1. "Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much."
Harry Potter and the Philospher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
What I love about this line is that it is so simple and ordinary, almost giving a false sense of security, before the story then continues to be anything but ordinary.
2. "I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January of 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of 1974."
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
The first line of this classic novel allows the reader to have a small sense of what is happening, but manages to maintain an air mystery that makes you want to do nothing else but keep reading and understand just how it is possible to be born as both a boy and a girl.
3. "One sunny, crisp Saturday in September when I was seven years old, I watched my father drop dead."
Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult
When I read this my mouth literally dropped open. What makes this line so shocking is how it’s written in such a blaze manner. It begins as a normal every day description and is what makes the final part of the line so very unexpected.
4. "By the time you read this, I hope to be dead."
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
The reason this opening line is so gripping is that it threw me off guard and made me pay attention to the story. It enticed me in. it makes you ask yourself so many questions. Who will be dead? Why will they be dead? How will they be dead?
5. "Today I am five."
Room by Emma Donoghue
Straight away you know this book is going to be different as it is written from the perspective of a five year old, which has never been done before. It convincingly describes the world from this young boy’s perspective, and the simplicity of his words is refreshing to read, and make you curious to know more.