Review: Gripping historical fiction that will grab you by the heart
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 29, 2014
AT THE END OF THE LINE is an exciting and heartfelt historical novel of two women, linked by coincidence and by fate, and their eventful lives during the turbulent years of the 1960s and the struggle for Civil Rights and equality.This is such an emotional, suspenseful, and gripping story that I read it in one sitting. I simply couldn't stop turning the pages.The characters are fresh, all but leaping from the page. Their involvement in the churning social upheaval of those years is seamlessly woven and never feels contrived. Kathryn Longino's two main characters – Beanie, a ruthlessly abused Mormon teenager in Utah, and Liddie, a wealthy, but unhappily married, woman in Boston who moves in the Kennedys' social and political circles – could not seem to be farther apart in every conceivable way. But both have secrets, and they have more in common than either at first realizes. The courage needed to stand up for oneself and for others in the face of oppression and brutality is something both struggle to find. Both learn that following one's heart may be the most courageous act of all.The historical setting and events of the book are brilliantly portrayed, drawing the reader in, and the secondary characters are well done as well, showing both the best and worst of human nature. Gripping struggles both personal and public weave together as Beanie comes into her own as a Freedom Rider, and Liddie, whose resources far exceed Beanie's, yearns for the courage to live the life she so desperately wants. These two women, their lives intersecting at first by a random mistake and then becoming forever entwined, not only awe and inspire, but also deeply touch the reader's heart. I highly recommend AT THE END OF THE LINE!