Torn Kindle Edition

was not what I expected.SPOILER ALERT - if you wish to preserve your innocence bail now.Content Rating: Edgy - but yes - YA. But older YA.Had drug use, not wanton or glamorized but YEA, it was there. Had one guy that got bombed out of his mind on heroin laced X. Alcohol galore. No pot surprisingly. Had teens in places that I'd NEVER want them to be and acting more adult than teen. Had sex, but was well done and not overly graphic. Had one incident of 'party date rape'.Still YA, but edgy. Definitely still YA.Was well written, though some elements pushed at the bounds of what I saw as believable. The sheltered daughter of a missionary being left behind to attend public school - eh. Straining believable in the amount of 'disregard' after a life of girls only christian school to have her mother just throw her out there and then leave for the mission field with the almost non existent supervision of her brothers. The beginning of the book almost lost me at one part in the story where I found myself saying - GIRLS are not this stupid. But i got past that, and into the story. It ended well, I did finish it and for the most part I did enjoy it, and to the books great credit, it did surprise me. The back side of the story was much better than the initial portion in my regard. Rare that. If I could give 3.5 stars I would, and to be honest, if this had been more of what I'd been looking for I may have, but its not really a true 'Lesbian' romance as THE BACK COVER BLURB leads readers to believe. It's a 'Gay' romance, with a gay male main character who befriends our verginal heroin, who hardly seems like she's 'on the fence for girls' and falls for her. If I'd had a better heads up going in I doubt Id have purchased it. For what its worth, good book, NOT really a Lesbian romance. And, weirdly its not even really a Gay romance, though there are more male/male moments in the book than boy girl or girl/girl. Its something in between. But not what I expected from the back cover. Hope this helped.

I had some very strong reactions to this story, most of which revolved around my being (a) shocked that a 14 year old would be in these kinds of situations and (b) the supposed adults needed to be smacked. I think my reactions are what they would be if Krista was someone I knew in real life. I think it's rare that I have this kind of reaction to a work of fiction where my feelings about the story and the characters feel real.The main character Krista is a 14 year old girl who after a dare in which she ends up kissing her friend Carrie seems to spiral into a series of incredibly bad decisions. The reader is initially led to believe that Krista's struggle revolves around her feelings for Carrie and if they are real or "just a phase." Which leads to a series of questionable decisions, including attending a party where Krista is about to have sex with a boy she does not know... because it seems like the thing to do.There were so many places in this story where I had to stop reading and wonder to myself if teenagers' lives are even remotely like this, because it made my teenage years seem easy in comparison. Needless to say there were a number of things that bothered me about the story, and left me questioning if the author could have possibly thrown one more horrible decision at Krista. However, I can appreciate that a 14 year old who found herself in any one of the situations described, would be hard pressed to make an appropriate/safe decision: especially in this case when she does not have a true parent figure in her life.All of the relationships in this story are dysfunctional but the one that disturbed me the most was between Krista and Daemon her bible study teacher. Here was a relationship that should have been adult to teenager and yet Daemon finds himself manipulated into a bad situation and I was thoroughly disappointed that there were no real consequences to Krista's actions.

Going out there and saying that this was one of my all time fave books. I was completely blown away! For the first time I actually wrote notes besides my kindle clippings. It was filled with so much emotion and angst.Where can I start without writing too lengthily? Well The book opens with a girl Krista who moves from Ohio to Orange County California. She is starting High School and is 14. On the first day she meets Carrie who is the first girl she sees when she shows up at 0 period. I think this is a Cali thing cause my kids did it. She is in a dance class and sort of hits it off with Carrie right away. Within a few hours she meets Brandon who appears to be Carries bf and they are making out to Krista's embarrassment. Well it was all for show they are just really good friends. She meets Brandon, surfer, Mr rich, hot, smart and popular 16 year old. Along with Brandon she meets Ryan, Nick and Aeleise who is his girlfriend.As they all settle into high school and get to know each other Brandon emerges as a very strong character. He is sort of intuitive and reads people well. It turns out Brandon a few really big reveals. His secrets and identity as a gay teen in the public eye as a sponsored surfer. He keeps that private. Once they hang out things happen between Carrie and Krista that leave them both questioning life, love and sex. They are now not afraid to talk and experiment which leads them on a pretty dangerous path. Several times I held my breath! In comes Aeleise who is Daemon's sister and happens to be a hot 28 year old who teaches a small group bible study.Many twists and turns take them from bff to hating each other, then back to friends. It is filled with so much emotion and at times it is hard to read. That is what I loved about it! Also what Krista deals with when she questions Daemon's feelings towards her. Is he attracted to her or not? Then her and Carrie question their bond. Then the BIG OMG moment is when Brandon questions his entire life.I cant express how glad I was that I read it. I saw some reviews that made me curse like a tuck driver. I applaud Amber Lehman and as a Cali girl, she was so accurate it hurt! This is REAL life people and I will say it is by far one of the best books I have EVER read.