Girls on the Line

by Jennie Liu

Sixteen-year-old Luli has just aged out of the orphanage where she grew up, and her childhood friend Yun helps her get a job at the factory where Yun works. Both girls enjoy the freedom of making their own decisions and earning their own money; until Yun gets pregnant by her boyfriend, who's rumored to be a human trafficker. China's restrictive family planning laws put Yun in a difficult position: she'll either have to have an expensive abortion or face crippling fines for having a child out of wedlock. When she disappears, it's up to Luli to track her down and find a way to help her.

• ISBN10: 1512459380
• ISBN13: 9781512459388
• Publish Date: 1 November 2018
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Out of Print: 19 August 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group
• Imprint: Carolrhoda Lab
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 232
• Language: English

Reviews

[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight

Girls on the Line provides a really gritty look inside the lives of two young Chinese women, one of whom is fresh out of the orphanage and navigating the world on her own for the first time, and one who has some experience on the outside but finds herself facing difficult choices. It's a really powerful story that touches on a lot of tough topics, especially for young women in China. Just to name a few, we have:

• •Pregnancy and the resulting decisions. When Yun finds herself pregnant in a country that's incredibly unsupportive of unwed pregnant women (sound familiar?), the choices she faces are all pretty much undesirable ones. Interestingly, the government in this case was all about abortion- they just didn't want to be the ones to pay for it. So when a girl like Yun, with no family, no money, no support needs to make these choices... well you can imagine the struggle.



• •Toxic relationships. Here's a shocker: Yun's boyfriend is actual garbage. And Yun... man, she is not at the point where she's ready to come to terms with it. It is a really honest look into abusive relationships- both from the angle of the person in the relationship, and from people who care about her on the outside.



• •Friendships, their evolution, and how to be in a good one. This was pretty much a huge plot point of the story, and I loved it. I don't want to get into it too much, because I want you to read about it for yourselves, but it really explores this female friendship, how it can be tested, to the point of potentially breaking, and how (and if) to rebuild. Powerful stuff that we don't see enough in fiction honestly.



• •Growing up. Luli's story is very much about finding her own agency. She's been an orphan, yes, but there was always someone acting as an advocate for her. First, the orphanage, and then even after, Yun. But what happens when Luli herself must rise up? It's an incredible look into coming of age, figuring out who you want to be.

The writing and dialogue felt a but simplistic at times, and that was probably my only real negative about the story. Oh, and do yourself a favor and read the author's note at the end. It explains so much about her inspiration for the story, and some of the facts.

Bottom Line: A very powerful and incredibly relevant story. One worth reading, no question.