Fragile Line: Review

It can happen in a flash. One minute she’s kissing her boyfriend, the next she’s lost in the woods. Sixteen-year-old Ellie Cox is losing time. It started out small…forgetting a drive home or a conversation with a friend. But her blackouts are getting worse, more difficult to disguise as forgetfulness. When Ellie goes missing for three days, waking up in the apartment of a mysterious guy—a guy who is definitely not her boyfriend, her life starts to spiral out of control.

Perched on the edge of insanity, with horrific memories of her childhood leaking in, Ellie struggles to put together the pieces of what she’s lost—starting with the name haunting her, Gwen. Heartbreakingly beautiful, this poignant story follows one girl’s harrowing journey to finding out who she really is.





This book surprised me in an entirely good way. Between the two perspectives of Gwen and Ellie(Ellie being the main character),this book was a chaotic emotional ride with an atmosphere of mystery.

Ellie and Gwen share the memories of the horrifying abuse of their childhood. The catch: Ellie and Gwen are the same person; Gwen was created by Ellie to protect her from the pain. This is known as dissociative personality disease. Ellie starts experiencing blackouts and realizing she did things she never thought she had done. Her memories from her first 6 years of her life slowly become unveiled through the duration of the book, and they paint a picture of why she has scars. Because Gwen is an alter of Ellie, you'd think you would imagine her as not real. However, her character felt the most real for me. My sympathy grew more towards Gwen than Ellie, even.

My favorite part of this book was Style's storytelling; I was pleasantly surprised by how rich the details were. I can't give too much away, so I won't say anything other than that the plot starts off intriguing, but continues to grab my attention more and more throughout.

While this book may be pushing the boundaries of contemporary, it's definitely not in a disagreeable way. The book does have its fair amount of drama, but it's not the usual high school drama( well, let me correct this by saying that the high school drama is a bit heavier due to the heavy subject Fragile Line takes on, which makes it more interesting.)This book showcases serious issues, and let's us see behind what a personality disorder is really like.

Edgy, gripping, and haunting, Fragile Line will definitely satisfy if you're looking for a dark contemporary.