Jennifer Brown (1) (1972–)

It's only been one semester since Valerie's boyfriend, Nick, murdered several students at their high school before turning the gun on himself. Although she was not involved in the shooting - she didn't even know Nick was going to do it - she's been held to some degree responsible. After all, Valerie was the one who created the Hate List, and it seems that Nick was picking off people who were included upon it. But Valerie was the one to stop the shooting from escalating - saving one student, show more and getting shot in the leg herself in the process. Is she a hero, or is she responsible? How can she live with this?

Hate List is a fascinating book. The subject matter, as the synopsis shows, is incredibly dark. Jennifer Brown captures the voice of an eighteen year old outcast rather well, and more, the questioning nature of the rest of the town. The way the book is structured, newspaper clippings giving a biography of each of the students shot scattered in front of most of the chapters, serves to drive the gravity of the situation home.

The book reminded me in a lot of ways of the film/play Bang, Bang, You're Dead. While not taking the perspective of the shooter, it does take the perspective of someone more sympathetic to what causes people to go to such extremes. Nick cannot be truly vindicated for what he did, but at the same time the way he was treated is also inexcusable. Hate is a part of life, but it isn't all there is to life. I defy anyone to get through this book and not cry at the last few scenes. show less

Torn Away accurately depicts a teenager going through loss and change. Jersey goes through so much inner turmoil, and it is so poignantly written that it is practically tangible. Teens can easily relate to the emotions and thoughts that run through Jersey, but the story also serves as a reminder that there is always a place one can call "home". Although there are many characters who are cruel to Jersey or abandon her, Brown gives insight into those characters' actions. Everything in the show more novel is written beautifully, and I really love how Jersey is very independent- she doesn't need a boyfriend to help her find a place where she belongs. The romance is extremely minimal, but very sweet. The main thing I enjoyed reading was Jersey's adjustment to her new "homes", and slowly beginning to trust people after experiencing so many betrayals. I absolutely adore this novel, and would recommend it for all teens. I received a copy of Torn Away through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program. show less

When Ashleigh thinks about her boyfriend Kaleb going off to college, she's filled with anxiety. What if he forgets all about her? So one drunken night she decides to send him a picture that's sure to keep her in his mind... a picture of herself: naked.

But Kaleb has always been a little inattentive and distracted and when he goes to college it only gets worse, leading to a bad breakup. When Kaleb forwards the text to some friends as a way of revenge, it completely spirals out of control. Soon show more everyone has seen the picture, even Ashleigh's dad, the superintendent of her school.

The photo becomes a huge scandal in Ashleigh's town and everyone is trying to distance themselves from it, and from her. Ashleigh feels completely humiliated and alone and now has to attend court-ordered community service. She doesn't know what to think about being betrayed so badly and doesn't know why everyone is blaming her. It's not like she wanted the whole world to see her naked. She's so busy apologizing and hiding from the nasty comments that she loses sight of who she even really is.


I am a big Jennifer Brown fan... so this book was on my radar from day one. Now that I've read the book, I'm happy to say it lived up to my Jennifer Brown expectations!! It's definitely an "issues book" but it's not one that's been done to death. Sexting is a really big issue that some people don't realize the full consequences of. Once something is digital it can live forever. Things you post or videos/pictures you've taken can go viral or surface years later and cause humiliation, hurt feelings, and even lost jobs.

This book dives right into the issue of the unintended consequences that sexting can have. I kept thinking that the consequences for Ashleigh seemed a little too severe, but then I remember that it has happened. I've heard numerous cases of girls who have made national news for their pics getting out.

The best part of this book was when Ashleigh was going through the fallout and realized that she was all alone. The feeling that was in this part of the book hurt my heart. Like her parents really weren't being supportive, her friends dropped her, and the guy she trusted for the last year had ruined her life. Everyone was just coming down on her so hard and they wouldn't let up. The school, her coach, her peers, their parents, her parents: everyone was out to blame her for something she never wanted to happen. Yes she took the picture, but it was for her boyfriend! He's the douche here... not her. And yes he had consequences too, but at least he deserved them. I just felt and felt and felt for this girl.

One thing that bugged me was the maturity level. The conversations between Kaleb and Ashleigh were kind of hard to read at times because they were so immature. Having said that though, I sort of loved that it was like that because it made it feel real. At that age I totally had fights with my boyfriend that made me look dumb. I can remember fighting with an ex-boyfriend and bringing up old fights in the middle of new fights all the time. It's like the #1 immature thing that you can do in a relationship. But it is the reality of teen relationships. And I love that Jennifer Brown captures the teen voice so authentically.

I really enjoyed reading about this topic because it reminds me how much easier I had it growing up in the 90's. We had to call someones landline and actually ask their parents if they were home and could talk. It made it a lot more difficult to communicate with boys. But I think it was a good thing. Texting and Facebooking makes it so easy to have the balls to put yourself out there. Without those things we really got to know people before communicating with them. I think that is a lot safer... and better on your heart. So yeah, i found it super interesting to see this girl get bullied via text and Internet knowing that half of those people wouldn't be saying anything if they had to do it face to face.

The only thing I really wanted was more! It definitely could've been 50 pages longer.

Overall: I LOVE Jennifer Brown! You should definitely pick up this issues book about a really relevant topic. It's a book about friendship and finding yourself through really hard times. It's deep, but it's kind of fun at the same time.

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I got a copy of this from NetGalley and hadn't gotten around to reading it yet, and I guess yesterday was the day. It was so dark and gloomy and cold out! Jersey lives in Missouri with her Mom, stepdad, and little sister Marin. She's a normal teenager, waiting for the end of the school year, thinking her little sister is a pest, and not doing her chores. On this particular day, when her mom and sister leave for dance class, Jersey starts dinner and a load of laundry and sits down to do some show more homework. The wind is picking up outside and there's a weather alert on the TV, but that's pretty normal for the Midwest in spring. But then the power goes off and the sirens start blaring, so Jersey takes her homework and goes to the basement to ride out the storm.
From that point on, I was absolutely unable to put down this book. This book reached right down to my insides, grabbed them, twisted them up, and yanked them all around. It was so visceral in experience, reading this, I felt so much of Jersey's bewilderment, pain, loss, and betrayal. Her hope lightened the load, but then those tiny sparks would get crushed by the weight of reality again and again. I think every step taken in Jersey's journey was logically considered by Ms. Brown and is what very possibly would occur if a child was left devastated and motherless after a massive natural disaster.
Even writing about it today, I'm tearing up, feeling my chest tightening with emotion, remembering the ordeals that Jersey went through. Having had an unusually large tornado tear apart a part of my town, and dealing with the aftermath, I would say that this is a very fine book, and hits very close to home. show less