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Torn Away by Jennifer Brown Blog Tour Stop – Review

May 6, 2014

Welcome to my stop on the Torn Away Blog Tour hosted by Itching for Books . I am honored to be apart of this blog tour for this amazing read.

Torn Away

Genre: Contemporary,Realistic Fiction
Pages: 288 (Hardcover)
Publish date: May 6th 2014
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 0316245534
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

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.

Torn Away:

I received a copy of Torn Away as part of the blog tour, but it has in no way influenced my review.

I didn’t know what to expect going into reading Torn Away, all I knew was that it would be was quite devastating, and it was.

Torn Away starts off like any normal day, but then devastation strikes and I felt all the pain.

The writing style of Jennifer Brown was simply stunning. It captured me in so many different ways – the emotions that I experienced in Torn Away made it where I could not stop the tears from falling down, with the anger and the hurt. After the death of her mother and sister by a tragic tornado that hit her town, Jersey is shipped off to her biological father, whom she hasn’t seen since she was a baby. Her family, her father’s family are so frustrating and not understanding in any way. I cannot really explain how they acted in a way but let’s just they made my blood boiled. She not only had to go through the journey of grief but with people that don’t care, but people that don’t feel the same. It’s heartbreaking.

Jersey is a very interesting protagonist. She is so strong, I wouldn’t have managed the way she did. Her loss made me, most likely make other readers, realise what really is important in life. It might also re-define your priorities.

There is no physical human in Torn Away that is the villain. The only villain here is the tornado – Their damage is unstoppable, even often unanticipated. They can destroy lives in a matter of seconds.

Torn Away is a really hard book to review, not because it isn’t good, but because it is so emotionally draining that you feel so torn and broken after reading it. It tells a tale of loneliness, loss and grief, but, fundamentally, it’s not a tale of hopelessness.

We as readers go on the grief journey with Jersey. We go through the hurt, frustration and finally understanding.

The thing that hurt me the most was how Jersey dealt with the death of her sister. I have 3 siblings myself and I have no idea how I would manage in any way shape or form if they died. Jersey’s memories of her little sister are so emotional. She held onto these memories, some positive and beautiful and some negative. You felt the hurt.

I believed and felt every emotion of Jersey – The hurt, the loss, the anger. Then finally we get to see some happiness in her life.

After her not so good experience with her father and his family, she moves in with her mother’s parents. Even though she is going through the grief, she finally starts to see some light. The little moments with her grandfather were just beautiful. And the moment at the end with her grandmother brought tears to my eyes, in a good way. Then there is Kolby. He is the boy next door, he becomes Jersey’s support along with her grandparents. Jennifer Brown is talented writer who builds situations and people that are not only convincing, but appropriate too.

Overall, even though Torn Away was heartbreaking. The author reaches without much effort at all, breaks down your walls and touches you so you cry like a baby.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Two-time winner of the Erma Bombeck Global Humor Award (2005 & 2006), Jennifer’s weekly humor column appeared in The Kansas City Star for over four years, until she gave it up to be a full-time young adult novelist.
Jennifer writes and lives in the Kansas City, Missouri area, with her husband and three children.

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Check out the rest of the blog tour

Book Review: The Here and Now by Ann Brashares

Apr 29, 2014

The Here and Now by Ann Brashares
Genre: Young Adult, Time Travel, Science Fiction
Pages: 256 (Kindle Edition)
Publish date: April 8th
Publisher: Delacorte Press
ISBN: 0385736800
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US

Follow the rules. Remember what happened. Never fall in love.

This is the story of seventeen-year-old Prenna James, who immigrated to New York when she was twelve. Except Prenna didn’t come from a different country. She came from a different time—a future where a mosquito-borne illness has mutated into a pandemic, killing millions and leaving the world in ruins.

Prenna and the others who escaped to the present day must follow a strict set of rules: never reveal where they’re from, never interfere with history, and never, ever be intimate with anyone outside their community. Prenna does as she’s told, believing she can help prevent the plague that will one day ravage the earth.

But everything changes when Prenna falls for Ethan Jarves.

The Here and Now

I received an e-arc of The Here and Now from Delacorte Press through Netgalley. This is no way has influenced my review.

I didn’t really know what to expect going into reading The Here and Now, simply because I have never read a time travel book before this. I was slightly disappointed.

At the start I was just really confused with what was going on. I was also pretty bored. Maybe it was because I didn’t understand it, but it really did stop me from reading it. It also put me into a major reading slump, which I really didn’t want on my school holidays. The start was also really slow.

Like I said, I was really confused at the start. I just could not get into it at all. About maybe 40% through things for me started to get a little more interesting and things flowed a whole lot better. I really got into the story and wanted to know what was going to happen and what was going on.

In saying that, I loved the writing. It really was beautiful and made the novel that much more intriguing.

I really enjoyed Preena. She was really interesting and intriguing. I liked her a loy. She isn’t the most popular girl, but, to me, she stands out. She starts to think outside the box and questions all the things that she thought were true and it really drove me to keep on reading. I do feel bad for her. Not only did she has time travel, but in her old life she lost too many things and I think that they haunt her in a certain way that she doesn’t even know.

I also really enjoyed Ethan. He was an amazing character and someone who you could trust and always rely on. He would do anything for Preena and that just made me smile and want to cry at the same time. He is such a caring person and he stole my heart. He has so many feelings and I know that sometimes got him into trouble in different ways, but it was really good to see.

‘He lost his hold on what was above and what was below, what was sky and what was earth, what there was to breath or even where his body began and ended.’

I particularly didn’t like any of the leaders of the group that travelled. I wanted to smash all their heads together and just yell, but I think in the end Preena does it for me. They are so stuck in their ways that they cannot see anything else, even if it is for the better.

I actually really liked Preena’s mum. Yes, she was a little ‘mean’ at the start, but I guess that is because she is too influenced by the leaders as well as the ghosts of her past. By the end, she became an enjoyable character to read and the little moments between her and Preena are too damn cute.

I liked all the twists and turns and not knowing what was going to happen. It was a different feeling because I am normally pretty good at seeing what is happening, so not knowing something was awesome, or thinking that something was going to happen and the complete opposites happens. What an ending. My heart broke and shattered. It was quite terrible.

I liked The Here and Now. It was an okay read, but I felt it lacked in the world building and as well a little in the characterisation.

Book Review: Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy

Apr 19, 2014

First Published: March 18th 2014
Pages: 335 (paperback)
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (Harper Collins -US), Penguin Teen Australia.
ISBN: 0143571710
Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Synopsis

When sixteen-year-old Alice is diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia, she vows to spend her final months righting wrongs. So she convinces her best friend Harvey, who’s loved her forever, to help with compiling a crazy just-dying-to-do bucket list, that’s as much about revenge as it is about redemption. But just when Alice’s scores are settled, she goes into remission. Now she must face the consequences of all she’s said and done and discover just what happens when we say our ‘final’ words, only to find that life isn’t through with us yet.

Side Effects May Vary

I received an e-arc of Side Effects May Vary from Penguin Teen Australia through Netgalley. This is no way has influenced my review.

I am very unsure about my feelings for Side Effects May Vary. I really liked it and then I disliked it. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the book and especially the main character Alice.

I am very confused with my feelings towards Alice. I loved her, but then I hated her. Actually I loved how she acted and then I hated the way she acted. I didn’t mind the way that Alice treated other people, okay. Some things were a little crazy, but she did have a good reason for them. The pain that she not only had to endure because of the cancer, but the pain from her family and from her ‘friends as well. But I hated the way that she treated Harvey with a passion. There was no excuse to justify the way she treated him in any way.

I do love the story line though. It shows that in a blink of an eye everything can change and you have to deal with the consequences. Alice thought that she was going to die. Everyone thought that she would die. Then she goes into remission and has to deal with all the things she has done in completing her crazy, just-dying-to-do bucket list. Side Effects May Vary shows that everyone has to deal with consequences with whatever they do, whether they are good or bad. There is a great lesson to learn from this novel.

I loved Harvey, he was perfect. He stood by Alice no matter what even when it hurt him to the bone. When he did let go for a bit it was totally understandable. He was hurt beyond repair at the moment, but when Alice really needed him, he was there.

I didn’t like that there were so many flashbacks, the ‘Before’ and ‘After’ were confusing. I felt that it kind of stopped the books in its tracks. It didn’t flow nice. I was having to stop and think about what I had read last in the’after’ so I could remember where I was up to. Maybe this was only me, but I really did feel that way.

In saying that, I did like the 2 perspectives. It gave us as a reader an insight on both parties involved, Alice and Harvey. Julie wrote the 2 perspectives pretty amazingly, actually. I never got confused who was who when I was reading. I could tell the difference between Alice and Harvey. The only thing I have an issue with is that I wish there had been more character development. Yes, there was some, but I wanted more. It would have really added so much more depth to the novel and the characters.

I really enjoyed the writing style of Julie Murphy. It was easy to read, but not too easy. I understood and felt the emotions of Alice and Harvey. Especially in a scene near the end of the book at that some student causes at the school I did shed some tears and I did feel sad when there were some upsetting parts. I was angry when things didn’t go the best way.

I didn’t Alice’ parents all that much. If you know me and my reviews I have quite a problem with parents. I just cannot seem to find parents that I like in books, but I didn’t mind Alice’s mum and dad at all. Until the end, what her mum did and said really did touch my nerves. The whole situation with her mum, I think, wasn’t handled in the best way possible.

I felt very unsatisfied with the ending. I was disappointed. I really did want to know more. It just left me dangling.

Overall, Side Effects May Vary was an okay novel, there were some life lessons that were told and I believe that people should read it for that reason. You will learn that everything is not all nice when you try and get revenge.