Review: The Line
Posted in Books on 05/27/2010 12:05 am by JennIf you recall I was very fortunate to be the winner of a Dystopian prize pack from Presenting Lenore. I must admit I am quite the fan of dystopian fiction. I love that these alternate realities are ones that so closely reflect our own, thereby encouraging us to look at our modern society and see its flaws. The point is not to make the Reader depressed, (although sometimes that happens) but to serve as a warning. We should be able to ask questions and not be afraid to speak out. I remember reading Margaret Atwood’s A Handmaid’s Tale in high school and being so impacted by it, but I didn’t know that it belonged to this genre. We, as citizens in a free world with rights and freedoms, owe it to ourselves and future generations to speak up when we see injustice, vote for officials whose causes we believe in and demand to have a say in what happens to us. (All this coming from the girl who refuses to watch drama in film because if I wanted to be sad I’d watch the news).
Hall, Teri. The Line. Dial Books (an imprint of Penguin Books) (2010).

Rachel lives with her mother on The Property. The good thing about living there is that it’s far from the city where the oppressive government is most active. The bad thing, at least to most people, is that it’s close to the Line—an uncrossable section of the National Border Defense System, an invisible barrier that encloses the entire country.
She can see the Line from the greenhouse windows, but she is forbidden to go near it. Across the Line is Away, and though Rachel has heard many whispers about the dangers there, she’s never really believed the stories. Until the day she hears a recording that could only have come from across the Line.
It’s a voice asking for help.
Who sent the message? What is her mother hiding? And to what lengths will Rachel go in order to do what she thinks is right?
This was a very interesting book and I must admit, when I finished it I hopped on the web to see if there was a sequel out. I forgot that the books were all new releases and unless the author had 2 books written and published at once, I was out of luck. I found the character of Rachel very believable. She was inquisitive and a little sassy, which just goes to show that although the society has changed, there are characteristics that are distinctly human. Rachel’s mother works for the woman who owns the greenhouse and I felt that the boss’ character was really well written. It is difficult to tell if she is a “bad guy” and everyone seems to be hiding something. I also appreciated that the ending wasn’t all neat and tidy (possibly because there will be a sequel) because it further enforced the realness of the characters.
All in all this was a pretty good book and they are developing some teaching materials to accompany it which will be available on her website: www.terihall.com
I think that a lot of teens will be able to relate to the characters and see a lot of our society today in the novel, which will help them to draw parallels and provoke some discussion. I would Put it On Your TBR List.











