book review
Jennifer Brown taught us that even a few cheap somethings is better than nothing.
Torn Away is a young adult novel written by awe inspiring American writer Jennifer Brown. The novel is about a young girl named Jersey who is constantly pestered by her annoying yet adorable little sister, Marin. Jersey is relieved when both her mum and sister go to dance practice and she finally has the whole house to herself, but as they both leave her home alone Jersey has to watch a torrential, life threatening tornado take away everything that ever mattered to her. In the aftermath of this life changing tornado Jersey soon realises that life will never be the same again and that no one can ever love you as much as your mum.
The actual novel is crafted incredibly well, so well in fact that I saw the horrific tornado unfold in front of my very own eyes. This just goes to show that the writing style is especially effective and engaging on both an emotional level but also on a visual level. Throughout the whole novel I felt so connected with the protagonist and even questioned everything that didn’t go her way. Overall the novel is extremely gripping and will leave you wanting more throughout the whole book.
After reading this novel I have learnt many things the first being, as I have already mentioned that no one can ever love you as much as your mum. I know we hear this too often but it is a significant life lesson, we should value everything we have in life. Whether it is something as simple as shoes or as significant as the people we love, we should never, under any circumstances take our mothers’ love for granted, because a mum will always love you unconditionally. The next lesson I acquired from this novel is that we should never do or say something to anyone if we would regret it later. This too is something we hear regularly, but this novel taught me the importance of only doing or saying things that you won’t regret. After reading this novel I’ve learnt that if you are going to have an unpleasant interaction with someone you love, you should treat it as if it is the last time you will ever interact with them, that way you won’t say something to hurt them or something that you’ll later on regret, because who knows whether you’ll talk to them again or not.
So if you still aren’t convinced enough to read this wonderful text, I am telling you one last time that it is worth giving up some time to read this novel because it will certainly teach anyone a lesson or two. But not only that, it also provides reading pleasure as well.
-A Chahal, Year 10
Jennifer Brown, Author