Twenty-two -year-old Naya has spent
nearly half her life as a sex slave in a government institution called The
Line. When she’s kicked out after getting pregnant with twins, she’s got no way
to earn a living and a horrifying choice to make: find someone to replace her,
or have her babies taken in her stead.
A doctor with a history of aiding
ex-Line girls, Ric Bennett, wants to help. He runs a team of rebels that can
delete Naya’s records and free her forever. But when The Line sniffs out his
plan, things get bloody, fast. Naya means more to them than just a chance at
fresh faces—her twins are part of the government’s larger plan.
As they hide from government search
parties, Ric comes to admire Naya’s quiet strength. And Naya realizes Ric might
be a man she can trust. If they make it off the grid, they could build a new
life. But first they’ll have to survive the long, vicious reach of The Line.
I
am usually not a huge fan of dystopian story themes, but this one grabbed my
attention on page one and I couldn’t stop reading till I was finished. It
was packed with suspense, intrigue, fear and story lines that aren’t common in
the books I normally read. The author also did a wonderful job with her
scene descriptions. When describing how the city smelt and looked, I felt
I was there. She kept a great balance when she described the characters
too. She let us picture the person not only by the brief description but also
by the body language and tone of voice they were using so I could make my own
assumptions as to how they were going to fit into the story and the life of the
main character later on down the road.
As
I stated this grabbed me on page one with Naya waking up after a rough session
with Lover Boy. She was physically battered and bruised and emotionally
void. She had been with the Line for nine of her ten year contract. Being
on the Line means she was a sex slave for human traffickers. She never
had a say in who used her or what they did to her. Once you are released
or in their words retired, no one knew what that meant, but for some it means
you are put on the street to survive with no life skills. People look down on
you and won’t even allow you in their business or homes so you more than likely
would have to lie about your past. She never really understood how
she got there or what happens to her after her ten years is up, she just takes
one day at a time. When she was sent to the infirmary after the first
gathering of the day she was surprised to learn that she was being transferred
over to the manager’s office for a talk.
It
was during this meeting she learned some shocking information that sent her in
a tail spin. Not only was the news shocking, she was free to leave the
Line but with a few requirements. In order for her to be rid of the
tracking device they had implanted in her and to not lose any more than she
already had, she needed to find a young woman to replace her on the Line.
In others words she was going to have to sacrifice another woman in order to
obtain her pure freedom. Life out on the street was hard with garbage
piling up everywhere, no jobs were to be had, and no places to rent and
everything were purchased by credits. With no life experiences outside of
the Line, she was lucky she had learned to read a few words to survive.
Times were hard in the Central and everyone did whatever they had to just to
survive one more day.
She
finally meets some people who are willing to help her and I won’t go into the
details of what they were saving her from or what they did as that would give
away the most exciting part of the book. Just know that the suspense and
emotions in the last 2/3 of the book had me addicted and I had to finish it
before I could sleep. I loved how the author used the feelings and
memories of Naya’s parents and sister to help keep her grounded and remind us
readers that even though she was a strong woman, there was that shattered weak
girl still resting inside of her soul. This is an example of how I was
saying the author did a brilliant job at keeping her characters balanced
throughout the whole story.
We
meet some women in a boarding house that will shock you and make your heart
break for them and one little girl that left me in tears as she told her
story. I can hardly wait for the next book to come out so I can see what
the next step in this journey will be. Even if you are not a fan of this
genre like I am, but you do love dark and twisted stories I would highly
recommend this book. The way the author paints a picture for you page by
page is worth the time in reading her book.
Anne Tibbets is an SCBWI
award-winning and Smashwords.com Best Selling author.
After writing for Children’s television, Anne found her way to young/new
adult fiction by following what she loves: books, strong female
characters, twisted family dynamics, magic, sword fights, quick moving
plots, and ferocious and cuddly animals.
Along with CARRIER, Anne is also the author of the young adult fantasy novella, THE BEAST CALL and the young adult contemporary, SHUT UP.
Anne divides her time between writing, her family, and three furry creatures that she secretly believes are plotting her assassination.
Find her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AnneTibbetsAuthor or on Twitter @WriteforCoffee. To contact Anne, visit www.annetibbets.com and click the ‘CONTACT’ tab.
Along with CARRIER, Anne is also the author of the young adult fantasy novella, THE BEAST CALL and the young adult contemporary, SHUT UP.
Anne divides her time between writing, her family, and three furry creatures that she secretly believes are plotting her assassination.
Find her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AnneTibbetsAuthor or on Twitter @WriteforCoffee. To contact Anne, visit www.annetibbets.com and click the ‘CONTACT’ tab.
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I love dystopian so this one caught my eye right away. I love how character driven it is and it sounds like it has a lot of depth and emotional value as well! Great review! :)
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