Review: The Line by Teri Hall

I recently read The Line, by Teri Hall, for Around The World tours, which is the first in a new young adult futuristic series.

Summary: Young Rachel and her mother live near The Line, an invisible barrier that cannot be crossed. On the other side is Away, where it is said that strange people and animals live, ever since it was barricaded off many years ago by the government. No one is allowed to cross, they physically are unable to, and if they tried, they would get into huge trouble by the government who is now extremely controlling and manipulative. Rachel never concerns herself with Away much until one day she receives a strange recording from Away, a person, begging for help...

My Thoughts: I was pretty pumped to read this book. The concept sounded so intriguing, not necessarily original, but certainly not overdone. I thought the book was interesting, and I LIKED it, but I didn't love it. I enjoyed reading this story and discovering the mysteries surrounding Away and its inhabitants. It was an interesting change of pace, and quite different from my normal book choice, with a pretty cool idea.

On the other hand, I felt a slight disconnect from the characters, and I think that stems from the length of the novel, which was fairly short. I find myself repeating this quite often when reading YA: that I find the novel to be too short and not developed enough for my taste. Now, sometimes a short novel can be developed really strongly, but that's quite hard to accomplish. I thought the character that was developed the best was actually Ms. Moore, the mysterious old woman whose property Rachel and her mother lived on. I would have expected this to be Rachel. Sometimes, the dialogue was unrealistic as well. Anyways, I thought Ms. Moore was a great character and her story was a really interesting addition to this novel.

All in all, it was worth the read if you're looking for something different, particularly a futuristic read.

My Rating: 3/5 - "A Good Book"