Review: Torn by Cat Clarke.

Book: Torn

Author: Cat Clarke

Pages: 372

How Long it Took Me Read: 1 day.

Plot Summary: Alice King isn’t expecting the holiday of a lifetime when she sets off with her classmates on a trip to the Scottish wilderness, but she’s not exactly prepared for an experience beyond her darkest nightmares… 

Alice and her best friend Cass are stuck in a cabin with Polly, the social outcast, and Rae, the moody emo-girl. Then there’s Tara – queen of mean. Powerful, beautiful and cruel, she likes nothing better than putting people down. 

Cass decides it’s time to teach Tara a lesson she’ll never forget. And so begins a series of events that will change the lives of these girls forever...

A compelling story of guilty secrets, troubled friendship and burgeoning love. 

General Thoughts and Review: I have read one more book by Cat Clarke in the past. It was called Entangled and I picked that book purely based on it's cover. I thought it was OK but I didn't love it or anything. I actually ended up selling it when I moved cities. I wasn't impressed by the writing and when I heard of this book I thought meh...not reading a book by an author whose previous work failed to impress me. 

But...the plot of this book sounded pretty fun and I needed to read a fast paced, suspenseful book. I thought I'd give this author another chance and I am glad I did. 

I really enjoyed this book. It was everything it promised to be, a quick read about secrets, friendship and bad choices and the aftermath of these choices. I was hooked from the first page and kept reading at breakneck speed to find out what happened. I read somewhere that this is the book for the fans of Pretty Little Liars. I love (OK love might be a word too strong) more like- really like the TV show. I haven't read the book series. I read the first book in the series and didn't like it at all. It was basically the first episode of the show. Yes, the entire book was a first episode. Pretty much nothing happened and the writing was just too middle grade. But since I do like the TV show and the basic premise of PLL, I wanted to read this book. 

It is a little like PLL- in the sense it is about 5 girls in a cabin and one of them goes missing. The four remaining girls are left grappling with the decisions they made that night and how these decisions change them. 

The one thing that realllllly made me happy was that there was murder...or death...the missing girl isn't just missing. She is dead. I hate books that promise you one thing and give you something else. There is a dead girl and her four cabin mates had something to do with it. 

Alice- our lead character is having a hard time post the death of Tara and she wants to make things right but doesn't know how. To complicate matters, she finds herself falling for Tara's little brother and lying to him and everyone else is making her life miserable. I liked Alice and how she was dealing with a pretty messed up situation. Sure I would like to think I would do things a little differently but then...forget it. 

The main thing I loved about the book is the many twists and turns and surprises it holds. Some of them predictable, only slightly, but the main twist was pretty freaking awesome! I also loved how this book has you thinking you know a character and trust them and feel a certain way about them but BAM! suddenly you are left with a whole new view and perspective on them. (***SPOILER ALERT***) Also, this book is interesting in the sense that it turns the stereotypical perception of the "Mean Girl" and the "victim" totally on its head! 

Really, read this book! 

Rating: 4/5