OFF THE PAGE

Jodi Picoult is the author of 23 novels, including the #1 New York Times bestsellers Leaving Time, The Storyteller, Lone Wolf, Sing You Home, House Rules, Handle with Care, Change of Heart, Nineteen Minutes, and My Sister’s Keeper. She also cowrote the #1 New York Times bestseller Between the Lines, the companion to Off the Page, with her daughter, Samantha van Leer. Jodi lives in New Hampshire with her husband and three children.

Samantha van Leer is a sophomore at Vassar College majoring in psychology with a minor in human development. She cowrote the #1 New York Times bestseller Between the Lines, the companion novel to Off the Page, with her mother, Jodi Picoult.

Jodi and Samantha have four dogs: Alvin, Harvey, Dudley, and Oliver, for whom the prince in this story is named.

“Off the Page is just so sweet and magical. In high school, I would have given ANYTHING to crawl inside one of my favorite books to escape the real world. I wish!”—Sarah Dessen, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Saint Anything

“A fun, fairy-tale romance for teens who believe in happily ever after.”—School Library Journal

“Fairy-tale sweet.”—Kirkus Reviews

“A lovely fairy tale emphasizing the importance of family and creativity.”—Booklist

Cliques

1) Why do you think that people tend to be friends with others who are like them?

2) How are you and your friends similar to or different from each other?

Appearance

1) What is the significance of physical appearance in Delilah’s world versus the world of Oliver’s fairy tale?

2) What do the characters’ physical appearances reveal about them?

3) How does the author use changes in each character’s physical appearance to illustrate his or her development?

Acting

1) In your own life, what roles do you play, and how do they affect you?

Fate

1) What role does Fate play in the novel, for the characters in Oliver’s fairy tale and the characters in Delilah’s world?

2) What role do you believe Fate plays in your own life, and in the lives of those around you?

Love

1) What are some times when Delilah, Oliver, and Edgar question the true nature of love?

2) How would you answer their questions about what love is? How do you think each character would define love by the end of the novel? Do you agree with one of their definitions of love more than the others?

Family

1) Based on his interactions with other characters, who would Oliver consider to be his family?

2) How does your own definition of “family” compare to Oliver’s? What are the different shapes that a family might take?

3) Who are the people you consider to be your family, and why?

Disappointment

1) Why does Delilah feel disappointed even though her dreams have come true?

2) What is the difference between her expectations and the reality of having Oliver in her world?

3) Why does she remember the warning “Be careful what you wish for” (p. 64)?

Freedom

1) Does the fairy tale represent freedom and escape, or does it trap the characters inside it?

2) Do you think Oliver, Edgar, and Delilah find the freedom they are searching for?

Reader

1) What do the novel’s authors believe about the reader’s participation in creating and shaping a story? What elements of the text reveal the authors’ beliefs?

2) What is the relationship between an author, the characters, and the reader?

3) What is the role of imagination in storytelling?