Torn [Paperback]

Torn is a UK YA fiction book which makes a change from all the American YA Fiction i have been reading, Torn has a brilliant story line I was hooked from the first page.

Cat has written Torn from first person perspective which I love because i could really get into the story. Her writing style makes me feel familiar with everything she describes and how she describes it. Her characters are very realistic.

Alice is the main character and I really like her, she is a nice girl but not to nice, I think Cat done well with all the emotions Alice went through in the book. The themes that were covered in the book were mainly death related, Cat covered 3 different types of deaths very well, I think it helped that it was from first person perspective it takes some skill to make it all sound realistic, I was not surprised when i read up that Cat is an experienced writer and is the co-founder of a literary agency.

Alice's dad was another of my favourite characters, i liked his and Alice's relationship he was not only a father to Alice but also a friend, he seemed to have the right balance with her.

I enjoyed Polly's character i was very intrigued at how her character developed through the book, i really did not expect her to develop the way she did in the book.

I loved the whole book and everything about it, if Cat decides to write a follow on from this book i would be the first to buy it. Torn tells a story of how easily things can go terribly wrong, and that hiding a serious secret will eat you up inside until it can never be a secret anymore...

If you love young adult fiction then you will love this book, I think it is something different from the typical YA fiction that is out right now, just what we need to break away from the same vampire and fairy stuff being churned out.

My god.
I had high hopes for this book already, and I bought it on my new Kindle straight away.
I did not regret it by any stretch.
The plot was well established as it was well-written. I think if anyone else had written it, it would have been hardly believable and a bit damp.
However, the idea was perfectly executed and great to read.
The protagonist's voice was clear and you felt like you were her.
I wish there was an infinite-star option.

Drawing on scenarios more usually encountered in teen horror movies, Torn is the gripping story of schoolgirl politics getting way out of hand. Cat Clarke's follow up to bestselling debut novel Entangled takes a fresh look at what happens when a group of teenagers are given a taste of freedom on a school wilderness trip... with truly disastrous consequences. Part murder mystery, part psychological thriller, Torn is essentially a book about growing up - think coming-of-age story, but terrifying. It's about that moment when you realise that crying to your parents or hiding behind the sofa won't fix things - that sometimes life can spiral out of control and there's no way back to the safety of before.

Narrator Alice King is the type of character that readers will instantly empathise with. At school, she's neither queen bee nor outcast, instead occupying the no-man's land between the two extremes. Like many of us, she's accutely aware of the injustice perpetuated by the in crowd, but not quite brave - or powerful - enough to befriend those deemed Untouchable. Her own acceptance is far too tenuous to take such a risk. With insight and dark humour in equal measure, Torn really digs down into the truth about the high school social order, going beyond the simple mean-girls-vs-losers dynamic we often see perpetuated in popular culture and holding the mirror up to a reality that's far more complex.

Cat Clarke is an edgy writer, and that's her strength. She doesn't write tidy stories where enemies are safely dispatched and a happy ending is guaranteed for all. She writes in shades of grey, and the result is honest and raw narratives where things get messy and hearts get broken - sometimes readers' hearts. Even the love story that unfolds alongside Torn's central mystery is conflicted, brimming over with bittersweetness of the most poignant variety. Like Entangled, Torn sees its teenage protagonist forced to confront uncomfortable truths about herself, and in both cases that makes for fascinating reading. But where Torn surpasses Entangled is in the way it takes us on our own journey of self-discovery - the way Alice's story feels as though it's only one wrong decision away from being our own. Seriously scary stuff.

Torn is one hell of a book. It's stomach-churningly tense, twisty in the cleverest way and completely impossible to put down. I read it straight through in one go, on the edge of my seat, only pausing every now and then to remind myself to breathe. If you like your YA fiction dangerous and authentic, Torn is a must-read.