Living Outside the Lines

Author Lesley Choyce ISBN 9780889954359 Binding Trade Paper Publisher Red Deer Press Inc Publication Date October 07, 2009 Size 133 x 191 mm

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Nigel is a 16-year-old high school student who writes a class assignment about a world in which teenagers become the leading actors in society, politically, economically, socially and medically. Unexpectedly, a publisher expresses interest, the book is published, and very quickly Nigel becomes an unwitting celebrity, subject to praise and sometimes violent opposition.

Nigel's a loner, not a social animal, and to his surprise a mysterious new classmate fastens onto him - and strongly encourages him to complete his novel. Where she's from is unknown, but Michelle is beautiful and intelligent and as it turns out, from the future, and the book Nigel's written has become in her time a guidebook for the youth of her day.

Complicating Nigel's life is the fact that Michelle has to return to her own time - and it's left to him to decide whether he must say goodbye to her forever or else join her in the future. If he does, he can never return to his own world, in a time where teenagers remain outside the realms of power and control.

Classic Lesley Choyce, Living Outside the Lines is a fast-paced, edgy novel that continually challenges readers on the meanings of human life, power, control and love.

"Lesley Choyce offers teen readers a tantalizing vision of the future that raises many challenging and thought-provoking questions in this book that is both highly engaging and easily accessible. . . Readers will be intrigued by the ideas that Nigel brings forth in his novel, and by the dystopian vision of our world that this novel provides. It is a book that will undoubtedly give readers pause for thought."
— Atlantic Books Today

"Living Outside the Lines is an intriguing book with an interesting premise. . . This novel will appeal to thoughtful readers and is sure to generate discussion in a classroom.
Recommended."
— CM Magazine

"This novel was a quick read - fast paced, well written and with enough suspense to keep the reader wondering what will happen. Readers will appreciate the choices that Nigel and Michelle have to make…. This novel will appeal to readers who appreciate love stories that are out of the ordinary, enjoy sci-fi or novel about time travel."
Rated G (Good, Great)
— Resource Links

Nigel Lukes, 16, dreams about a better world and about becoming a great writer. His delight in his creative-writing class is almost as exciting as the romance that has blossomed between him and a new student, Michelle. Nigel has never met anyone like her. She is strange, somehow, yet he loves her serious and forward nature, and she cheers him on in his writing. For a class assignment, Nigel is working on a futuristic novel about a world run by 15- to 21-year-olds. The book gets published and attracts more attention than he could ever imagine, both positive and negative. And Michelle holds secrets that, when revealed, change his life forever as their romance takes Nigel into his own created future. Choyce has written a beautiful story that will draw readers in to its possibilities.
— Nancy D. Tolson, Mitchell College, New London, CT

"Choyce has written a beautiful story that will draw readers in to its possibilities."
— School Library Journal

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Lesley Choyce
once said that a voice in his head told him: "Write about what makes you feel the most uncomfortable." The award-winning author of 65 books for children, teens, and adults and a surfer, musician, publisher, broadcaster, Lesley Choyce is always a fresh voice, challenging his readers to explore new paths, try out different attitudes. Lesley surfs year-round in the North Atlantic, teaches at Dalhousie University and lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

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