The Versatile Blogger Award

I won it twice over the weekend, once over at Friendly Reader Oh Yeah and another time at Book Noise. Yay! Right, so here's how it works. First you thank

the person (or in my case, people) who gave it to you, then list seven things about yourself, and then pass it on to some other bloggers!

1) I'm a shy, introverted person although a lot of people wouldn't know it. I tend to be a lot more outgoing on the Internet, especially when I chat with people, because it's easier for me to interact that way when it's not face-to-face and you can always claim "afk" if things get too awkward. At my new school, I forced myself to stop being so shy and so that's how I've been making friends. They all think I'm always outgoing and excitable and somewhat insane even though social situations still make me nervous.

2) I love math. I have yet to meet a person who loves both math and writing to the same extents I do, but I hope to, someday. My school (a public magnet) has an amazing math team, and there's no other way I'd like to spend my Saturdays.

3) You know those stories I tell on my blog? Like the elevator one, or the story about archery? I actually have a whole repertoire of those that I tell my friends. Most of them are a lot funnier when I can actually say them face-to-face rather than through text on a screen.

4) I have no fashion sense whatsoever. Until the end of last year, I didn't see what was wrong with always wearing sweatshirts and sweatpants to school. Except now of course, that previous wardrobe seems completely hideous to me and I'm trying to slowly change it into something better.

5) I'm half white and half Asian, but culturally wise I'm more Asian (if that makes any sense at all). Most of my friends are Asian, actually, although that's probably more because of the nature of my school than anything else. I LOVE HEAF, but I do wish fewer of those actually applied to me.

6) I space a lot. I once had a class where I remembered walking in, walking out, and nothing in between.

7) I love laughing. I can laugh at anything. When something bad happens (like, for example, finding out that in a group project, the guy who was supposed to hand in the thing forgot to bring it), after that moment where everyone's silent, I usually burst out laughing. Every dirty look I've gotten in my life has come from that sort of situation.

And now, to pass on the award!

The Writer's Hole
One Book Shy of a Full Shelf

The Line: Review (and a blog award!)

The spectacular Elle from Media Molly gave me this award for Lovely Blog! My first blog award, ever. So exciting :) I believe I'm supposed to pass on the award, so I'll give it to two of my favorite blogs - Creepy Query Girl and Badass Bookie. Go visit and follow them if you aren't already!

Now, onto the book-butchering! I mean, book-reviewing. Heh... heh... *shifty eyes*

Synopsis: 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 mos ...more 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? 


Details: The Line by Teri Hall, 219 pages, 3.46 stars on Goodreads


My Thoughts: I wasn't as satisfied with this book as I thought it was. To be fair, I read this after about six hundred other dystopians, so I was getting a little sick of the genre (or sub-genre? what's it called?) anyway. As in, I had to go on a huge contemporary binge after finishing this book. So I'm going to start with all the things I liked about the book.


The style. The style was a big, big plus. It had this whole fairy-tale thing going on, with the third person and sort of distant narration. At that same time, it was a little creepy, too, like how you knew from the very beginning that this wasn't going to be a happy-sappy fairy tale. Although, come to think of it, most fairy tales are creepy. Anyway.


The characters were also spectacular. Each one was deep and had a lot of layers, especially Ms. Moore - she was by far my favorite character. The Line is the first book in a series, so I expect there will be a lot of character growth from Rachel, and that will be interesting to see.


For the things I didn't like, world building is probably the first one on the list. I personally didn't find the concept to be very original or shocking or thought-provoking. Basically, the government really sucks. And they made a line. And there are people trapped on the other side of the line. And Rachel decides to cross the line. (These aren't spoilers, by the way, don't worry!) What I really didn't like was that all this information was dumped on us through numerous pop quizzes. There has to be a better way the author could have conveyed what happened.


I didn't like the ending so much, either. I mean, the cliffhanger was okay, but this book was really short, so I don't see why, for example, the second and first book could be combined. Or even the third with the second with the first. The ending of The Line felt unnatural - the beginning was a little slow and there was a lot of building up, and just when something exciting finally happens, it ends.


All in all, this was an enjoyable read and definitely worth it if you're a huge fan of dystopians. If you're not into them so much - well, I wouldn't keep it at the top of the TBR list. 3 smilies out of 5.