September 2014: Torn Away

For anyone who is interested, we're going to read & discuss Torn Away by Jennifer Brown starting on September 22, 2014. We'd love to have all of you join us!

I picked up my ILL copy at the library today. I've got it til Sept 10 so I'll probably read it around Labor Day.

I've finished the book, so I'm ready any time you guys are. I know it's early, and you may not even have it yet, but just in case...

I finished this morning, and am also ready whenever everyone else is. Linda? Did you get it read before it was due back?

I renewed it, surprisingly. Plan to read it this weekend (3-day weekend).

Was it a quick read?

Very quick - 3 or 4 hours.

I will read it this weekend. I have two quick reads lined up. Yay!

I finished it with about an hour to spare before the calendar turned to Sept 22nd.

Probably wasn't smart to start it Saturday night during a thunderstorm.

Is it OK to start? Spoilers and all?

My biggest question during the entire time I was reading was, why wasn't Ronnie willing to keep Jersey with him? And was it better for Jersey - in the end - that he didn't? Would it have worked out for either of them if they'd stayed together in Elizabeth? It wasn't until the scene in the cemetery, when Jersey was talking to her mom, that I saw Ronnie in a different light. I'm not sure I believe that a 17-year old girl would have been able to come up with that on her own, and really believe it to be true, in such a short time and while she was going through everything she endured.

>9 sjmccreary: I wondered about that, too, Sandy. I think things worked out for the better, in the end, but, throughout, I did not think much of Ronnie.

As I read, I kept thinking about what it means to lose everything. The portions dealing with her time with Clay's family were almost painful to read but I loved the portions dealing with the maternal grandparents and thought about how sad it was that she missed out on all those years with them, and her sister missed out completely.

Oh that Ronnie. I kept wanting him to step up and be a man, but I do think it was probably better for Jersey to be with her maternal grandparents. I know I shouldn't speak ill of the dead, but I was angry with J's mom about twisting the truth like she did. Due to my age and role in life, I could empathize with the good grandparents and only be disgusted with Clay and his ilk.

Oh, definitely the grandparents were the best situation in the end. But that's not the reason Ronnie sent her there. "Step up and be a man" - that's a perfect way to express what I wanted him to do!

I was also a little annoyed at Jersey's friend's mother, who wouldn't let Jersey come and stay for a while, and made her daughter do all the talking. How hard would it have been to let Jersey come stay the night and talk to her face-to-face about everything. And give her a hug and a hot meal. What teenager wouldn't need a bit of mothering in that situation, even when the answer has to be "no"?

Clay and his family - were they really as bad as they seemed? They weren't saints, but could an entire family really be so cold and hard-hearted? The descriptions of them seemed more like the skewed perception that an angry teen would have of a reluctant family taking in a stranger.

Let's not forget the bright light in Clay's family -- his sister Terry. She did just the right thing with that trip to the beauty parlor! You are absolutely right, Sandy. We were on the receiving end of Jersey's perceptions of her evil father and his family. I believe that Clay was beginning to soften toward her and might have come around if given more of a chance to get to know Jersey.

I also thought it weird that Dani's mother didn't step up. She put her daughter in a very awkward position.

Except for the maternal grandparents, the adults in this book did not act well. Ronnie. Dani's mother. Jersey's own mother. Clay's whole family, except maybe for the aunt who took Jersey to the beauty parlor.

I also think that Clay might've come around. He did look for her when she was at the bookstore and didn't come home.

Yes, I think with time, the situation with Clay's family might have worked out. Her aunt warmed up pretty fast, and Clay was beginning to thaw. It wouldn't have been as nice as with the other grandparents, however.

Jersey's mother - well, it was upsetting for Jersey to discover that she hadn't been completely truthful. But the mother was young when she had the falling out with her parents - I can see how she might have gotten her back up and become determined to make it on her own without their help/interference. Same with the relationship with Clay - if it was even partly her own doing that they broke up, she would have glossed that over in her own mind and in the stories she told Jersey. She might even have fully intended to tell Jersey the whole truth - some day.

the adults in this book did not act well - isn't this what makes a good kids' book? Where the kids are the responsible ones, the heroes?

My niece is 13 (turns 14 in late Dec). When I see her, I'm going to mention this one to her. I think she'd like it. When she finds books that interest her, she'll read them but otherwise, she's not a really avid reader.

Though she's younger than Jersey, she has a similar attitude. But I know that, in times of trouble, despite that attitude, she wants adults to "save her." When her little brother hurt himself (broken collarbone) and had to be rushed to the ER, I recall her calling/texting constantly for reassurance from us.

If I were in that situation, I'd want someone to save me, too! I'll be interested to hear if she likes it. I think I'll suggest it to my daughter, too. She's older (23), but so busy with school that this is as heavy a book as she can probably handle right now.

Sorry to be late in arriving. We had a computer on our trip, but Keith was on it most of the time.

I really, really liked this book. I agree with all; many of the adults behaved badly. I did NOT like Ronnie at all, but I can see how a really selfish person could not want to be reminded of things. He was still an ass. I don't think that Clay would have EVER come around. Not as long as his other two daughters were in the picture (did this remind anyone else of the Cinderella story? I kept seeing those two as the stepsisters in the Disney cartoon). If Ronnie didn't want her around, he should have done a better job of vetting who he sent her to. And I still don't understand why he wouldn't let her come to the funeral. Jerk.
I thought it was very clever at the end to find out that her mother hadn't told her the truth about her parents. Usually, in a story like this, the dead mother remains idealized. It was satisfying to find out that she was human.

Overall, I thought this was a good insight into a situation that most of us don't think about. We see the devastation of the city, but we don't look at the individual people to see what they are dealing with. It's not inconceivable that a child could be orphaned in this way, and how terrifying it would be. And I found Jersey to be a very typical teenager, bouncing between feeling one way and another.

Thank you for suggesting this, Sandy! I'm so glad I read it!