at the end but it wasn't satisfying enough for me.

The writing read as simplistic and I found I skimmed through the text as I read. I felt the writing needed more editing because I didn't feel like all the words used were significant to the story. Some of the dialogue seemed pointless and it lacked in descriptions. I wanted to know more about the world, the different departments and the people who ran it.

Another issue I noticed but may be fixed in future editions is the interior formatting in my .ePub file. There were breaks mid-sentence which sort of bothered me as I read but wasn't a huge deal since I already was skimming the text. As a note, this may bother other future readers.

Overall, I think it's a fascinating concept but the execution seemed lacking to me but it may be different for others. If you like an "out-of-the-box" quick read then you might be interested in picking this story up.

3 out of 5 rating for me!

(A copy was provided for an honest review. I was not compensated in any other way.)
...more

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Nov 14, 2016 Kathleen rated it liked it

The premise of this story was unique and intriguing, I mean I've never thought of the characters in books having lives outside their stories! The world was very cool! To travel from the set of one book to another was super fun, certainly never something I have thought of. The writing is solid. The characters left me wanting more, I just didn't feel like I was really in their heads. The romance was lacking a bit for me, though romance isn't my thing.
Overall it's a fun, fast read. ...more

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Jul 09, 2015 Reads A-Lot rated it liked it

When you read a book, your main focus is typically on the story with the characters being pieces in this grand plot puzzle. Just like when watching a movie, you never think about the life that goes on behind the scenes with the actors, directors, casting crew, and all. Well, this book does!

Eloise is a fictional character (actor) awaiting her casting call in a story. While others are getting cast as wizards, spies, nymphs, vampires, Martians, cowboys, and whatnots in all sorts of novels, Eloise c When you read a book, your main focus is typically on the story with the characters being pieces in this grand plot puzzle. Just like when watching a movie, you never think about the life that goes on behind the scenes with the actors, directors, casting crew, and all. Well, this book does!

Eloise is a fictional character (actor) awaiting her casting call in a story. While others are getting cast as wizards, spies, nymphs, vampires, Martians, cowboys, and whatnots in all sorts of novels, Eloise continually sits on the sidelines, taking useless classes on character development and generally what authors (directors) are looking for, feeling more and more discouraged. At her age, the chances of getting cast are only getting slimmer. If she doesn't get called soon, she will be a teacher ("Those who can't do, teach!") and fade away, forgotten.

I was intrigued by this unconventional story. It's a behind-the-manuscript documentation, detailing the tasks and efforts in the making of a novel. I liked it!

Right off the bat, you root for Eloise and hope she gets a part. Then she does get a part--a part as a recorder, a part of the stage crew. "Now she wasn’t teaching people who were going to go off and have lives. She was watching people who already had lives in progress." (22) Kind of a bummer, especially knowing that most of your co-workers are "post-stories" (people that have been in stories and are now working behind-the-scenes.) Of course, one of which is a former and starred in an erotic romance novel. Nice! Barnaby is a charismatic British stallion that sees something in Eloise, who flushes whenever he's around.

"We are all tools authors use to perfect their art. They make us wait around for months, years, picking us up, killing us off all for the purpose of getting their story told. And we have to put up with it because our entire existence is based on them giving us a story. We have no free will. Either you give yourself over and let those people do whatever the hell they want to do to you, or you’re stuck in that damn School left to fade away. If they want to break us, bash our heads in, slowly flay us alive, we just have to take it. It’s like .. . I don’t know. Mind rape. Life rape.” (34)

But Eloise didn't want to be "just another character sacrificed in the name of the plot." (53) Then, suddenly, she accidentally finds herself in a story--a strange, medieval-fantasy hybrid story. At this point, we cross back and forth between the story and the story within the story, all spliced with dialogue and a fleeting narrative.

Frankly, I wasn't so interested in the story Eloise found herself in. It sounded like she was in a world where King Arthur meets Robin Hood or Harry Potter or something. Regardless, I did want to know how it would turn out for her. Could she be trapped? And would it be the absolute worst thing if she were to stay? Did she break some sort of cosmic rule by falling into a story? I actually thought that Eloise was going to take initiative and write her own story.

It's funny because Eloise being trapped in the story made me think of those Bugs Bunny episodes, ones that had him arguing with the cartoonist over silly things like forgetting to draw his ears. In this case, Eloise would converse with the author, pleading for assistance. I thought that was kind of weird and the interplay would be confusing at times.

I was more fascinated by the concept and how it all began rather than the quandary, which is where the story started losing me. From that point on, I was mainly just muddling through it. And even though I didn't really know how Eloise ended up where she did or why Barnaby needed to go through the endless tedium of going through proper channels and procedures, I still kind of wondered how this would end. ...more

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Jun 08, 2015 Nick Rossi rated it really liked it

First and foremost, I must concede that Jessica Dall’s “Off Book” is one of the most original and extraordinary narratives I have read in quite some time. Everything about the novel is so new and vivid that it’s fairly difficult for me to highlight what I liked best about it because it was sincerely all so special.

The story itself is a clever twist and commentary on the meaning of life and defining what one’s true purpose really is. Guised under the genre of sci fi/new adult/fantasy, the work it ...more

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Feb 03, 2016 S.M. Nystoriak rated it it was amazing

Quirky, off-beat, but quite charming, I really liked the unique premise of OFF BOOK. Many of us (I expect) have wondered what it would be like to exist in a story, or what characters lives might be like after the novel is over. But author Jessica Dall goes one step further here, and presents the reader with a world of characters before they are written into novels. This existence poses many questions to those who are unwritten. For example, when they finally get chosen, would their existence spa ...more

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Jan 13, 2015 Alexandra rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2015, favorites

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I was surprised by this book! I've never read anything like this before and I am sure that any author out there will never think of his or her characters the same way ever again!
The story of Eloise takes place into a somewhat parallel universe, where all pre-storied characters await thei 'call' from the authors' imagination. Then they are assigned into a story until its end, so they later return back home.

If they are not kill ...more

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About Jessica Dall

Jessica Dall

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Jessica Dall finished her first novel at age 15 and been writing ever since. She is the author of such novels as Raining Embers and The Stars of Heaven and a number of short stories which have appeared in both literary magazines and anthologies. When not writing, she works as a editor in the Washington, DC metro area.