6th Grade Entry - Torn to Pieces

6th graders at WOMS have been invited to post guest entries on my blog for YA books they’ve recently read. This is Raquel’s entry. Thanks, Raquel!

Torn to Pieces – Margot McDonnell
Harper Collins, 258 pages

In Torn to Pieces by Margot McDonnell, Annie is hoping that she won’t have to move again. Her mom has dragged her around with her grandparents since she was a little kid, and she really wants to settle down. She’s just made a friend when two mysterious boys arrive at her school. Although she doesn’t know it, as Annie gets closer and closer to the boys, she’s also getting closer to her mother’s past. Led by a phone message left by her mother Annie finds a bunch of thousand dollar bills in a hollow book. Soon after, her mother disappears. Annie knows that her mom must have been dealing with drugs. What happened to her? Is her employer after her? Is she dead? Read the book to find out.
Annie has bright orange hair, the color of maple tree leaves in the fall. Boys are a mystery to her since the only person who dated her was using her. The only person who like-likes Annie is a how-low-can-you-go pants kid named Junior who has baggy, pink, eyelids. She plays a saxophone called Beastie Boy and has a cat named Zorro. I wish I had hair like Annie’s.

I liked that this was a mystery without the detective as the main character. Usually the whole story is about the detective. The book was more interesting that way. Detectives don’t get into a lot of fights, they just solve the crimes. Torn to Pieces was very suspenseful. Also, Annie was an interesting character.

I think that mystery-lovers should read this book. Also, people who like romance with action. People who like suspenseful books would like this book. Finally, people who don’t mind blood, hair loss (not because of old age), and broken bones should read this book.

Submitted by Raquel G.