Girls on the Line

  • Interest Level: Grade 8 - Grade 12
  • Reading Level: Grade 6

A powerful, dual-narrative coming-of-age story set in 2009 China.

Luli has just turned sixteen and finally aged out of the orphanage where she’s spent the last eight years. Her friend Yun has promised to help her get work.

Yun loves the independence that her factory job brings her. For the first time in her life she has her own money and can get the things she wants: nice clothes, a cell phone . . . and Yong, her new boyfriend.

There are rumors about Yong, though. Some people say he’s a bride trafficker: romancing young women only to kidnap them and sell them off to bachelors in the countryside. Yun doesn’t believe it. But then she discovers she’s pregnant—the same day she gets fired from her job. If she can’t scrape together enough money to terminate the pregnancy, she’ll face a huge fine for having an unauthorized child.

Luli wants to help her friend, but she’s worried about what Yong might do . . . especially when Yun disappears.

“[E]xplores a moment of contemporary history and a culture that is underrepresented in YA realistic fiction.”—starred, School Library Journal

“Both poignant and agonizing, Girls on the Line is a must read.”—starred, Foreword Reviews

“An affecting and original thrill ride.” Kirkus Reviews

Format Your Price Add
978-1-7284-4597-7
$9.99
978-1-5415-3072-0
$23.99
Available at all major wholesalers and distributors. Save 25% off list price on hardcovers and ebooks when you buy direct! Digital purchases will be accessed on Lerner Digital Bookshelf. An account will be created for you after purchase.
Interest Level Grade 8 - Grade 12
Reading Level Grade 6
Genre Young Adult
Category Diverse Books: Feminism, Diverse Books: Mental Health & Neurodiversity, Diverse Books: Race & Ethnicity, Diverse Books: Social Justice, Diversity, SEL: A Self-Awareness, SEL: C Social Awareness, SEL: D Relationship Skills, SEL: E Responsible Decision-Making, Social Emotional Learning
Copyright 2018
Publisher Lerner Publishing Group
Imprint Carolrhoda Lab ®
Language English
Number of Pages 232
Publication Date 2018-11-01
Text Type Fiction
BISACS YAF046030, YAF058180, YAF024030
Dewey [Fic]
Dimensions 5.5 x 8.25
Lexile 720
Features Author/Illustrator biography, Author/Illustrator note, Awards, Reviewed, Starred Reviews, and Teaching Guides

Author: Jennie Liu

Jennie Liu is the daughter of Chinese immigrants. She has been fascinated by the attitudes, social policies, and changes in China each time she visits. Her young adult novels have won honors including a Freeman Book Award Honorable Mention and an In the Margins: Best Books for Teens award. She lives in North Carolina with her family.

Lerner eSource™ offers free digital teaching and learning resources, including Common Core State Standards (CCSS) teaching guides. These guides, created by classroom teachers, offer short lessons and writing exercises that give students specific instruction and practice using Common Core skills and strategies. Lerner eSource also provides additional resources including online activities, downloadable/printable graphic organizers, and additional educational materials that would also support Common Core instruction. Download, share, pin, print, and save as many of these free resources as you like!

Girls on the Line

A powerful, dual-narrative coming-of-age story set in 2009 China. Luli has just turned sixteen and finally aged out of the orphanage where she’s spent the last eight years. Her friend Yun has promised to help her get work. Yun loves the independence… View available downloads →

Awards

  • In the Margins Fiction Recommendation List, Winner, 2020
  • Freeman Book Award Honorable Mention, Commended, 2018

Reviews

Foreword Reviews

“Both poignant and agonizing, Girls on the Line is a must read.”—starred, Foreword Reviews

The Horn Book Magazine

“®eaders are given a perceptive, sobering glimpse into China’s oppressive economic bureaucracy.”—The Horn Book Magazine

Booklist

“[A] much-needed look at the people who produce the goods we rely on worldwide and the hardships they face. . . . Readers will learn much from this absorbing and realistic tale.”—Booklist

School Library Journal

“[E]xplores a moment of contemporary history and a culture that is underrepresented in YA realistic fiction. . . . Recommended purchase, especially for YA collections serving older teens or new adults.”—starred, School Library Journal

Kirkus Reviews

“An affecting and original thrill ride . . .”—Kirkus Reviews

Ingrid Palmer

“This story will pull on your heart in a hundred different ways. I found myself so worried for Yun and Luli, and the difficult choices they had to make in order to survive. It was beautiful to watch their friendship evolve, as each girl lost, and then found, her own strength, voice, and sense of self amid such challenging circumstances. An authentic, gripping read from beginning to end!”—Ingrid Palmer, author of All Out of Pretty

Joanne O'Sullivan

“A powerful view into the struggles faced by young women in a world that doesn’t value them—and where they must find strength within themselves and each other.”—Joanne O’Sullivan, author of Between Two Skies