One Pink Line

One Pink Line hit me right in the feels. It is a vivid reminder that family is so much more than blood. It also shows us no matter how bad the blood is, relationships can be fixed if both parties are willing to forgive and actions change. These truths are constants in relationships and life.Dina Silver has beautifully told the story of Sydney and her daughter, Grace. Theirs is a pretty typical mother - daughter relationship until Grace tries to put two plus two together during a fifth grade sex education class. For Grace these two simple numbers do not equal four.What ensues is a story that revolves around two men: one who manages to cause turmoil with just the suggestion of his name and another who constantly smooths that turmoil with his consistent acts of selfless love. Sydney and Grace must decide how to resolve their relationships with not only each other, but also these men.This story tests the relationship bonds of friends, parents, siblings, and lovers. It is as realistic as fiction gets and should be required reading in every household. All decisions have consequences. One Pink Line is a stark reminder that we should always be conscious of this fact and choose carefully.

This is the first book I have read by Dina Silver and can't wait to read more as I absolutely loved this book and the writing. It was such a breath of fresh air from what I have been reading. It's a very real topic but is written with humor as well as heart. I love how Dina writes it from two perspectives, Sydney and Grace. I think this adds so much to the story and makes it even more realistic. I felt completely connected to these character (Sydney, Evan, Grace and even their parents).

I absolutely LOVED One Pink Line and have read other books by Dina Silver because I enjoyed it so much! The cover intrigued me and I purchased the book because it sounded like a good read. I was absolutely blown away by the story. The book switches between the narrators who are Sydney, the mom and Grace, her daughter. Sydney's narration is hilarious and sarcastic and I loved her sense of humor. She is in college throughout the majority of the novel and I enjoyed watching her mature from a rowdy, partying college student to a pregnant, soon-to-be-mom who needs to figure out how she is going to provide for her daughter. I felt her emotions throughout the book and felt bad for her when she faces some hard times but, through it all, she is strong and perseveres. I enjoyed Grace's narration as well and it is easy to see where she gets her sarcasm. I was glad to see that everything worked out in the end and that Sydney got her happily ever after and Grace got to meet the one person she wanted to meet the most. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a fun read!

Going into this book I can't say my attitude wasn't a little judgmental. Once you've read one book about an unexpected pregnancy you've pretty much read them all right? Wrong. I was pleasantly surprised when One Pink Line took a completely unique take on unexpected pregnancy and not only did I finish the book in a few hours, but I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it.The main character of the book, Sydney Shephard, was marginally popular in high school, had a rich and popular best friend and a neurotic Mother who made it clear in no uncertain terms that Kendra, Sydney's older sister, was her favorite child. One Pink Line starts off with Sydney finding out she's pregnant and you can't help, but feel for her especially when you find out that the baby in question is not her boyfriend's.Speaking of boyfriends, Ethan, let me take a minute to tell you how much I love this character that Dana Silver created. There was not a second throughout this book that I could not feel Ethan's love for Sydney. Even though they had gone to high school together they didn't really meet until Sydney's best friend Taylor's graduation party during a game of spin the bottle. Yes I know high school seniors don't typically play that anymore, but ignore the cliché and keep reading.There was an instant connection between Sydney and Ethan and while there isn't too much detail between chapters there is enough to get across what this budding romance is becoming to both of them. Ethan is the kind of guy you want to bring home to your Mother. He's got an amazing sense of humor; he's bright, handsome, polite and completely inappropriate when it counts. His love for Sydney literally took my breath away.The first time they had to leave each other to head off to their respective colleges after spending their first summer together and falling in love, tore at my heart strings. The fact that they stayed so close and so in love over the course of four years of college, only to have it ruined by one mistake, and when I say mistake I'm referring to the one night stand, not Sydney's daughter Grace, was just heart wrenching.One of the things I love about Silver's characters in One Pink Line is that they aren't perfect and the situations are portrayed in a realistic manner. Being in a long distance relationship with someone is bound to take it's toll on you no matter how much you love that person. It would be ridiculous to think you don't grow and change as a person over the years and the fact that Ethan and Sydney had trouble and some emotional distance between them is all kinds of realistic.When she told Ethan about the baby he wasn't happy, but he didn't cut her off completely because they still had that connection and even though they were both hurting, Ethan because the love of his life cheated on him and Sydney because she had made the biggest mistake by hurting Ethan, they were still there for each other when it counted.I like how Silver portrayed Sydney's baby daddy, I honestly don't remember what his name was, I think it was Kevin, but who cares. He was an idiot, but alas his response is often what some women hear when in this situation. While I want to do nothing more than gush about how amazing Ethan is, he was not the only thing I loved about this book.Throughout the chapters as Silver switches between Sydney's point of view and her daughter Grace's point of view we see growth between family and friends. We read as Sydney has to put aside her youth and become a responsible adult to take care of her daughter. We see the bond between Sydney and her Mother grow as well as her relationship with the other characters in the book.The theme here isn't just about romantic love, but familial love as well. I can't tell you how many times I teared up while reading this; then again apparently I cry at commercials these days so who knows. But Sydney's Mother was there to help her for the first few weeks and you could tell she was proud of her for the decisions she had made. Choosing to raise her daughter wasn't easy, but she never once regretted it. Plus she had Ethan there when he was in town and not working, which of course grew more frequent as time went on because he's wonderful. [Swoons]Another aspect of One Pink Line that I thought was incredibly distinctive was seeing things from Grace's perspective. When she found out Ethan wasn't her biological Father I just wanted to reach into the book and hug her. She was so distraught and seeing what she was thinking and feeling was a great addition to the book.Not many author's go into that aspect of things, but Silver lets us see the confusion and anger going through Grace and the struggle that knowing this information has put on her. I loved seeing these snapshots into the important parts of Sydney and Grace's lives and when Ethan proposed in the end I'm pretty sure I let out a very undignified, girly squeal at that point. I give Sliver major props for taking what could have been a very boring story and spicing it up so it would appeal to a contemporary audience. I swear this book made me fall in love with love again and if you know me personally you would know that's not easy to do.Overall this was a heartfelt and warming story and definitely something you should read if you have the time and inclination.

I bought this book sometime ago and it got lost in my kindle library. Decided to read it and I was not disappointed. I loved the story which I thought was a good variable on most stories based around this subject.In my opinion the characters were well defined and the different POV gave understanding to this situation.I liked the authors writing style and will be buying more of her booksI would recommend this book and it had a HEA

I loved this book. It's sweet without being schmaltzy, it's a beautiful story, and I really like the style of writing. It's gems like this that keep me subscribed to the Amazon Daily Deal mailing list whenever I contemplate unsubscribing.The front cover has the tagline `a novel' but throughout the book I was hooked by the confessional - rather than dramatic - tone. It really felt like I was reading a memoir, even though I knew I couldn't be because the novel combines two stories from two different protagonists. The writing style is very straightforward, confessional and honest rather than the more melodramatic, often slightly flowery, narrative style I'd expected of an American author of contemporary romance.One strand of the novel follows Sydney, from her late-teenage years when she meets and falls for Ethan, through her college years when she balances love and a social life, and into early adulthood as a young mum after not following her own mother's advice to `be smart'.The second strand follows Grace, a little girl with a happy home life who realises after a sex education class that her dad can't really be her dad. It follows her as she grows up, constantly curious about the circumstances of her birth, who her real father is, and what implications this has on who she is.One Pink Line is described as contemporary romance, even by the author herself, but I think this slightly belittles it - it's more than romance. This is a novel about relationships and love on so many levels: between romantic partners, yes, but also between parents and children (especially mothers and daughters), between friends, between extended families. It's not a happy-ever-after portrayal of love, either: it acknowledges that love is complicated, sometimes dangerously close to hate, that it is as painful as it is wonderful, and that sometimes you have to make a hard choice between one type of love and another.It's really a pleasure to read. There are moments that will make you smile, or even laugh, without the humour being overstated. There are other moments that will move you, without being soppy or overdone. In particular, I found I really empathised with Sydney and the decisions she had to make based on one lapse in judgement. But I also admired her, for the decisions she did make and for the uncomplaining, level-headed, focused way in which she dealt with the consequences of those decisions. I felt less attachment to Grace - perhaps partly because I haven't ever been close to a situation like hers, but also I think because she is younger and therefore a bit more selfish.There are no big twists or revelations, no big dramatic scenes. I've read reviews that say the ending is predictable, which I didn't agree with. I felt everything was moving steadily towards the ending and, while I had an idea of what that ending might be, the pace and the lack of a big unpredictable twist was in keeping with the matter-of-fact style. This is just real life, experienced by normal people, sensitively and authentically portrayed.One Pink Line is probably more suited for female readers, but I'd recommend it to any men looking to explore female relationships and dilemmas. I realised at the end that it's based on real events - I don't know how loosely, and undoubtedly this alone isn't responsible for the excellent style and tone adopted in the novel, but it goes some way to explaining the sense I had of it being a memoir.Dina Silver has a real talent, I think. I can't think who I would compare her to, but I will definitely revisit this book in years to come and would recommend it heartily.

I enjoyed this book, but thought the ending a little bit rushed. The narrative flips between the story of Sydney's pregnancy and the resultant daughter, Grace, when she's hitting adulthood. It's well written and I found I cared about the characters. The reason I gave it four stars rather than five is that I think it a little rushed in places.Grace's biological father turns abruptly from likeable to villainous without any grey in between, and Sydney's Mum also changes rather tack suddenly - it would be good to see the working behind that, unless I missed something. Definitely an enjoyable read, I'd buy more from this author. But shouldn't it have been entitled two pink lines? That would have reflected both the dual story and the reality of Sydney's situation. Picky, I know, don't let it put you off, I found it an enjoyable story and will probably read it again.

I found this story light and very easy to read. There are no surprises here and the outcome is quite predictable from just a few pages in.The book does make single parenthood seem a lot easier than it actually is for a lot of people and there is not a lot of depth to the relationships in the book, friendships are formed very easily and Sydney's poor relationship with her mother which suddenly improves dramatically is never really explained.Having said all this I really enjoyed this book, it didn't take too much thought or concentration and was a bit like a modern day fairy tale..........everyone is happy, things go wrong and then everyone is happy again!It worked for me and I will probably read more by Dina Silver.

This is the first one star I've ever given... I felt like the author was condoning irresponsible behaviour and the breastfeeding comment was dreadful! There was zero suspense and no depth to the characters, I really felt even I could have done a better job. This may have been based on a true story, it may even be one, but I thought it was utterly unrealistic. It pains me to write such a scathing review but anyone looking for good quality writing, and/a compelling story with complex, relatable characters, don't buy.