This review originally posted at More Than Just Magic 
 Natural disasters are not uncommon occurrences. It seems like every time you turn around there's been a tsunami, or tornado, or earthquake or hurricane. We see the damage done on television, we read the numbers - homes destroyed, people injured or killed. And we know it's devastating but sometimes I feel like we've become a little too desensitized. After some time passes the news moves on to the next big story and we forget that there are people still trying to cope with the aftermath of the disaster, still trying to survive after they've lost everything. 
 "what the news crews couldn't show was the real damage Elizabeth's monster tornado had left behind. How do you record the wreckage left in someone's heart?" 
 Torn Away brings the reader right into the heart of the disaster itself as well as it's aftermath. The tornado strikes right at the start of the novel and Jennifer Brown does an amazing job setting the tone and the atmosphere for it. Jersey finds herself alone when the storm touches down and her fear feels so real. It comes through in every paragraph. But that's only the beginning of the story. What really impressed me throughout the novel was how well Jennifer Brown described what Jersey's world looked like after she lost everything - from the half-destroyed buildings, to the injuries her neighbours suffered, to the lists of missing people, I felt like I was walking the wreckage right alongside her. 
 In addition to the tornado, Torn Away is also a book about family. The storm not only took away Jersey's house but it also took her mother and sister who weren't able to make it to safety. Her step-father is unable to cope with his grief and sends her off to live with her father's family, whom she has never met before. If this was a different kind of novel, they may have welcomed her with open arms - a long-lost daughter/sister/granddaughter finally come home. But Torn Away is not that kind of book. Through Jersey's struggles Brown shows that 'family' isn't something that comes automatically with blood relation. It's something that requires effort and co-operation and there may be some obstacles that people are unwilling to tackle. It's a tough message but it's one that makes the reader appreciate their own family that much more. 
 My one complaint is that her father's family - grandparents, her alcoholic father and step-mother and her half sisters - were so cruel and so unrelenting that at times it was almost too much. They were perfect stereotypes of white trash, so much so they became a little cartoonish in nature. This diminished the severity of her situation a touch, but was only one piece of the overall story. It wasn't my favourite part but I don't think it took away from the overall strength of the work. 
 Torn Away is tough, somber and unflinchingly honest story about loss and what it means to be a family. It demands to be devoured in a single sitting and will manage to both make you cry and warm your heart.