Rainbow Reviews

BOOK BLURB:
It was different this time; we weren't acting on a dare. I knew our motive; we were practicing the act, hoping to impress the right boy when it came time. But then something happened in the mix of the moment, in the mix of the alcohol. It wasn't planned, but somehow our kissing experiment turned into something else. Things went further ... and once they had, once I returned to earth from the euphoria ... I wrestled with my feelings at that frank realization, questioning whether our said objective was entirely true.

When fourteen-year old Krista McKinley transfers from Catholic school in Ohio to California's public Crestmount High, she discovers she has a lot to learn. Luckily, she is befriended by Carrie and Brandon and things start to look up. But when a simple dare tests Krista's values, it sends her entire world spiraling into a confusing series of events that leaves her questioning her identity as well as the people around her.

BOOK REVIEW:
An easily captivating story of a young girl's beginning exploration into her personal identity, “Torn” reveals the painful unfolding of adolescence, the discovery of self, the process of transforming wishes into dreams, and the troubling matters of family, friendship, and intimate emotional relationships.

Krista transfers from Ohio to Southern California, from Catholic parochial girls' school to public co-ed high school, at the same time as her mother becomes increasingly more involved in church work, including out-of-country mission jaunts. Exposed to a variety of gender orientations and behavior that no longer fits her preconceptions, she finds herself confused, and searching for an anchor. At one point she decides, “If only I could just find one girlfriend.” Soon she finds more foundation than just that one friend, but at the same time, these new involvements are eye-opening, mind-boggling, and eruptive, as her own latent desires surge to the surface and upend her past perspective.

Amber Lehman's introduction explains that she has distilled her novel's character from many true-life individuals and their personal and social stories. Preferring to use the venue of fiction to explore her characters and their encounters and circumstances in greater depth, she admirably succeeds as we come to know Krista and her new classmates, friends, and those who seemingly cross her path simply to awaken her and to broaden her perspective.

"Torn" is smoothly written and hooks the reader immediately. Its protagonist, a multicultural adolescent in an unusual home situation, up to now unaware of her own orientation, must deal with cultural stigmas, gender uncertainty, and unexpected behavior in the freewheeling California culture. Ms. Lehman's approach to her characters is an extraordinarily sensitive one, and readers will finish the book feeling as if they have made friends of the characters and welcomed them into their own lives.

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