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
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, and Starred Reviews

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

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

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