I read Torn Away by Jennifer Brown which is about a girl who suffered from a tornado that took away her family.
Format: Hardcover/ e-book
Pub. Date: May 6th, 2014
Summary:
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.
My rating: 5 out of 5 lipsticks!
My recommendation: Anyone who loves books that deal with real issues.
My review:
My copy was provided by Netgalley.
Jersey has a pretty normal life. She has friends and a mother that loves her. She has a little sister that can be annoying most of the time, but Jersey still loves her. Yet everything changes when a tornado touches ground at her town. Everything is swept away, including Jersey's house, most of her possessions, and her mother and sister.
Lost, without any family to care for her and a stepfather that can't even get out of bed, Jersey is forced to move in with her alcoholic father, the father that never cared about her. For Jersey to finally move on, she must learn more about her mother, her father, her grandparents, and herself.
This book really touched me. It makes you want to reevaluate your life and to rethink some of your decisions. It makes you realize what is important to you and makes you never want to lose them. If you have an annoying sibling, this book will make you hug him and never let him go.
What is so great about this book is that it addresses an issue that no one likes to think about, but it's an issue that occurs more often than you think. Tornados kill and some people might think they're safe from this natural disaster until they find themselves swept away. You can't stop a tornado. You can't just turn your back and expect it to walk away. Tornados are real, no matter how many people think that tornados will never affect them. Jersey never thought her life would be ruined in one day. She didn't know all the people she loved would be killed in a matter of seconds. The only reason she survived was sheer luck.
Brown really drew me in and made me want to know more about Jersey. I actually became Jersey as she experienced all these feelings, all this pain that she couldn't make go away. Jersey suffered through so much and it seemed like her troubles never ended. Brown made me feel like I was Jersey, like I was experiencing all the pain she felt. Jersey experienced a kind of feeling no one wants to have: loneliness. Everything she once had, superficial or not, disappeared and there was no one to care for her. Her stepfather didn't care and her father doesn't like Jersey.
The stages of grief Jersey felt seemed real and as if they were really happening. The detail was amazing and sucked me in, never letting me leave. I like how Jersey never gave up. She could have curled up in a ball and cried. She could have accepted her miserable life with her father, but she didn't. Jersey took charge and wanted to find happiness and answers, no matter how many obstacles were in her way.
This book definitely made me cry. It's not just a tragedy, but it's also a book about rediscovering what family is like as well as dealing with grief, pain, and loss. I fell in love with the beautiful sadness this book created within me and I definitely want to read more of Brown's books.
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