Title: The Line
Author: Teri Hall [Website] [Twitter]
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian
Publisher: Dial Books
Source: Purchased
Parental Warning: criminal activity, death

“They slunk out the door, Rachel staying as close to her mother a she could.  Once they were on the street, Vivian put her arm around Rachel and turned her toward the endor’s display window.  She watched the crowd in the window’s reflection, waiting for the right moment to move.  When it seemed as though everyone’s attention was fully on the Identification, Vivian hurried Rachel down the street.”

Summary (from the publisher):
Rachel lives with her mother on The Porperty.  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 dnagers there, she’s never really believed the stories.  Until the day she hears a recoreding 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?

Opinion:
The Line has all the hallmarks of great dystopian fare — oppressive government, a population that goes without many creature comforts, a far away unreachable place, and characters filled with motivation and longing for a better life.

What it doesn’t have is speed.  I totally trudged through the first three fourths of this book.

Don’t get me wrong.  In a dystopian story it’s important, no essential, to provide the reader with historical perspective.  It allows us to see how the population got where they are when we are clued into their lives.  But in the case of The Line there was so much focus on the past lives of the characters that their present is almost entirely pushed aside.  I understand that the reader needs that information, it definitely informs who the characters are how they navigate situations they’re put in.  But, for some reason it kind of falls flat for a good portion of the time.

That is until the end.  In about the last fourth of the book we finally start to see more present day machinations and thoughts to the future.  We finally got some action and movement in relation to the hallmark of any dystiopian, that being overcoming adverstity.  Without giving too much away, all I’ll say is that there are an interesting series of revelations and actions that culminate towards the end that will lead into the next book.

But back to historical perspective.  Where would I have liked to have seen a bit more background?  Anything that had to do with Away.  The characters, the culture, just about anything.  Again, we did get a bit of information towards the end of the book, and I suspect we’ll get even more in the second of the series, but it could have come much sooner for my liking.

So, what is the biggest strength of this book?  What might keep me on board for reading book two?  Two things, actually, family dynamics and the cliffhanger ending.

Hall has written the families of the story as showing great strength and endurance.  Whether living on The Property or perhaps as far as Away the threads between parents and children are tightly woven.  All have dealt with so much and through it all remained true to each other.  They protect themselves and those close to them, being sure to keep each others secrets thus avoiding further and more deeply torturous persecution.

I’d hesitate saying I loved this book, in fact I have to grudgingly admit I feel somewhat ambivalent about it.  However, given where The Line ended book two is not short on potential.  I’m certainly interested in seeing where the story progresses and will likely pick it up to give it a secnd chance.