Torn Away

Torn Away by Jennifer Brown is the story of surviving a natural disaster and its aftermath.

Jersey Cameron has always lived in the Midwest. She grew up loving storms, even with the tornado drills they had to do at school. She loves dancing in the summer rain.

Now, a couple of weeks before the end of her junior year, all she wants to do is be lazy. When her little sister asks to teach her the East Coast Swing that she learned in dance class, Jersey says no. When her mother and sister leave for dance class, Jersey finally drags herself off of the couch to do chores and get dinner ready.

Just as she starts cooking a tornado warning siren goes off. She considers ignoring it. There are so many false alarms. Then she decides she should go to the basement where she spend the most terrifying fifteen minutes of her life.

When she emerges from under the pool table, bruised and battered, but alive, she is surprised to find that most of her house is missing. She has no cell phone service, and she doesn't know where her mom and sister are, or her step-father.

Brown has written the story of a girl whose life is ripped away from her. She has to grieve while also learning how to survive. She is sent to live with family who might as well be strangers - people her mother warned her about.

Brown is a great writer who tackles tough issues with amazing characters. Her books are strong and her stories thought provoking and sometimes heart wrenching. Check one out today.

Brown, Jennifer. (2014). Torn Away. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

Thousand Words

Thousand Words by Jennifer Brown is the story of a text gone wrong.

Ashleigh Maynard is about to start her senior year of high school. Her boyfriend is leaving for college in a few days. At an end of the summer party her friends convince her to send him a picture of herself naked, and she is just drunk enough to do it.

But when Ashleigh and Kaleb break up he proves that he is not the great guy she thought he was. Kaleb shares the picture with his baseball friends - who share it with everyone else.

Now Ashleigh is doing community service. She was charged with distribution of child pornography. Her community service is to create a brochure about sexting and how it can be harmful. Plus she has to go to school every day with everyone staring at her and calling her names.

Jennifer Brown proved she could write a great YA novel about a tough subject when she tackled school shooting in Hate List. With this new novel she cements her place as a brilliant writer.

Brown, Jennifer. (2013). Thousand Words. New York: Little Brown and Company.

Hate List

Hate List by Jennifer Brown is a compelling look at school violence and its aftermath.

At the end of her junior year of high school, Valerie Leftman thought things were going well. She had a boyfriend and a small group of friends who helped her battle all of the mean people in high school. In order to vent her frustration she began to write down the people and things she didn't like. When her boyfriend Nick found it, it became their hate list.

Nick used the hate list as a guide for whom to shoot in the school lunch area Valerie's (and everyone else's) world changed. At first she did not understand what was happening. When she did she tried to stop Nick - and was shot herself.

Four months later - after a summer of physical therapy and counseling - Valerie is returning to school. Though she was not a participant in the shooting, not everyone thinks she is innocent.

Jennifer Brown captures the emotions of being a teen who is put into a situation too complex to deal with. She creates a realistic picture of life after a tragedy. Hate List is an excellent book. For another thought-provoking look at the aftermath of school shootings, watch the film Home Room.

Hate List belongs in the catergory of intense, provocative group of YA novels that have something important to say or teach about a difficult subject along with books like Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak.

Brown, Jennifer. (2009). Hate List. New York: Little, Brown & Company.