Saturday, August 10, 2013

Torn by David Massey

This is an interesting story and a welcome departure from all the dystopian YA books being published recently. It's the story of Elinor, a young British medic who is sent to a war zone in Afghanistan for her first military assignment. She immediately is placed on life-threatening patrols where at any moment her squad could be killed by insurgent explosive devices. She also very quickly is drawn into a mystery—why are Afghani children fighting against the British troops as well as the Taliban, and who is the mysterious girl with green eyes who appears whenever someone is in mortal danger? American Navy SEALS join the British troops and together they go deep into Afghanistan on a mission to find hidden weapons, investigate the warring children, and find a missing child. I liked Ellie and her British comrades and having a glimpse into the war in Afghanistan. The plot (and the romance) may have been a bit contrived, but it's a book that held my interest all the way through and I think some teens (8th grade and up) will enjoy.

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