Torn is a quick read, but it's not an easy read. I found the subject-matter compelling, and more so given that Amber Lehman doesn't hold back details or sugar-coat her characters' experiences.

In a note from the author, Lehman says "I have never ceased to be amazed at the gentle intimacy that we humans can have for each other, and on the contrary, have never ceased to be shocked at the tendency for brutal inhumanity."

This short reflection is truly sums up the over-arching theme of the story that follows. Torn is centered on Krista, a fourteen-year-old girl who just moved to California from the Midwest and her struggles to find a sense of identity and value in her new community. Our protagonist does what teenagers--like it or not--do: she experiments. She embarks on a familiar but nuanced story of sexual awakening as she faces an abundance of temptation, while trying to figure out her personal sense of what is right and wrong as well as a clear definition of her sense-of-self.

Lehman recounts very realistic scenes with vivid intimacy and candor, scenes that are not uncommon to those "coming-of-age" years and should not be ignored for the courtesy of fragile ears. I recommend this book highly. It is a well-written story with the edge of real life.