Read Between the Lines by Jo Knowles

I absolutely adored this book.  The characters, their stories, the settings…everything about this book was so well written and captivating, it made me want to read the entire book without taking a break (and with this one, that’s pretty much what I did.  Oops.).

There are ten chapters, each narrated by a different character, all living in the same town.  The stories in this book essentially take place over the course of a day (with a few exceptions, like the background story for the characters), and all of their stories are intertwined.  It reminds me a lot of those movies, such as Crash and 11:14, only in a young adult novel with a high school setting (and it’s infinitely better, by the way).  Although the stories are pretty short, (and I’m pretty sure each character could have their own book, because wow, these are some good stories), they are written in such a way that you can’t help but become attached to each character and wonder what’s next.  Every part of the story is important, especially the social interactions with the other characters, and after two or three stories, you can tell how well each character’s life is fitting in with the others.

The characters all live different lives, and each character has his or her own share of secrets.  From the popular girl who longs for more than just being part of meaningless conversation with her shallow friends, to the young man who secretly wishes his mother would come home so he and his father could stop missing her, to the cheerleader who has a boyfriend who is in love with another boy on the side, these stories are all completely different and gives a little insight into how different our lives really are.  I don’t want to go into detail about the characters or the stories in this book, because I believe that it’s something you really have to read for yourself to truly appreciate.

This book is a wonderful work of young adult fiction that will show you that no one’s life is perfect, and everyone has a side of them that no one else sees.  It is a fantastic read that will stick with you for a long time after you’ve read it, and it will make you really think about what other people are going through – things that you might not know, but are still happening anyway.

Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.