Book Review: Torn Away by Jennifer Brown

Torn Away by Jennifer Brown
Release Date: May 6, 2014
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
ISBN: 978-0316245531
Source: Netgalley
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Born and raised in the Midwest, Jersey Cameron knows all about tornadoes. Or so she thinks. When her town is devastated by a twister, Jersey survives — but loses her mother, her young sister, and her home. As she struggles to overcome her grief, she’s sent to live with her only surviving relatives: first her biological father, then her estranged grandparents.

In an unfamiliar place, Jersey faces a reality she’s never considered before — one in which her mother wasn’t perfect, and neither were her grandparents, but they all loved her just the same. Together, they create a new definition of family. And that’s something no tornado can touch.

This is the first book by Jennifer Brown that I’ve read and after reading, I am so excited to read more. This book was phenomenal. We’re following a girl, Jersey Cameron who survives a tornado and is abandoned by her stepfather, tossed to a family she barely knows, family who doesn’t want her and is not shy about saying so, torn away from what’s left at home and kept at bay from so many things she needed to be home for. She’s not only still reeling from her experience in the tornado but in grief and left with a family who has no love, no compassion, no grace for her. There’s a lot going on and Jersey really takes hit after hit until she finds love (not romantic!) in the most unexpected place.

Jersey loses so much and Jennifer Brown does a wonderful job making us feel what she feels at each and every step. That’s not easy to do but Brown nails it. And the moment when Jersey realizes she has nothing to lose. Ah. I will never forget that moment. It is so powerful. From Jersey sitting in her home after the tornado, her home which is now a mound of destruction… watching her see the destruction, live in the destruction and hold onto the freedom to do so, her freedom period because she doesn’t know how long it will last… to being thrown to a family who demands respect but doesn’t give an ounce… a family that is cold, unloving, resentful, and completely disregards the loss that this girl has experienced… to the conclusion of the book when Jersey discovers that she was loved all along by people she wrote off… what a whirlwind.

All of these characters were so real to me. Many are relatable. Many are not, thankfully. I loved and rooted for some characters. I loved that Jersey’s friends wanted to help her but were so powerless under the strain of their parents and were as delicate as they could be with Jersey in the let down. I hated many other characters. They got my blood boiling and made my skin crawl, that’s for sure. I hated that this family of hers that we meet soon after the tornado is so cruel and ignorant and selfish and self righteous and take no thought as to how lonely Jersey is now having lost her home and family, a family that loved her. Love is patient. Love is kind. Love is so many things and this family gave her NONE of those things. Not one. This book is an emotional punching bag so be prepared.

I’m so glad Jersey eventually did discover what love is but my goodness, my heart breaks for the ones who don’t because this story is fiction but Jersey and her situation represent I am sure oh so many. In her grieving, Jersey regrets so much and longs for so much but when love comes her way, it takes some time for her to open up to it but I’m so glad it does because that’s one less thing to regret, one less thing to long for. She is loved and she has a brand new perspective on so many things and will not let this love go.

Torn Away is a short book but it has so much in it. There’s so much depth. This is a story about love and loss and death and grief and regret and abandonment and belonging and loneliness and so many things. I was hooked from the very first page and four hours later found myself at the end. This story will grip you, these characters will be on your mind for a very long time, and this reading experience will change something inside of you, that’s for sure. I am so glad that I read this book and what I say and think about in my prayers and thoughts for victims of natural disasters has certainly been altered. What a phenomenal piece of work.

Torn Away by Jennifer Brown is available today.

2 comments

  1. Oh man, I think I'll LOVE Jennifer Brown's books, but the descriptions always make me emotional, so I don't know if I can handle a whole book. So glad you loved it, though!

  2. I know right! My emotions were HIGH while reading this book. It made me angry and sad and empathetic and so many things. I don't know how I'm going to read another Jennifer Brown book again but it's so worth it. So worth it! Not sure which one to choose next though. Let's see which one my heart can take when the time comes…