My first thoughts on this book were that I hoped it wasn’t going to be too ‘war-like’ and all action. However I was very pleasantly surprised. David Massey has managed to create a book that is informational, thought provoking, emotional, funny and insightful. Several times I had to remind myself that this book was written by a man. He managed to get inside Ellie‘s head so well and voiced her thoughts, fears, emotions very clearly and intuitively. This book is a must-read for everyone. It frankly tells what it is like for the soldiers in Afghanistan. Unless you have been there, it is not easy to imagine what it is like. Massey clearly describes what the environment is like, the conditions that the army live in and through Ellie’s thoughts, what it must be like to live like that, even for a short time. The conflict that they must feel when civilians become involved with the war. Soldier on soldier combat is one thing, but it becomes more ‘human’ when non-combatants become involved. Interspersed with the ‘horror’ of war there are some times of relaxation and light relief, like the football match. The introduction of the Afghan girl in the blue dress adds a different dimension to the story, lifting it from a pure war story and giving it a slightly mystical touch. This softens the tenseness of the war for the reader. I didn’t know whether I would enjoy it, but as each page turns I wanted to keep reading. After chapter 2, I was hooked.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it held my attention the entire way through and I found myself trying to read quicker to find out what was going to happen. I read a lot of YA books, partly due to the fact that I enjoy them but also in order that I may recommend them to my children if I think they are suitable for them... This is definitely one I will be putting on their shelves and drawing their attention to as it very cleverly makes it clear that war is not fun, exciting or clinical as it is in computer games but that there are real people out there, adullts and children, with their own opinions, worries and cares, but without preaching or becoming boring. This is an author I will be looking out for in the future and I will also be keeping an eye on Chicken House Publishers too as this isn't the first book of theirs my children and I have enjoyed.

This book has a lot of good things to talk about. It was very easy to read, a little bit to do with the sometimes-simplistic vocabulary (but this of course is perfect for its target readership) but mainly because the story was interesting and rewarding. The description is great in an effortless way, and it wasn't until I examined a few paragraphs in more detail that I noticed the gorgeous and evocative imagery. Still, there are a few things that just weaken it a bit. Firstly, the main character. I know that she's 19 so that the YA readers can relate to her, but straight away my brain went "hang on, you can't be a qualified medic at 19." So I asked a relative who is in medical school, and she said "Ah, no." So I understand why the author made that decision, but it was a little annoying that on the first page I was questioning the authenticity, as it meant the rest (most of which is really, really good) was a little bit diminished for me. Secondly, the character of Heidi started out brilliantly, but as the plot progressed I found that her behaviour and relationships with other characters became a bit... contrived perhaps. A bit obvious. When I finished, I thought it was all right, but not the best book I've read of its ilk. But then I saw some snippets of footage from Afghanistan on the news, and I saw someone using a detector to look for IEDs and my mind went instantly to the crew in "Torn". And that was when I realised that it had impacted on me more, and taught me more, than I'd thought; and that is what this type of novel is all about: giving young people an insight into the awful complexities of modern warfare. And it does.

Who is the young girl Private Elinor Nielson meets out on her first patrol in Afghanistan? A lost child? There is something mysterious about her that Ellie just can’t put her finger on. But when her and her team keep encountering a group of fighter children who call themselves the Young Martyrs, it seems that the girl, Aroush, is somehow tied up with them. Tasked to identify where the kids have come from and why, Ellie’s team uncovers what looks set to be quite a conspiracy, likely to turn many heads and pose many ethical questions back home in Britain. Torn develops in the most intriguing of ways. Rather than just trying to represent the daily grind of life on the front, Massey has developed a subtle and revealing plotline that takes the reader closer to the heart of the Afghan war, and builds in a mystery that forced me to keep turning the pages. Through the medium of this story, and the search for the truth of what happened to the Young Martyrs and their village, Massey introduces the different aspects, complications and horrors of war, particularly the manner in which all the different sides are pitted against one another. There are scenes of death and warfare, but Massey treats them respectfully, drawing the reader in to feel the adrenaline of the moment and the sorrow of the loss without sensationalising it. It is a subtle and effective form of writing well refined for the teenage age-group. The love story is there too, but it is a quiet, tantalising love story that does not overshadow the main focus of the book, instead just adding that little extra contrast, helping to keep the reader in tune with the other events. A bittersweet book, with a dramatic ending, that is refreshingly different from standard teenage fare.