Sharis's Reviews > Fault Line

I was afforded the humble privilege of reading an advance copy of Fault Line today and I must say this book ranks up there among the best I’ve ever read. It is a fantastic story—gut-wrenching, agonizing, stress-inducing, on-the-edge-of-your-seat, hands-shaking, in-your-face awesomeness. The author does a fabulous job of getting the reader engaged with the characters right from the start. The prologue, only about a page and a half long, grabs a hold of you and won’t let you go with the need to find out how on earth the characters got into that situation. The agonizing decisions made by the characters are spot on. I would compare the level of angst and drama to Jodi Picoult. You cannot put this book down even to eat or sleep. Written in first person, common for the genre, the author did a marvelous job of getting the reader to understand the emotions of the other characters and the motivations that drive their choices. An excellent must-read for parents and their young adult children, even teens, that will open up discussion on a wide range of subjects from sex to rape to communication.
Now that I’m posting this review, I see that others have posted before me. A few are making me question what book they were reading. Apparently not this one. The main character does not rape his girlfriend in this book. In fact, quite the opposite. He shows a great deal of restraint and sensitivity with regard to her feelings.
I have two teenage children. I can tell that the author did extensive research into the social interaction of teenagers. The decisions made in this story are so real, exactly the kinds of interactions you would find in any American high school. Teenagers do stupid things and they make strange bad choices—the most important, and perhaps most disturbing, choice being not to tell anyone of the multitude of problems they have, even as the issues compile. This is so totally what teenagers do. Even those with the best of relationships with their parents. To think otherwise would be denial.
I hope this author has a multitude of other stories up her sleeve because I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.