First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if, instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

The Rules:

• Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page.
• Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first.
• Finally… reveal the book!

First Lines:

“Months later, when the dog was gone too, the television was left blaring all day for background noise. Silence seemed to magnify the sadness.”

These first lines are a little more emotional than many books I read, but it makes me eager to start reading. What and who else was gone? Who lives here? What happened to them? Where did the pupper go? I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS.

Do you recognize the lines?

Here’s a hint:

This is a contemporary literary fiction.

Still not sure? Here’s another hint:

It’s written by Rebecca Wolf.

The First Lines Friday book is:

Alive and Beating.

About the Book:

• Title: Alive and Beating
• Author: Rebecca Wolf
• Page Length: 244 pages
• Publication Date: March 11, 2025
• Publisher: Arbitrary Press

Synopsis:

Inspired by a true story, Rebecca Wolf’s debut novel, Alive and Beating, follows six people from diverse backgrounds and neighborhoods throughout Jerusalem, all desperately in need of organ transplants, on the day their lives will be forever changed. In a place where ancient divides often seem insurmountable, these six characters—Leah, a Hasidic young woman; Yael, a daughter of Holocaust survivors; Hoda, a Palestinian hairdresser; David, an Iraqi restaurant owner; Severin, a Catholic priest; and Youssef and Yosef, two teenage boys whose fates are inextricably linked—are united despite their differences by a shared goal of becoming healthy and finding meaning in their lives. Wolf’s masterful storytelling is a testament to the belief that life can be renewed, faith can transcend boundaries, and that at our core, we all share a common humanity.

Links: Goodreads     

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