Gefangen zwischen den Zeilen: Simas Fluch [Literally: Caught Between the Lines: Sima’s Curse] is the first novel by June Is. It has not been translated into English (yet).
Finished on: 21.3.2024

Plot:
In Valaebal, books are literally accessible, making it possible for you to enter and experience the stories they tell. When dragon rider Aislyn wants to find out more about the customary greeting among riders that references Sima’s Curse, she wants to find out more. But her research at the library brings her into a forbidden section – and then she is caught in a book designed to be a prison. The only way out is through, but the book is not without its dangers.

Gefangen zwischen den Zeilen has an interesting idea at its core but I am not sure it could always explain that idea so clearly. Other than that, though, I enjoyed reading it, without completely falling in love with it.

I think the idea of literally entering into a book world will speak to any reader, and making it the standard way of reading in Aislyn’s world (and not something only a certain group of people can do) is an interesting set-up, and I thought that its weaponization in the form of making books into prisons was also intriguing. That being said, I can’t say that I really understood how it all worked. I am not talking about how a physical body could be “dissolved” into a book, I mean, there is magic involved, it just is. But it kind of works like a computer game once you’re inside, but then it’s also nothing like a computer game, and I was a little confused about how I was meant to picture it and what the rules are. (From the author’s note explaining this was some of the most challenging work on the novel, and I have the sneaking suspicion that it was so difficult because maybe Is isn’t all that clear about the rules either, but that is only a hunch that I can’t really argue for.)

So, it’s definitely an interesting, albeit confusing world, and I did like the characters as well. The plot is maybe not the most exciting thing, especially as it sometimes also got muddled by my confusion about the book world. But it makes sense for the most part, and with nice characters, queer rep and good pacing, it doesn’t need the strongest plot to be a good read.

Gefangen zwischen den Zeilen is probably the first novel in a series, although a second novel doesn’t exist yet as far as I know. So, if you decide to read it, be prepared for an ending that isn’t really an ending. I will probably check out a sequel, should it come, but I think it is in the realm of possibility that I will forget to check whether it is here already.

Summarizing: interesting but notably a first novel.