Homies (WA author):The Line by Teri Hall is only the begining

The Line is a small section of the National Border Defense System set up by the government to protect from outside invaders. At least that’s what they are being told. The National Border Defense System is an impenetrable invisible border surrounding the country. Rachel and her mother live and work on the Property which is far out in the woods near the Line. Stories abound about what exists on the other side of the Line and most of them are scary enough to keep people away. Things get strange for Rachel when a recorder with a message floats into her possession. The broken message is asking for help. Rachel must sort out the fact and fiction to find out what’s really going on with the Line.

Fantastic set-up for the series. The book introduces us to Rachel, her mother Vivian, and the woman they live with and work for Ms. Moore. You have to keep in mind that this is only part one of a series and take it like any other first. Rachel’s struggle with the idealized version of childhood and her growing awareness of the real world makes her question what she has been told. She really wants to do what’s right but has to sort through a lot to find it. This is a big part of growing up and is the fun part of watching (reading about) this age group. The tension builds slowly throughout the book as you move alongside Rachel as she begins to piece together the storyline of her life and how they arrived where they are. There are a lot of secrets that don’t begin to be answered until well into the book and so you keep reading to find out more. The suspense builds and builds and then…you reach the end of the book. I even had a moment where I had thought the pages had stuck together and I actually wish they had. When I got to the end, I wasn’t finished. I wanted more and there wasn’t any. The best part is that I know it’s coming. If the books that follow are better than the first, this is going to be a fantastic series and very intense. According to the website http://www.terihall.com the sequel Away should be released in 2011. I can only hope I get a hold of an advance reader copy of that.