Torn to Pieces by Margot McDonnell is one of those books that hooked me and kept me reading, but that I probably won’t remember in six months.

Anne  is used to her mom being on long business trips,  but when her mom is days late coming home and Anne can’t track her down, she lets her grandparents know she is worried. They give her a letter from her mother, written before she left, and as Anne reads it, her whole world is torn apart. No one is who they claim to be and now her life may be in danger. And that’s on top of the regular teenage girl concerns, like boys.

This is a YA thriller and the plot just keeps going. Anne, strong, independent, mostly level-headed, just never gets to stop and take a breath. Everything she knows to be true turns out to be a lie and she’s got two sets of bad guys after her, but at least a local cop is doing all she can to help, and Anne’s grandparents are calm and solid in the midst of the chaos her life has become. The plot twists and turns, and just when I thought I knew what was going on I got surprised.

There’s the inescapable YA romance aspect. Anne’s got two guys on her radar, one of whom seems perfect but interested only in friendship, the other who has some major issues but seems like a decent guy at heart. I will say I thought Anne was too trusting too soon, especially considering how many secrets she’s uncovering about her own family.

It’s a quick read with lots of twists and turns. It gets rather unbelievable, but you have to just go along with it and enjoy the story.

3 out of 5 stars

Category: YA-Thriller

First published September 9, 2008
272 pages

Purchase: Amazon or IndieBound.

Book source: Library

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