The Line

Teri Hall

Publishing March 2010

220 pages

Rating: B+

Synopsis

An invisible, uncrossable physical barrier encloses the Unified States. The Line is the part of the border that lopped off part of the country, dooming the inhabitants to an unknown fate when the enemy used a banned weapon. It’s said that bizarre creatures and superhumans live on the other side, in Away. Nobody except tough old Ms. Moore would ever live next to the Line.

Nobody but Rachel and her mother, who went to live there after Rachel’s dad died in the last war. It’s a safe, quiet life. Until Rachel finds a mysterious recorded message that can only have come from Away. The voice is asking for help.

Who sent the message? Why is her mother so protective? And to what lengths is Rachel willing to go in order to do what she thinks is right?

My review

While reading The Line, I had no clue what to expect. I knew it would be different and maybe somewhat weird.

The beginning of the book was a little bit uninteresting and slow. It took me awhile to really get into it but when suddenly something exciting happened, I could not put the book down! It was full of action, twists, turns, romance, etc. The world and the way of the government in the book kept me interested and curious, dying to know what would happen to Rachel. It definitely reminds me of The Giver, although I enjoyed reading The Line more than The Giver.

Now we move on to Rachel. The story follows Rachel and her mother Vivian. I happen to really adore reading The Line from Rachel's perspective but the odd times where the book would be read in another character's perspective were different and enjoyable. It answered some of the questions I had about the book. One reason I do like Rachel is for the simple fact that she is strong and brave. Her determination throughout the book is fantastic. Most times, I find female characters to be weak, vulnerable and boring in books so it was nice to go through this marvelous journey with Rachel.

Throughout the book there were a lot of loose ends but they all got tied up near the end. I loved reading about all of the characters' background stories, especially Vivian and Ms. Moore's. They were interesting and were very crucial to the story's plot and ending. The end of the book was awesome and very surprising. I'm DYING for the sequel to this futuristic novel.

I fully recommend this book to all readers. It's captivating, passionately written, mysterious, romantic and suspenseful. Kudos to Teri Hall for a magnificent debut.

-Marisa