The line by Teri Hall

Rachel and her mother have lived on the Property for as long as she can remember, and they have always lived in the shadow of the Line.  The Line is what keeps them safe from Away, the place that everyone is taught to fear, a place where monsters are said to roam.  Rachel can't help being curious about Away, she studies all the information she can find, and one day she even tries to cross the Line so she can see the Away for herself - but the Line is too strong for her to cross.  Her attempt brings her to the attention of Ms. Moore who owns the Property, and although she benefits from that attention, Rachel still knows that it is a punishment and that she has to be careful.  That knowledge is not enough to keep them all safe though, because Rachel and her mother are making some people suspicious, and when Rachel finds a corder with a message from Away her actions bring even more suspicion on them both.

The Line is deftly written with an interesting punchy style of writing that keeps the action fast paced and moving forward - sometimes leaving you to wonder when you last took a breath.  Unlike some dystopian novels written at the moment (as the big trend seems to be for dystopian novels at the moment), the Line is not bogged down with great amounts of description of the past and the present, the story is very much in the now which made it even more appealing as some of the books go on and on (and on and on and on and on).  Rachel is a strong lead character and has the faults and flaws you would expect of a teenager, and the cast built around her are also very real - with real secrets, real doubts, and other aspects that makes them very real for the reader.

In some respects the Line is a very lightly written story, taking only 219 pages to get the story across, but those 219 pages pack a huge punch and I am alreacy looking forward to reading the sequel Away to see what happens next.  A great read and one that should appeal to readers who like their dystopian novels to be well grounded and believable - especially in a near future rather than a distant future.

If you like this book then try:

• Away by Teri Hall
• The selection by Kiera Cass
• Ashfall by Mike Mullin
• Slated by Teri Terry
• Article 5 by Kristen Simmons
• Life as we knew it by Susan Beth Pfeffer
• Nest of lies by Heather McQuillan
• Outside by Shalini Boland
• The always war by Margaret Peterson Haddix
• Variant by Robison Wells
• Eve by Anna Carey

Reviewed by Brilla