First Lines: How 4 Books Stack Up

Thank goodness for Amazon’s Look Inside feature. I won’t divulge the number of hours I’ve spent reading the first line of any young adult book I could get my hands on, but I will say it was in the double digits.

Instead of reviewing one of the books I’ve read recently I’d briefly tell you about each one. And, taking after Jen, I’ll reveal their first lines first.

Think about which of the following you’re most likely to pick up:

1. Dear Ginger, I have never been a great follower of rules.

2. “Where is she?” I asked Mrs. Casnoff.

3. Every morning I wake up and I tell myself this: It’s just one day, one twenty-four-hour period to get yourself through.

4. It has been sixty-four years since the president and the Consortium identified love as a disease, and forty-three since the scientists perfected a cure.

And for the great reveal...

Number 1: Dear Ginger, I have never been a great follower of rules.

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

Anyone with a serious case of wanderlust will love this book. The main character, Ginny, receives 13 envelopes from her aunt, who recently died. As she follows her aunt’s written instructions, she travels through Europe and learns who her aunt really was. This made me re-live my post-college trip around Europe—and check flight prices online.

Number 2: “Where is she?” I asked Mrs. Casnoff.

Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins

If you liked Hex Hall, you’ll like the sequel, Demonglass. I love Sophie’s attitude, which I also liked in the first book. But plot-wise, I found this one more interesting and an overall better book.

Number 3: Every morning I wake up and I tell myself this: It’s just one day, one twenty-four-hour period to get yourself through.

Where She Went by Gayle Forman

There’s really not much I can say about this book besides BUY IT RIGHT NOW. I was so worried this would wreck the awesomeness that was If I Stay, but it only made the story that much better.

Number 4: 4. It has been sixty-four years since the president and the Consortium identified love as a disease, and forty-three since the scientists perfected a cure.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

To be honest, I had a few issues with this book. For one, I just can’t believe a society would consider love a disease. When I put that out of my mind, the references to things as commonplace as Mad Libs took me out of the world. But overall I really liked this book. Oliver’s prose is beautiful, and the love story just right. And the ending? Tears.

Which one of these would you have picked up based on its first line alone? (That is, without knowing which book it is or whether it’s been hyped forever.)