One Pink Line by Dana Silver

Title: One Pink Line
Author: Dana Silver
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2012
Source: NetGalley
Read for: Review

Sydney has a perfect life -- great friends, an amazing long-distance boyfriend, and only a few short weeks until she graduates from college. Until the realization hits her that her period is late, and the one pink line she hopes for on her pregnancy test is actually two. She's about to experience some major changes and hurdles as she tackles pregnancy and parenthood.

Grace loves her family, but is curious about the absent father she has never met or even spoken to. She struggles with her identity and how she feels about her father's abandonment, wondering if she'll ever have the chance to meet him.

One Pink Line tells the story of two women and how they are affected by an unplanned pregnancy. I was interested in the story initially because of the pregnancy aspect -- being pregnant myself, I wanted to read others' stories about their experiences, despite differing circumstances. While I found One Pink Line to be entertaining, I was ultimately disappointed with the book due to its brevity and lack of character development.

One Pink Line is decidedly plot driven. We follow Sydney and Grace through their experiences. Considerable drama unfolds (mainly from Sydney's side of the story, which definitely takes up more space in the book), which kept me curious about what would happen next, but I felt that I never truly got to know the characters beyond the immediate events affecting them. Sydney does undergo some changes, from a somewhat self-centered and self-indulgent party girl to someone who is responsible for another life, but Grace is essentially flat, telling a story but not really changing or developing throughout the story.

In addition, while I was entertained by the plot, I found it quite predictable. Only one twist really surprised me, and it was resolved so quickly that I felt dissatisfied and somewhat confused as to why it was even included. It seemed almost like an afterthought.

I did enjoy Dana Silver's writing, which was fast-paced and readable. Sydney's voice was also enjoyable -- while at times her choices bothered me, and while she could be whiny and selfish, for the most part the story was told well through her perspective. I do have a complaint about the editing -- there were several odd punctuation errors and a few fragmented sentences scattered throughout. This was an advance reader's copy, so these might have been removed in the finished copy.

I think One Pink Line could have used a little more meat and detail to really flesh out the story. It was entertaining, but it could have been a powerful and strong story if we knew more about the characters and had more details into the events surrounding them. My lack of emotional involvement in One Pink Line may have been because I was just craving something more than a fluffy read, so if you are in the mood for something light and quick it might be just what the doctor ordered for you. However, for me, I was left wanting more.

2.5 stars

Warnings: Language, several references to sex but no detailed descriptions