Life would be so boring if we all had the exact same opinions.
Brandon and Alli, two high-school students, are attracted to each other and begin dating. Then the shooting at Marjory-Stoneman Douglas High School takes place. This event brings to light some obstacles in the way of their continuing relationship they must overcome. Their beliefs are so different, but their feelings for each other are strong.
Brandon’s parents had been in the Marines, so they are obviously pro-gun and have raised Brandon to be comfortable around guns.
Alli’s father’s store had been robbed at gunpoint. This traumatized him as well as his wife and daughter. They are all anti-gun.
When tragedy hits, will their relationship survive?
How does one write a book on the issue of gun rights and not make it one-sided? Melanie Weiss has succeeded in not being preachy about it or portraying one side as having everything right.
Did I enjoy reading this book? Yes. Crossing Lines isn’t just a story about the issue of gun rights, but it is also a story of growing up in today’s world, a story about two teenagers falling in love, and a story about accepting each other for who we are and not just for what we believe. I highly recommend reading this book.
If you would like to buy a copy of this book, I’ve provided an Amazon link for you below.
Amazon Link: Crossing Lines
Recommended Articles:
Melanie Weiss Interview – Teenagers, Poetry, & Spoken Word
Favorite Sentences:
He was like a tiger hunting his prey.
After six weeks of class, I have learned a lot about computers, including the fact that coding is not for me.
I go to bed weighed down by the knowledge the bubble I have lived in and loved in and felt protected by here at home, in my neighborhood, inside my school, has burst.
I hope he likes stick figures, because that’s my highest level of artistic talent.
But then, real life has a way of butting in to mess with the best-laid plans.
New Words Learned:
Ash Wednesday – the first day of Lent
cray-cray – crazy
GroupMe – a mobile group messaging app owned by Microsoft
libertarian – a person who believes that people should be allowed to do and say what they want without any interference from the government
Waze – a navigation software app and a subsidiary of Google
About the Author:
Melanie Weiss is the author of two Young Adult novels: Spoken and Crossing Lines. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and worked as a journalist for newspapers and magazines for twenty years. She began writing her novel, Spoken, shortly after her younger child left for college in 2015 and she became an “empty nester.” Spoken is 2019 Winner of a Readers’ Favorite Book Award.
Thank you Lisa for your review.