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TORN
By: Amber Lehman
Blurb
A group of Southern
Californian teens learn pivotal lessons about sexuality, friendship, love and
life.
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.
Author Info
At age 22, author
Amber Lehman began researching and writing what would become the novel TORN.
Her writing occurred during a chaotic period of her life and she was often
forced to set aside writing time to tend to family and personal matters. It was
5 years before TORN was completed to her satisfaction. It went through too many
editing stages to count, and the end result was quite different than what was
originally an 1100 page novel. After years of setting it aside, Amber finally
revisited it and it was trimmed down to the 404 pages you now see. Then she
waited another 9 years before she got the courage to publish it. Although TORN is closer to what Amber calls
“faction” than fiction, TORN draws upon experiences from her life as she
observed and participated in the social dramas surrounding her friends lives
and past relationships.
A native of
southern California, Amber loves to write and illustrate every chance she gets.
She spends most of her days conversing with her cat, Mouse. She enjoys German
culture and language, and while it’s no secret that she holds a special
affinity for the LGBTQ community, she does also look forward to writing books
in many different genres.
Author Links
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Giveaway (Five Signed
Copies) US ONLY
Source: eARC for Honest Review
Genre: YA, M/M, F/F, M/F
My Review...
I love the concept of a young girl and her friends finding themselves in a big world of possibilities. Trying to find their definition of normal where we are brought up with a way that society and religion try to make us conform to their definition of what normal should be.
First there is Krista who is a biracial 14 year old being basically raised by her older brothers because her mom left her for a missionary trip and her dad was a sperm donor. Her first kiss happens to be with a girl which opens up a world of confusion so what do you do to remedy that but lose your V card to a gay boy and hang out with someone twice your age..
Brandon who was my favorite throughout the book but here is the one thing that bothered me. He was supposed to by gay but he is supposed to come off like no one knew he was gay except his close friends but his dialogue and character through the book was very effeminate which was hard to believe otherwise. His character is supposed to be popular with both all the females and males.
Now we have Carrie who is just as confused as Krista but begins to make some bad decisions and gets into a world of trouble which only creates a bigger issue for all
Now Nick who was thought to be straight comes out and ends up with Brandon but he too is also super confused and is trying to find his way with his new identity.
Now Ryan I felt his crush on Krista was out of nowhere but hey with teenagers who the hell knows these days but he too became a bit confused with what and whom he wants
Now Daemon who is 28 and yes let me repeat Krista is 14. This was a hard storyline to swallow for me. The whole Krista/Daemon thing made me cringe while I was reading it. I felt better after Marc's theory of why but until then I felt like my eyes were burning.
Still during this time Brandon is getting around and all over the map with his emotions
The things that frustrated me with this book was there were WAY too many things going on, which made the book slow going and with quite a few timeline and detail inconsistencies (which unfortunately is a bog pet peeve of mine but I do get why it happens).
Again I liked the concept and after reading this book I have discussed it with many others and I realize that unfortunately this confusion about sexual identity, sex, drugs and the idea of love is quite a big deal for teenagers but it was a lot to take in and I will admit it has been MANY MANY years since I was a teenager and in my era these things weren't as a big deal as they are now.
In the end all things come to a head and end up how they end up. Some will have mixed emotions with the end but to me it made sense and I felt it was a good choice for all.
This story is a very visceral read with elements of absent parents, confusion, drugs, loss, hope, rape, incest, homosexuality and love.
3.5 Thumbs up!
. 5
Lauren
Excerpt
Sunday night. I sat
perched on the chair behind my desk with only the faint glow from my reading
light. By 10:00 p.m. the night air was crisp as it floated through my bedroom
window. I had been by myself for hours now.
I closed my math
book and abandoned my homework. I couldn’t concentrate; wandering thoughts
continued to distract me. I bit my lip and thought about my options. I wanted
to talk. I needed to talk, and Brandon was the only person in whom I could
confide. It was late, but I picked up the phone and dialed, praying he would
answer.
After the third
ring, Brandon said, “Hello?”
“It’s Krista.”
“Hey, gorgeous.” He
sounded remarkably awake.
“I can’t sleep.”
“Daydreaming about
Daemon?”
“Try bored. Josh is
on a date and basically told us not to expect him home. Marc had an emergency
call from the hospital. Just thought I’d see if you wanted to come over—hang
out.”
After a moment he
said, “Sure.”
“You’re the best,
Brandon.”
“That’s what they
all say.”
I couldn’t help
smiling. “See you when you get here.”
I hung up the
phone, then sat back on my bed and began thinking. I was scared to be alone in
the house at night, but I had other things on my mind, too. Tonight would be
the perfect opportunity to talk to Brandon. I had a daring question for
him—that is, if I got up the courage to ask him. I’d been tossing around an
unlikely idea in my head ever since he had surprised me with his boyishly sweet
kiss. Just as Carrie and I practiced I began to wonder how things might be if I
were doing the same thing with a boy.
Was it horrible of
me to consider it? Was it something I had no business asking? Would he hate me
or be offended if I did? I was afraid. I couldn’t be sure how he would react.
Well, there was only one way to find out.
Twenty minutes
later, Brandon rang my doorbell.
“Coming,” I yelled,
sliding down the tile of the foyer in my stocking feet to come to a skidding
halt at the door. I flung it wide open.
“Hey, you,” he said
through a brilliant smile. He wore well-fitted blue jeans and a silky,
short-sleeved, button down shirt in a deep shade of blue. He looked beautiful
in blue. He came inside and closed the door behind him. We hugged in greeting,
and I inhaled a sweet hint of his cologne.
“Thanks for
coming.”
“No problem.”
“You can pick the
movie,” I said as we walked into the living room. “Over by the cabinet.”
Brandon headed toward the entertainment center while I went into the kitchen.
I returned with two
cans of Coke, then flopped down Indian-style on the couch. “Did you find one?”
I said.
Smiling, he handed
me Can’t Buy Me Love.
“Again? We’ve only
seen it a hundred times.”
“But Patrick
Dempsey’s irresistible in this role.” He gave me one of his ridiculous grins.
“Fine. But I’ve
never understood your taste in men.”
Brandon put the
movie in, then sat down beside me. I tossed him a bag of Skittles. The usual
hard-fast rules about not talking didn’t apply to this movie, since we knew it
by heart. Sometimes it seemed as if we played it solely for background
atmosphere. I made myself comfortable as the opening credits began to roll.
“How’s Carrie?” he
asked.
Carrie hadn’t been
at school for the past two days. In fact, her school attendance over the past
month had been erratic. I really had no answer. When I had called Carrie’s
house, her mother stated that she wasn’t accepting phone calls. So far, she
hadn’t let me in on what was going on.
“She still hasn’t
talked to me about it.”
I turned my
attention back to the television and watched half-heartedly.
The movie had been
on for a while as I considered my dilemma. I wrestled with the idea of
approaching the subject; it had the potential to turn things weird, real quick.
Brandon laughed at a scene from the movie.
I made a tentative
beginning. “Brandon.”
He turned to look
at me. “What’s up?”
“I kind of
. . . need to talk to you.”
“So talk.”
“How many girls
have you slept with?” Not very subtle. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t
want to,” I added quickly.
He studied me. “That question’s left
field even for you,” he said.
I shrugged.
“So what’s up?”
Grabbing the remote control, he lowered the volume.
“Just curious, I
guess. You’ve never really talked about it.”
“There isn’t much
to tell.”
“But you have. . .”
“Yes. Twice.”
I reached for my
soda trying to act casual. “Did you like it?”
“The first time was
kinda weird,” he said as if he were summoning some far‑off memory. “Very vague.
I don’t know . . . I was really drunk. Barely have any recollection
of it at all.”
“So if you liked
guys, why did you bother with girls?”
“I guess because I
was kind of lost. I knew I felt differently, but at the same time, I was afraid
someone would find out, so I tried to ignore it. Basically went along with what
everyone else was doing. All anyone ever talked about was how great sex was.
There was always talk about what girls did what.” He shrugged. “My curiosity
got the better of me. I figured I was missing out on something.”
“And
. . . ”
His lips crooked
into a smile and then he laughed. “It was . . . interesting.”
“When was that?”
“Two years ago.”
“Were you nervous?”
“Considering I had
no idea what I was doing, yeah, I’d say so.” After a moment he added, “Well, at
least I tried it.”
“But I saw a talk
show that made it sound like gay men are totally turned off by women.”
“You watch too many
of those damn talk shows. I can’t speak for everybody, but not all gays feel
that way.” Brandon studied my eyes. “Am I going to have to drag out what’s
bugging you?”
My stomach fell and
my heart rate quickened. A lump formed in my throat.
“Does this have to
do with Carrie? You know. . . I’ll help in any way I can.”
He might live to
regret those words. “Thanks,” I managed to say. This was it. If I was ever
going to have the nerve to ask him, it had to be now.
“Are you feeling
well?” he said suddenly.
My voice, barely
audible, struggled to get the words out; I had officially reached panic mode.
“I need to ask you a favor.” Looking down at the couch, I picked at the fabric.
“A big one.”
“All right. What is
it?”
I couldn’t look at
him, but I mustered up all the courage I had and took a deep breath. “Would you
. . . ” I stopped, cleared my mind and tried again. My voice was
barely audible. “Will you be my first?”
Heat rushed to my
cheeks so fast that I thought I would surely pass out during the awkward
silence that followed. I felt like an ass. I flicked a nervous glance at him.
His face was utterly blank.
“I’m sorry. I
shouldn’t have mentioned it.” Why had I opened my mouth?
“Kris, you can have
any guy you want. Why me?”
“I trust you. I
don’t know . . . all these things have been going on with Carrie . .
. it’s so confusing,” I said. “Anyway, I—I want it to be you.” There. I said
it. “Will you do it?”
There was no way to
know what he was thinking because he didn’t answer me for a while. His voice
had lost all humor. “You kinda caught me off guard.” He looked at me again.
“How long have you been thinking about this? Have you actually thought this
through?”
I ignored his first
question. “I have. I’m completely sure.” I wasn’t, but I had to do something.
“If I’ve offended you . . .”
“It’s not that.”
He sat perched on
the edge of the couch, tipped forward with his elbows resting on his knees. He
stared at his hands, brows pursed in concern. “You’re serious.”
“Dead serious.”
“I can get the keys
to the beach house on Monday. We’ll—”
“No.” I swallowed
hard. “It has to be now. You know Carrie and I are leaving for dance camp next
week and I want to know…well I don’t now what I want to know but I want it to
happen before then. And tonight, no one will be home tonight.”
He fell back into
the couch, almost pale. “Tonight?”
“I need to know
before I see Carrie again.”
Brandon opened his
mouth but silence filled the air. He closed it when he couldn’t find a thing to
say.
“Kris
. . . ”
“I understand. It
was ridiculous of me to think . . . ” I looked down, shifting my
attention to my fingers. I finally made the admission. “At the party, I tried
with Eric, but—”
“What? You really
must’ve been on drugs! That’s craziness, Kris. I can’t believe you even considered
it.”
His vehemence
surprised me, and I sat there, silent.
“You’re afraid,” I
said finally.
“Terrified.” He
rubbed his hands together. “For more than one reason. If anything went wrong,
I’d hate myself for it. And won’t you regret it not happening with someone you
really like, maybe even someone you love?”
“I thought you
didn’t believe in love.”
“We’re talking
about you.”
“I just want to
experience what most girls do. Doesn’t that make sense?”
“Make sense? You
really don’t believe this a typical request, do you?”
“I’m not expecting
it to be perfect. I know the first time is generally a disappointment. I read
Seventeen magazine.”
His expression was
wary. Maybe he didn’t want me to decide my sexual preference based on an
experience with him.
He rubbed his hands
over his face. “We’ll see what happens,” he said.
