Girls on the Line

by Jennie Liu

A teen pregnancy puts two orphan girls in contemporary China on a collision course with factory bosses, family planning regulators, and a bride trafficker.

Genres: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Contemporary, Fiction, China, Asian Literature, Historical Fiction

232 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2020

About the author

Jennie Liu is the daughter of Chinese immigrants. Having been brought up with an ear to two cultures, she has been fascinated with the attitudes, social policies and changes in China each times she visits. Follow her on Twitter @starnesliu and IG @jennieliuliu.

Reviews

[Shannon Miz · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Patty Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many thanks to Netgalley, Carolrodha and Jennie Liu for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advanced copy.

Luli has turned 16 and is turned out from the orphanage where she spent most of her life. She is off to the big city to meet up with her friend, Yun, who left the year before. Yun has a factory job and has promised to help Luli find a job and get settled. Although it is backbreaking work, it is better than staying to work at the orphanage looking after the babies. Luli can see how much Yun has changed in the one year since she left the orphanage. She has a stylish haircut, new clothes, disposable cash and a boyfriend. Luli learns that Yun’s boyfriend is bad news. He might be involved in trafficking women. Luli tried to warn her friend, but Yun doesn’t believe it. Soon Yun finds herself pregnant, alone and discovers that what people have been saying about her boyfriend is true. But she needs him to help pay for the abortion. The one child policy and the fact that she is unmarried, will make it impossible for her to keep the baby. At 16, she doesn’t want the responsibility. She is only just starting her life. Luli want to help her friend but how can she support her terminating the pregnancy or even worse, having the baby and giving it to the orphanage. The book explores the topics of family, friendship, coming of age, love, unwanted pregnancy and the One Child Policy in China through though the lives of these tow young girls as they navigate life on their own.

I have mixed feelings towards this novel. I thought that it did an amazing job of illustrating how difficult life can be in China. Being an orphan is tough. Having to support yourself at 16 is even harder. Getting pregnant at 16, with no family and having to make very tough decisions seems almost impossible. But when you explore these issues through the lens of another culture it really is eye opening. I had heard about the One Child policy, but I never considered what that entailed. I was very aware of the fact that girls were being abandoned, or worse killed, in order to have the “preferred” sons. I was also aware that it created a gender imbalance that has had huge ramifications for that society. I did not realize that if you did have a secret second baby they would not be considered a citizen and therefore wouldn’t be able to go to school or find a job. I was mildly aware of the deplorable conditions in the orphanages, but Liu brings to light so many issues that I hadn’t considered. She also did a great job of examining difficult issues through the lens of another culture. There were so many things in the story that made me feel if you were unlucky enough to be a pregnant orphan at 16, you were still way better off to be in North America. The. backbreaking work in the factory, being fined for having a baby that would take you most of your life to pay back, the prejudices against anyone outside of the norm makes for a very oppressive life.

There were a few things that didn’t work for me. One was the alternating chapters between Yun and Luli. This didn’t work for me at all. I find it disrupted the story and the transitions were awkward, even jarring, at times. The biggest downside for me was the language. I’m not sure why but the best way I can explain it is that it seemed too simplistic. It almost felt like a translation. I don’t think it did the story any justice. It kept bothering me as I was reading and it took me out of the story. I’m not referring to the dialogue between characters. However, the structure was sound and the events flowed nicely. Overall, I think this was an important story to tell and I would recommend it to others.

[Katy O. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating YA story re: human trafficking, pregnancy and factory life in China in 2009, as tied to the One Child Policy. Unique to me in this area because it doesn't involve sex trafficking, which many fictional stories about this topic revolve around, and also because it's set in China vs. India or Pakistan. Highly recommend.

[Alicia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Liu's topic is one that is riveting yet the density of the writing makes it harder to read than I would have liked. The choice to have dual narrators does help move the story along and the perspectives help provide an understanding of the devastation that the one child policy had in addition to the cultural stigma of females and those children who were disabled had. The book also showcases the horrific working conditions, especially of these young girls abandoned and raised in orphanages if not captured and sold to the countryside as brides. These factories are soulless.

Again, while the topics are important, I wanted a thriftier plot that allowed readers to feel rather than hear about everything that was happening to the girls and how easily they fall prey.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jennie Liu certainly jumped in with both feet with her debut Girls on the Line, a tense and emotionally evocative novel about a two factory workers in a small Chinese city struggling against vast bureaucratic and criminal forces.

This is a surprisingly fast-paced tale, starting on day one of Luli's job at a factory the produces charger cables. Luli is an orphan joining her friend Yun, who secured her a place, but who doesn't actually seem to have time to help her learn the ropes. Yun is more interested in her boyfriend, who may or may not be a human trafficker, a man who steals "brides" from the city to deliver to men in the country. Is Yun actually his girlfriend? Or is she about to be another victim?

Yun disappears, but this isn't a detective story. The book is written in alternating perspectives, so we always know where Yun is and what she's up to. It's not a problem, but the dust jacket blurb is a little misleading. Luli does still go to titanic lengths to reunite with her, but it's not so simple as rescue or derring-do. It's a much more complex tale of the ways in which we negotiate the burdens, joys, and very definitions of family.

It's also, almost necessarily, an utterly heartbreaking look at the intersection between policy and poverty. Most people know about China's one-child limit, but the reality is far more complicated, as Girls on the Line explores. Fees to have a baby in a hospital and register the child are exorbitant, many times the annual salary of a factory worker. When people cannot pay these fees, this creates non-citizens of a sort, children born in China to Chinese parents but lacking the official paperwork that would make them people in the eyes of the state. They lack access to schools, healthcare, and other services, and cannot get legitimate jobs.

But many legitimate citizens are no better off. Cycles of poverty and abuse are rampant regardless of official status. The book is not necessarily a critique of any one system; it wants to shine a light on the ways that all systems interact to create impossible choices for those in dire straits. Sympathy for individuals is the real heart of this book, with judgement reserved. Everyone is just looking to survive, and Liu honors that drive even as she sheds light on how it can be twisted into selfishness and indifference.

I would have actually liked some more meditations about working in a factory, or just more about the girls' internal lives. This isn't to say that the characters don't have depth, since the action reveals psychological scars and deep yearings, but I wanted to know more about the texture of their feelings. Sometimes things are more profound when set in stark relief, like the blunt way Yun tells Luli that the children will have nothing to eat if they don't feed them the porridge that has spilled on the floor. But other aspects are muted by the brevity and external focus. Yun spends a good deal of time with a mother-type figure, but what must a confusing experience for her is glossed over as the plot barrels on.

The most complete picture is of the orphanage, a tragic result of people with too little money, too little education, and too little time for each child. Caretakers strap disabled children to boards in order to stop them from moving, and enlist even the youngest able-bodied children to care for them. There is no stimulation or engagement. Barely able to provide food, these hardened caretakers cannot fathom providing emotional support, and as a result, both Luli and Yun are wounded in ways that do not immediately show.

Yet they still care for each other. And they find others willing to offer care and compassion, girls at the factory and women in the countryside. Women are amazing. Women helping women are amazing. But this is not a feel-good story. No one has a moment of explicitly feminist triumph over the system or receives a life-changing windfall. Everyone very clearly has their own problems, and the people at cross purposes must compromise with broken hearts, not open ones. Nobody takes up a sword and starts yelling about revolution. They just do what they can with what they have available, and hope that it's enough.


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[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read. Always interesting to read about another culture even in a book that is fiction. What these two girls go through is terrifying and horrifying. I have heard that China has made some improvements but it still a different World for poor and/Or orphaned girls in China vs the USA or similar.

[USOM · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Disclaimer: I received this free book from Netgalley. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)

In the aftermath of the One Child Policy, there is a shortage of women combined with society's preferences for boys. Not only did this leave China with many girls for adoption, but now a gender imbalance. Because of this, there has been a rise of bride trafficking and the value of baby girls as future brides. Enter Girls on the Line which followers two orphan girls as they leave the orphanage and make their way into the workforce. In this new world of financial freedom (especially without a family to send earnings to), and factory labor, Luli and Yun lead different lives.

full review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/revi...

[TJL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty good!

More than anything else I was interested in the way the author subtly addressed the consequences of spending your whole childhood in an orphanage. They've done studies on how children who are raised in residential facilities are affected by the lack of one-on-one attention and affection and bonding that they would receive elsewhere, with parents, extended family, or foster families.

Yun was a great example of that: Not a sociopath by any means, but she clearly has trouble bonding with others and empathy. Won't spoil it, but the author really does a great job showing where her disconnect is by contrasting her POV with Luli's.

[Brandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5, this was my second read of the year and it was far from bad. It just wasn’t exactly what I was going for. Though I would still recommend this to anyone, it really is educational and I learned things I never knew about China and the child laws etc. I definitely want to learn more and become more aware of what it was like.
If you’re looking for an educational, diverse and unique way of doing so told in 2 perspectives this is the read for you!

[Renata · Rating 3 out of 5]

My mom picked this up and LOVED IT and kept bugging me to read it and I did and I'm like......struggling to understand because I wouldn't really urge anyone to read this? The #OwnVoices portrayal of contemporary-ish (it's set in 2009) China is interesting and detailed, but overall it felt to me like it would be best used in a classroom, alongside nonfiction instruction about Chinese law and culture. It felt like it was doing a lot of telling about life in the factories and the harsh applications of the Family Planning laws, with less showing about the characters. IDK, definitely interesting story content but for me the execution left me a little cold. But, my mom would give it 5 stars.

[tiff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished the book over the course of 2 weeks since I would often get busy but I finished half of it in under 2 hours in one sitting so I would say it’s a quick read (I could’ve definitely read the whole thing in a day if I tried) and I thought it was a really interesting story! It’s always cool to read about other cultures and there were many important topics in it that were brought to light like for example the one child policy that was in China during the time period in which this story takes place (2009). But like other people have said, the way the narration switches almost every chapter between Luli and Yun can feel a little sudden and maybe the transition could’ve been a bit smoother but if honestly didn’t bother me that badly and I would totally recommend this to others! The cover art is really good too!

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lulli is finally ready to leave the Institute and venture out into the big, wide world. Thankfully, Yun, who was also at the Institute, has a job and dorm at a factory and sneaks Lulli in. And luckily, an old classmate Ming is the overseer's son so Lulli is able to get a position.

Life at the factory is totally different than life at the Institute. While Lulli is introverted, Yun is extraverted and ready to go out on the town and party. All this partying gets her in trouble when she finds she's pregnant with Yong's baby. Instead of taking care of her, Yong drops Yun off with his Ma in the countryside, where she's surprisingly taken good care of. But what happens when Yun runs back to the city? What will happen to the baby? And will Yong ever become responsible?

This was an interesting story historically since my daughter was just learning about the one child policy. At the time of this story in China, families were only allowed to have one child. Since Yong was the second male son, he did not have a hokou which meant he couldn't legally get married or get a job. It also meant he had to find alternative means of employment and in this case, that meant human trafficking. Although this book didn't go into details about human trafficking, it infers what happens -- and human trafficking is an issue even today. Yun has to make the difficult decision whether she wants to participate in the trade -- giving her baby away for money.

This was a good read but not a great one. We didn't get into the character's heads, perhaps because the Chinese culture is not as intrusive as ours in America. However, this meant the story seemed more on the surface, without the deep feelings you would come to expect from making such difficult decisions. There was plenty of drama, but the drama was told rather than felt which changed the mood of the story. Also, Yun didn't seem to have any extreme reactions to Yong's imprisonment, getting fired from her factory position or being sent to live with some unknown woman in the country.

[RuthAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This YA novel tells the story of two teen girls who are friends in modern-day China. They were both raised in an orphanage, and they work at a factory together. However, one of the girls is in a relationship with a man who’s rumored to sell women and children, and they are both in considerable danger with essentially no support system. I appreciated this story because it broaches human trafficking without a (what I would consider typical) sex trafficking plotline. It’s about how poverty removes choice, and what look like poor “decisions” from the outside are really more like necessities when you have no options. It’s well written for a teen audience, and it has great entry points for follow-up discussions.

[Annie Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had a very interesting plot, at first, but it went downhill very fast with the fact that none of the characters are fleshed out and we couldn't understand their motivations. Luli's chapters were boring and monotonous. I was a little more fond of Yun, though I was still disenchanted with the way she thought and acted. In some parts, it felt like she was only written to drive the plot, not to be a character with real wants and goals.

I'm also unhappy with the way the book ends. Luli and Ma don't own Yun, or her baby. So, so much could have been avoided if Luli let Yun make decisions about her own body and child. The orphanage system is not good by any stretch, but it's better than growing up with mother who doesn't love you and never wanted you.

[Joanne O'Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Opening a window into a world few outsiders know, Girls on The Line humanizes the struggle faced by girls raised in a Chinese orphanage. As they navigate a world that doesn’t value them, Luli and Yun find their futures are anything but secure, but their strength is limitless. A fast-paced, must read!

[Deanna Durben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great gripping plot and writing
However, the ending is so nauseatingly pro-forced birth. Yun is forced to give birth to a baby she neither wants or bonds with, saddling her with crippling debt. Yet she is described as broken or just normal postpartum depression. It’s awful.

[Gina Malanga · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember hearing about China’s One-Child Policy when I was younger but it seems talk of it has dwindled, or it has become accepted as the norm there? This book sheds light on the young women who become pregnant outside of marriage and the choices they are forced to make in these situations. Luli and Yun became friends, sisters really, during their time at the orphanage. Yun spent her whole life there while Luli was placed there when her family could not longer care for her. As the product of this system they both developed different coping mechanisms and understanding of family but when Yun becomes pregnant it all changes. This book deals with big issues like human trafficking, the treatment of disabled children in the orphanages and the one-child policy. You can help but feel for Yun and Luli as they face these terrible truths together. A informative and powerful read!

[Julie]

This was an incredibly gripping story, in part because of how short it is, so I read the whole thing in one sitting. I enjoyed the writing and was curious to see how the story would turn out. I'd never read something addressing China's former One Child Policy, and this is set in 2009, so it was fascinating to read about the intricacies of it.

I finished the book and was a little bothered by how open the ending was, but the more I sit with it, the more bothered I am. There's absolutely a place for open endings, but this book wasn't that place. There was no resolution in the character arcs for either main character and it left off in kind of a terrible place for both of them. The longer I'm away from it, the more disappointed I am. I hope it wasn't left like that in the final edition, as I read an ARC.

[Sophia · Rating 2 out of 5]

this story was about an important subject but just so boring and didn’t have much of an impact on me. most of the characters annoyed me and had their own heads up their arses besides Luli. she was the only one i liked and i thought she was a sweetheart. Yun.. not so much. she’s the other POV in this story, and as the one who gets pregnant and attempted to be kidnapped/trafficked, she just doesn’t care about anyone but herself. i get that she grew up in an orphanage all her life but that doesn’t mean she can be semi abusive to children even her own child. :/ i really hated her behavior and i love that only Luli was woke enough to realize this was wrong, even telling her crush off for not caring. *go off girl*.

there are probably better stories about human trafficking out there.

[Lora · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel, set in China in 2009, gets a strong four stars from me. It was an interesting story told from the perspective of two young women - one who was orphaned at age 10, and the other who had spent her whole life in an orphanage and presumably had Reactive Attachment Disorder. They only had each other.

I felt I learned in a memorable way about the consequences of the One Child Policy, which lasted from 1979-2015 (partly as an anti-poverty measure). The story touches on abandoned girls and disabled children, pressure to abort, human trafficking, and illegal children who don't have access to education, health care and jobs. The author's note includes some facts and background about these problems and is very much worth reading.

It was interesting to read about modern China, and I plan on reading the other book by this author. She is the daughter of Chinese immigrants to America and has visited China multiple times, which I'm sure helps her write realistically and compellingly.

[Rachem Corcoran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Impactful story of life in a China as a young orphans. The options and resources available for people with disabilities or children who are forced to grow up in the system is rough. This story shows the challenges or One Child Policy, a government that regulates and controls every aspect of life and girls on the “wrong” side of those regulations and traffickers hoping to make profits in this world. This book shows the corruption that runs rampant in China and often is “unbelievable” to many in the outside world.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compelling teen fiction set in China. Told in two voices, Luli and Yun, raised in an orphanage to age sixteen, work together in a factory until Yun, pregnant, disappears and Luli must confront the dangers of the outside world to find her. Includes facts about China's One-Child Policy and its effects.

[Lauren L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

5/10
Definitely an interesting concept and beginning, but I had several problems with it as I continued the book (mostly with the characters/their development)

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting to learn about the mindset of the Chinese, especially around birth control / family planning. Liu explores the impact that the official policies have on individuals, so it adds life to what could be boring facts. The details that Liu includes about the factories and that setup is also interesting, though what goes unspoken is that the work they are doing is likely for the mindless consumers of the West. She does not explore this at all (which is fine - that's not the point of the book), but it was definitely in the back of my mind all the time. I thought this could easily be adapted into a dystopian novel, so the fact that it was based in reality was somehow scarier. I was glad she ended it on a hopeful note. Throughout I had this nagging feeling that "I don't understand these people" but this was not off-putting; rather, I appreciated getting the chance to explore it.

[Kim Gjerde · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars for Girls on the Line. Call me sheltered but YA literature is so much different and covers so many more heavy topics than I can ever remember growing up. This book covers China's one-child policy, being orphaned, abortion, and human trafickking. All heavy topics that I suspect many teens have limited experience with. A fast read, has you wondering how it will end.

[Miche'le Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was glad to read about Chinese culture. This book was amazing!

[Amy Simons · Rating 4 out of 5]

A window into the lives of girls in China, from their childhood in a state-run orphanage through motherhood. Liu's characters give westerners a humanized look at the unintended consequences of the One Child Policy. A quick read that's well worth your time.

[Maury Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much I recommend it. Probably not a book anyone under the age of 13 should read. There are a lot of questions I have that were not answered in the book. But overall It is a fantastic book!

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this rather intense and hard hitting of Chinese policies and treatment of the individual. It was hard to read emotionally but something more people should be aware of, life in China is very different from life in the US. Would definitely recommend for teens to read.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a powerful story- actually stories- of Yun and Luli primarily, but also as secondary stories, the stories of Yong, Ming, and even Ma (Yong's mother). This novel sheds a light on life in China under the One-Child Policy (which was changed in 2015 to Two-Child and was revised again recently), life of a child who is orphaned but not adopted, the struggles they face and some of the impossible choices they encounter in their every day lives due to their life circumstances as well as governmental laws/policies. Yun and Luli are powerful characters dealing with difficult, if not impossible, circumstances.