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Can't Look Away
Torrey Grey is famous. At least, on the internet. Thousands of people watch her popular videos on fashion and beauty. But when Torrey's sister is killed in an accident—maybe because of Torrey and her videos—Torrey's perfect world implodes.
Now, strangers online are bashing Torrey. And at her new school, she doesn't know who to trust. Is queen bee Blair only being sweet because of Torrey's internet infamy? What about Raylene, who is decidedly unpopular, but seems accepts Torrey for who she is? And then there's Luis, with his brooding dark eyes, whose family runs the local funeral home. Torrey finds herself drawn to Luis, and his fascinating stories about El Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead.
As the Day of the Dead draws near, Torrey will have to really look at her own feelings about death, and life, and everything in between. Can she learn to mourn her sister out of the public eye?
Now, strangers online are bashing Torrey. And at her new school, she doesn't know who to trust. Is queen bee Blair only being sweet because of Torrey's internet infamy? What about Raylene, who is decidedly unpopular, but seems accepts Torrey for who she is? And then there's Luis, with his brooding dark eyes, whose family runs the local funeral home. Torrey finds herself drawn to Luis, and his fascinating stories about El Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead.
As the Day of the Dead draws near, Torrey will have to really look at her own feelings about death, and life, and everything in between. Can she learn to mourn her sister out of the public eye?
264 pages, Hardcover
First published August 26, 2014
199 people are currently reading
3473 people want to read
About the author
Donna Cooner
30 books329 followersDonna Cooner was born and raised in Texas. She is a three time graduate of Texas A&M University. A former teacher and school administrator, she now teaches teachers and principals at Colorado State University where she is the director of the School of Teacher Education and Principal Preparation. She lives in Fort Collins, Colorado, with her two labs and a cat named Stu. She’s a big fan of chocolate and laughing (not necessarily in that order).
Donna is the author of two novels for young adults, SKINNY and CAN’T LOOK AWAY. She’s also the author of over twenty picture books and was a founding member of the Brazos Valley Society of Children’s Bookwriters and Illustrators. She has also written children’s television shows for PBS and textbooks for future teachers.
Donna is the author of two novels for young adults, SKINNY and CAN’T LOOK AWAY. She’s also the author of over twenty picture books and was a founding member of the Brazos Valley Society of Children’s Bookwriters and Illustrators. She has also written children’s television shows for PBS and textbooks for future teachers.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 546 reviews
January 11, 2015
It's a little clichéd; self centred, shallow teen learns life lessons and grows, but at the same time I really enjoyed it.
Torrey is absolutely obsessed with image, being in the popular crowd and having lots of subscribers on her beauty channel, where a 'version' of her has gained hundreds of thousands of subs. As the owner of a BookTube channel I kept thinking to myself 'I hope people who read this don't think we're all like that!' She was a seriously unlikeable character.
After the death of her sister the family move to Texas, and Torrey is forced into unlikely friendships and relationships, but she's still obsessed with popularity, to the point where I started to lose patience waiting for this big epiphany to hit. Of course it did, and all was forgiven (pretty much).
LOVED the side characters, especially Raylene and Luis. Even Ross for some reason. The mean-girls were the biggest cliché, but served their purpose too. Even the family relationships were great, incredibly real and added the majority of emotion to this novel. I appreciated that we got to see the impact of Miranda's death on the parents too.
The writing isn't anything mind blowing, but I did like the quotes from Torrey's vlogs at the beginning of each chapter, tying it in a little more with this alter-ego she's trying to maintain. The 'video title - chapter titles' I'm not so sure worked, but no big deal.
Overall the things that stood out to me are;
1. Day of the Dead is very cool, and I can really see the appeal of celebrating it.
2. Quirky boyfriends (and friends!) are the coolest.
3. If you have to try to be friends with someone, don't be friends with them.
Torrey is absolutely obsessed with image, being in the popular crowd and having lots of subscribers on her beauty channel, where a 'version' of her has gained hundreds of thousands of subs. As the owner of a BookTube channel I kept thinking to myself 'I hope people who read this don't think we're all like that!' She was a seriously unlikeable character.
After the death of her sister the family move to Texas, and Torrey is forced into unlikely friendships and relationships, but she's still obsessed with popularity, to the point where I started to lose patience waiting for this big epiphany to hit. Of course it did, and all was forgiven (pretty much).
LOVED the side characters, especially Raylene and Luis. Even Ross for some reason. The mean-girls were the biggest cliché, but served their purpose too. Even the family relationships were great, incredibly real and added the majority of emotion to this novel. I appreciated that we got to see the impact of Miranda's death on the parents too.
The writing isn't anything mind blowing, but I did like the quotes from Torrey's vlogs at the beginning of each chapter, tying it in a little more with this alter-ego she's trying to maintain. The 'video title - chapter titles' I'm not so sure worked, but no big deal.
Overall the things that stood out to me are;
1. Day of the Dead is very cool, and I can really see the appeal of celebrating it.
2. Quirky boyfriends (and friends!) are the coolest.
3. If you have to try to be friends with someone, don't be friends with them.
December 25, 2014
My thanks to Scholastic and NetGalley
Actual Rating: 4.5
Point of View: Single (Torrey Grey)
Writing Style: First Person | Present Tense/Past Tense (Flashbacks)
Setting: Texas
Genre: Young Adult | Realistic Fiction
This book exceeded my expectation. I loved how simple this book seemed, and yet still managed to touch such a heartbreaking subject. It wasn't a typical book about a girl trying to be popular. Well, Torrey did try to attach herself to the most poplar girl in her new school, but that wasn't what made this book interesting. To me, I think the way she tried to cope with her sister's death and to find who her real friends were were astonishing. It was a story about grief, friendship and so much more.
Torrey was a complicated character. I didn't like how shallow and bitter she seemed from the beginning of the book. She was way too bothered by how people thought of her. There were still a lot to like about her, though. As the story progressed, I began to like her character more and more. I liked how strong Torrey became and how she tried to be a better person.
Other characters were also well-developed. Luis, for instance, was so charming and I loved him dearly. Raylene, Torrey's cousin, was so sweet and weird in an adorable way.
As for the writing, I loved the pace and the great transition from one scene to the next. It was smooth and straight to the point. The flashbacks warmed and broke my heart simultaneously, and I was glad for those since it helped me get to know Miranda, Torrey's dead sister.
All in all, it was a wonderful and heartwarming story about a girl trying to get over her sister's death. I'm not into YouTube sensations and I totally don't care about that whatsoever, still I found myself enjoying this book more than I had expected.
August 6, 2014
4.5 :): I received this via GoodReads First Reads Giveaways in exchange for an honest review.
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Gonna be a short review since my computer froze and original got deleted:(
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I really enjoyed this one :)
At first I liked Torrey but it got on my nerves how concerned she was with being popular but as the book went and she grew as a character, I warmed up to her. Torrey's stronger than she thinks, even if it takes her awhile to realize it.
Torrey's family is each dealing with Miranda's death in their own way, getting through each day the best way they can.
I've lost family members myself but I can't imagine losing someone the way Torrey and her family lost Miranda. They're all tied together but drifting from one another.
This one had me crying and laughing... there were some lighthearted moments among the sadness, some of the flashbacks showing you what Miranda was like (she was a kid I probly would've been friends with). One particular memory of a beach trip and a moonstone bracelet were my favorites.
Luis and Raylene were wonderful characters, they were just what Torrey needed, even if she doesn't realize it right away. They were caring and compassionate.. Raylene was a bit hyper and scattered but in a good way (reminds me of a few people I know):).
Luis' grandma and her friend were a hoot, loved them!
The info about 'dia de los muertos' (day of the dead) was very interesting.
There is a bit of a romance but its gradual and in the background, really sweet too.
Over the course of the book, little moments and interactions... you see the Greys slowly start the healing process and not exactly move on, but living their lives again and cherishing Miranda's memory.. more happy tears in my eyes :).
The ending I thought was wonderful, a bit of closure for the family in a way.
Donna Cooner has an engaging way of writing everything, highly recommend! Had a hard time putting this one down, which is always a plus <3
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Gonna be a short review since my computer froze and original got deleted:(
~~~~
I really enjoyed this one :)
At first I liked Torrey but it got on my nerves how concerned she was with being popular but as the book went and she grew as a character, I warmed up to her. Torrey's stronger than she thinks, even if it takes her awhile to realize it.
Torrey's family is each dealing with Miranda's death in their own way, getting through each day the best way they can.
I've lost family members myself but I can't imagine losing someone the way Torrey and her family lost Miranda. They're all tied together but drifting from one another.
This one had me crying and laughing... there were some lighthearted moments among the sadness, some of the flashbacks showing you what Miranda was like (she was a kid I probly would've been friends with). One particular memory of a beach trip and a moonstone bracelet were my favorites.
Luis and Raylene were wonderful characters, they were just what Torrey needed, even if she doesn't realize it right away. They were caring and compassionate.. Raylene was a bit hyper and scattered but in a good way (reminds me of a few people I know):).
Luis' grandma and her friend were a hoot, loved them!
The info about 'dia de los muertos' (day of the dead) was very interesting.
There is a bit of a romance but its gradual and in the background, really sweet too.
Over the course of the book, little moments and interactions... you see the Greys slowly start the healing process and not exactly move on, but living their lives again and cherishing Miranda's memory.. more happy tears in my eyes :).
The ending I thought was wonderful, a bit of closure for the family in a way.
Donna Cooner has an engaging way of writing everything, highly recommend! Had a hard time putting this one down, which is always a plus <3
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 3, 2015
Beauty vlogger Torrey Grey has thousands of people watching her vlog on You Tube. She loves it. She loves connecting to people and she loves hearing what they have to say about her vlog’s. But when Torrey’s younger sister is killed by a drunk driver, suddenly all those nice comments now turn into nasty ones when they start blaming her for her sister’s death – and really, Torrey blames herself to even though it wasn’t her fault. Moving to Texas to be close to relatives might be the worse idea her parents have ever had but once there, Torrey finds some relief in people not knowing who she is. Trying to mourn her sister is hard especially when it feels like the whole world is waiting for her next vlog. But when Torrey meets Louis – the guy whose family own the local funeral home, Louis tries to help Torrey through her grief.
I’ve never read anything by Donna Cooner before and so I didn’t really have any expectations when I went into Can’t Look Away but I found myself pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I loved that the story dealt with serious and real life issues because it’s a story that most people will be able to connect with emotionally and that what happened to me while reading the story. I felt it was important for us to get to know Torrey’s sister and form the bond that with her and feel the loss like Torrey did, and Donna Cooner made that possible which was fantastic.
I really liked Torrey – although to start with she’s a little self-centred because a lot of her thoughts are about herself, her vlog and fashion. But as the story progresses you can she her changing. Her sister’s death makes her realise there is more to life and she needs to grab it with both hands. And while she didn’t always do the right things to start with or more so, she doesn’t follow her heart to start with, I found that okay too. I loved that her character developed along the way.
There are plenty of secondary characters to add the fun element to the story, although not all of them are likable, there are some gems within the story like Torrey’s cousin Raylene, Ross and of course, the love interest Louis. These were definitely my favourites from the story especially Louis. He’s such a well-rounded character and I really liked how he pushes Torrey to open up. And Louis’ family were so much fun – I loved the idea of The Day of the Dead. It’s not something I’ve heard of before but I really enjoyed reading about it.
In all, Can’t Look Away is an emotional and realistic read and I’ll be watching out for more books by this author.
Thank you to Egmont for giving me the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review.
I’ve never read anything by Donna Cooner before and so I didn’t really have any expectations when I went into Can’t Look Away but I found myself pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I loved that the story dealt with serious and real life issues because it’s a story that most people will be able to connect with emotionally and that what happened to me while reading the story. I felt it was important for us to get to know Torrey’s sister and form the bond that with her and feel the loss like Torrey did, and Donna Cooner made that possible which was fantastic.
I really liked Torrey – although to start with she’s a little self-centred because a lot of her thoughts are about herself, her vlog and fashion. But as the story progresses you can she her changing. Her sister’s death makes her realise there is more to life and she needs to grab it with both hands. And while she didn’t always do the right things to start with or more so, she doesn’t follow her heart to start with, I found that okay too. I loved that her character developed along the way.
There are plenty of secondary characters to add the fun element to the story, although not all of them are likable, there are some gems within the story like Torrey’s cousin Raylene, Ross and of course, the love interest Louis. These were definitely my favourites from the story especially Louis. He’s such a well-rounded character and I really liked how he pushes Torrey to open up. And Louis’ family were so much fun – I loved the idea of The Day of the Dead. It’s not something I’ve heard of before but I really enjoyed reading about it.
In all, Can’t Look Away is an emotional and realistic read and I’ll be watching out for more books by this author.
Thank you to Egmont for giving me the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review.
December 3, 2015
FIRST THOUGHTS:
This is a very high 3.5 stars, really. While I didn't feel particularly invested in the characters, I appreciated each and every one of their roles in this story. The addition of Torrey's life as a vlogger, including quotes from her videos (which were pretty solid) and chapter titles (which I wasn't too fond of) made for an interesting angle. I was really drawn into thinking about what it really means to put yourself out there when you vlog (or blog), and how to handle it when delicate things happen. More thoughts to come!
REVIEW:
(Originally posted on Alexa Loves Books)
Can’t Look Away surprised me, and in a pleasant way. I started it because I was interested in seeing how Torrey’s vlogger life would come into play after she lost her little sister. I finished it feeling pretty satisfied, and challenged to ask myself a few questions about blogging/vlogging alike.
Main character Torrey is very real, which means there were things about her I liked, and things that I felt were less likable. She’s done things that are silly and selfish, things that made me sad or angry. But it’s authentic to her struggle as a young teen to figure herself out, to figure out what she wants/believes/needs. Cooner managed to capture Torrey’s life in a way that felt natural, and also readable. Plus, Torrey is a vlogger, which will be discussed a bit more shortly.
There were also a sprinkling of great secondary characters, but three in particular stood out: her younger sister Miranda, her classmate and crush Luis and her cousin Raylene. Miranda, though she’s died, comes alive so wonderfully in Torrey’s memories. In fact, Cooner really shows readers the kind of up and down relationship that sisters can have. Luis and Raylene, though they could have been developed a bit more, were both offbeat and unexpected personalities that helped Torrey in the midst of her grief.
Speaking of grief, it almost feels like it should be a character in Can’t Look Away. If you’ve been reading this blog for some time, I always mention how I find it utterly fascinating to see how authors depict their characters handling grief. There are a variety of responses, and Cooner uses a few in this novel. Torrey’s dad tries to throw himself back into the monotony of daily life, while her mother was openly depressed and inactive. Torrey, on the other hand, manages to keep her grief mostly to herself, even as she occasionally toys with the idea of allowing it free reign on her vlog channel. There’s no right, wrong or even standard response to grief, as everyone goes about it their own way; I love that Cooner showcased that.
But really, what makes Can’t Look Away really memorable for me is the way vlogging is a part of Torrey’s story. Vlogging is something Torrey does because she enjoys it, and she’s gained quite a following. After the tragedy of losing her sister, and in such a public way, she was under a lot of scrutiny. Her followers were in different camps, some being supportive and others turning into haters.
It was pretty interesting to observe what would happen to someone as popular as Torrey in the face of such tragedy. It really got me thinking about what you choose to put out there online, how much you share with followers (who feel like friends) and how much you decide to keep to yourself. Personally, I can’t imagine not having this online life at all (since I love all of you and love what I do), but I also know that I have limits on what I choose to share.
I do feel like there were a couple of things that could have used further development. However, it’s a novel that touches on grief, and how internet life affects real life, and that made for an interesting mix. All in all, Can’t Look Away is a solid read.
This is a very high 3.5 stars, really. While I didn't feel particularly invested in the characters, I appreciated each and every one of their roles in this story. The addition of Torrey's life as a vlogger, including quotes from her videos (which were pretty solid) and chapter titles (which I wasn't too fond of) made for an interesting angle. I was really drawn into thinking about what it really means to put yourself out there when you vlog (or blog), and how to handle it when delicate things happen. More thoughts to come!
REVIEW:
(Originally posted on Alexa Loves Books)
Can’t Look Away surprised me, and in a pleasant way. I started it because I was interested in seeing how Torrey’s vlogger life would come into play after she lost her little sister. I finished it feeling pretty satisfied, and challenged to ask myself a few questions about blogging/vlogging alike.
Main character Torrey is very real, which means there were things about her I liked, and things that I felt were less likable. She’s done things that are silly and selfish, things that made me sad or angry. But it’s authentic to her struggle as a young teen to figure herself out, to figure out what she wants/believes/needs. Cooner managed to capture Torrey’s life in a way that felt natural, and also readable. Plus, Torrey is a vlogger, which will be discussed a bit more shortly.
There were also a sprinkling of great secondary characters, but three in particular stood out: her younger sister Miranda, her classmate and crush Luis and her cousin Raylene. Miranda, though she’s died, comes alive so wonderfully in Torrey’s memories. In fact, Cooner really shows readers the kind of up and down relationship that sisters can have. Luis and Raylene, though they could have been developed a bit more, were both offbeat and unexpected personalities that helped Torrey in the midst of her grief.
Speaking of grief, it almost feels like it should be a character in Can’t Look Away. If you’ve been reading this blog for some time, I always mention how I find it utterly fascinating to see how authors depict their characters handling grief. There are a variety of responses, and Cooner uses a few in this novel. Torrey’s dad tries to throw himself back into the monotony of daily life, while her mother was openly depressed and inactive. Torrey, on the other hand, manages to keep her grief mostly to herself, even as she occasionally toys with the idea of allowing it free reign on her vlog channel. There’s no right, wrong or even standard response to grief, as everyone goes about it their own way; I love that Cooner showcased that.
But really, what makes Can’t Look Away really memorable for me is the way vlogging is a part of Torrey’s story. Vlogging is something Torrey does because she enjoys it, and she’s gained quite a following. After the tragedy of losing her sister, and in such a public way, she was under a lot of scrutiny. Her followers were in different camps, some being supportive and others turning into haters.
It was pretty interesting to observe what would happen to someone as popular as Torrey in the face of such tragedy. It really got me thinking about what you choose to put out there online, how much you share with followers (who feel like friends) and how much you decide to keep to yourself. Personally, I can’t imagine not having this online life at all (since I love all of you and love what I do), but I also know that I have limits on what I choose to share.
I do feel like there were a couple of things that could have used further development. However, it’s a novel that touches on grief, and how internet life affects real life, and that made for an interesting mix. All in all, Can’t Look Away is a solid read.
January 15, 2015
Torrey Grey’s beauty channel 'Beautystarz15' is a YouTube sensation. Her online reputation is built on having the perfect life; every viewer either wants to be her or feels like she’s their best friend, so when Torrey’s younger sister Miranda dies it’s impossible for her to keep up that perfect carefree image anymore. Her thousands of followers once made Torrey happy but now the internet is watching her grieve and the haters are harder than ever to ignore. Can’t Look Away is Torrey’s journey as she figures out who she is now that she’s no longer that perfect girl and discovers that beauty can be found in the ugliest of times.
At the beginning of the book Torrey is not the most likeable character to read about. She’s very vain and cares way too much about what other people think of her which is understandable as her whole YouTube channel is based on people liking her. Personally I’m okay with unlikeable characters especially if there is character development throughout the story. Torrey definitely goes on a journey to find out who she is so my advice is to stick with her.
The turning point in Torrey’s grief is when she meets Luis whose family run the local funeral home. Luis is a guy who has lived with death his whole life and so he shows Torrey how to live with it too. Luis was my favourite character and I loved his and Torrey’s relationship. There were some deep moments where he���d show her a different side to death but they were also balanced out with some really cute scenes.
What impressed me most with Can’t Look Away was how perfectly Donna Cooner captures Torrey’s grief in her writing. Not only did I physically feel Torrey’s loss as I was reading but I also felt her feelings change as she grew. All of the relationships were done so well here but seeing how Torrey’s relationship with Miranda in both life and death affects her as a person was the real highlight for me.
Overall I thought that Can’t Look Away was a brilliant read that covers a lot of important current themes.
At the beginning of the book Torrey is not the most likeable character to read about. She’s very vain and cares way too much about what other people think of her which is understandable as her whole YouTube channel is based on people liking her. Personally I’m okay with unlikeable characters especially if there is character development throughout the story. Torrey definitely goes on a journey to find out who she is so my advice is to stick with her.
The turning point in Torrey’s grief is when she meets Luis whose family run the local funeral home. Luis is a guy who has lived with death his whole life and so he shows Torrey how to live with it too. Luis was my favourite character and I loved his and Torrey’s relationship. There were some deep moments where he���d show her a different side to death but they were also balanced out with some really cute scenes.
What impressed me most with Can’t Look Away was how perfectly Donna Cooner captures Torrey’s grief in her writing. Not only did I physically feel Torrey’s loss as I was reading but I also felt her feelings change as she grew. All of the relationships were done so well here but seeing how Torrey’s relationship with Miranda in both life and death affects her as a person was the real highlight for me.
Overall I thought that Can’t Look Away was a brilliant read that covers a lot of important current themes.
January 10, 2016
I see this book sitting on my bookshelf and all the disgust and anger I felt for it one year ago rebirths. So I decide to write a review...
I did not like this book. At all. I put it down half-way through then finished it... hmm... maybe three months later? Torrey Grey, the main character, is self-centered and shallow, and lacks a decent character. And that never changes. I think the author wanted to have a flawed character with good points overruling, but she obviously forgot the other half rotting in a dumpster or something.
Torrey judges other people (and their fashion choices) quite often through out the book like she has the privilege because she's a popular internet "fashion guru" or whatever the hell. It gets annoying. Also, how she looks in other peoples' eyes seems to be her biggest concern. The book is just a bunch a clichés with a shitty main character and, of-fucking-course, an amazing and cute love interest that people in the book haven't payed much attention to. (But I guess I've grown used to that.)
I picked up this book mainly because of the fact Torrey is a popular vlogger, and YouTube was mentioned. But I don't even remember if that was a big part of the book. It mainly was just about some girl going to a new school with a "popular group"-oh yeah-the girl is a popular Internet vlogger and the last words she screamed at her younger sister before she died were "Grow up, Miranda."
Maybe I'm being too hard or expecting too much.
I don't know, it's been a while since I read such a book equivalent to a heaping pile of garbage and human phlegm.
I wish I could get a refund, I could've bought a Hershey bar with the money I wasted.
I did not like this book. At all. I put it down half-way through then finished it... hmm... maybe three months later? Torrey Grey, the main character, is self-centered and shallow, and lacks a decent character. And that never changes. I think the author wanted to have a flawed character with good points overruling, but she obviously forgot the other half rotting in a dumpster or something.
Torrey judges other people (and their fashion choices) quite often through out the book like she has the privilege because she's a popular internet "fashion guru" or whatever the hell. It gets annoying. Also, how she looks in other peoples' eyes seems to be her biggest concern. The book is just a bunch a clichés with a shitty main character and, of-fucking-course, an amazing and cute love interest that people in the book haven't payed much attention to. (But I guess I've grown used to that.)
I picked up this book mainly because of the fact Torrey is a popular vlogger, and YouTube was mentioned. But I don't even remember if that was a big part of the book. It mainly was just about some girl going to a new school with a "popular group"-oh yeah-the girl is a popular Internet vlogger and the last words she screamed at her younger sister before she died were "Grow up, Miranda."
Maybe I'm being too hard or expecting too much.
I don't know, it's been a while since I read such a book equivalent to a heaping pile of garbage and human phlegm.
I wish I could get a refund, I could've bought a Hershey bar with the money I wasted.
January 11, 2015
Listened to this on audiobook. Before I say that the vlog parts were extremely corny, I have to remember that this story is told in the perspective of a teenager. I knew what I was getting into! I thought this was a unique portrayal of grief and coping, and I appreciated that.
December 7, 2018
'Can't look away' was a book that showed the progress of Torrey's lesson of life through her sister miranda's death. The book is written in her perspective, however, you can see multiple character's improvements as the story carries on. It well shows how teenagers like us can be lost, but eventually finds the way back home to where we belong. The title of this book 'Can't look away' illustrates Torrey's feelings, how she doesn't know the right timing to get away from her internet world. I can also connect this to her other feeling, how she can't look away from Luis, her crush that she has to hide in order to be 'famous' and 'popular'. She will have to risk her fame, her reputation, her perfect image that she has built up until now. Imagine eating lunch alone. Imagine taking classes alone. Imagine not being invited to after-school playdates from her group. But she also has to remember her love, her crush. Imagine the person you love having a disappointed look. Picture your crush being the most awkward person in school. Most of all, think carefully if you can give-up your long lost friend and companion for unnecessary fame and fake reactions. She is like a immature and untrained circus monkey that is dangerously balancing on the rope that are tight on both ends, not knowing which way to walk to. Confusion. Decision. Relaxation. Finally, she will make a decision. A decision that was made for her, for her to stay happy. Read the book if you are interested to know which side she decide to choose, to walk. This was fun, sad, relatable, all at the same time with an unripe teenage girl facing her problems with her ways.
October 26, 2014
For a long time, I felt like I've been prompted to read this book. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I love watching beauty gurus on YouTube, such as Bethany Mota. The feeling of having young teenagers helping you out with beauty has always been a fascination to me, and probably to millions of other people as well. I never saw a book like this coming at me, and even though it didn't live up to my expectations and was rather dull, it definitely was a masterpiece in terms of a great concept.
Having heard much about Donna Cooner's Skinny, I've always been intrigued to pick up a book of hers one day. I guess you can never get too much contemporary, right? And really, that is what this book was. Surprisingly, this was a dark-contemporary. It was short, but a difficult read to concur at the same time. It dealt with so many subjects, all combined in one. And the most important thing? It felt real.
Torrey Grey has moved from the place-she's-ever-known in Colorado to a whole new atmosphere in Texas after her younger sister's tragic death. And all in all, Torrey feels like it's all her fault. The last words she's ever said to her sister was to grow up after she made a stupid decision to make her sister film a video of Torrey and her best friend at the mall. Did I mention that Torrey is a super-famous beauty guru YouTuber? A video of Torrey blasting out at her sister's final moments of living is leaked, and the general public bashes out on her, blaming her for her sister's death. But really, it was a drunk driver's fault. Now she's at her new school, not knowing how to act when people can possibly know who she is and what happened.
The main message that this book let out was that you can't look away from your past and troubles. In those terms, I guess you can say that this book's title makes sense with this whole concept.
Torrey actually reminded me a lot of Bethany Mota. Her attitude wasn't as cheerful and caring as Beth's is, but if you read this, you'll probably see the resemblance. But the thing is, Torrey is really bitchy at times. You possibly might be trying to tell me, "Michelle, this girl's sister just died in front of her eyes. How is she supposed to act?" but then at the same time, she doesn't have a right to block everything out around her and crouch into a shell away from the rest of the world. And that's exactly what she did. She played stupid. She acted like nothing was real—which possibly might be the way she was supposed to deal with tragedy. She was the factor that made this book seem unrealistic. I felt like I was screaming "DON'T WORRY ABOUT ANYTHING!" at her for three-quarters of the story until she smartened up.
The story started off well with a pretty great beginning, and I felt like I was sitting there, reading on to find out what really happened and what made Torrey become this way. Cooner did a fantastic job at trying to get us to realize the who, the what, and the why.
Full of grief, trouble, and a realistic story, Can't Look Away was a pretty good story, but I felt like I couldn't find the relation to the characters. I was left with many "meh" moments. With this book, you'll probably have to be trying to choose your way through the story.
This review can also be found at A Thousand Lives Lived. Check it out for more reviews!
Having heard much about Donna Cooner's Skinny, I've always been intrigued to pick up a book of hers one day. I guess you can never get too much contemporary, right? And really, that is what this book was. Surprisingly, this was a dark-contemporary. It was short, but a difficult read to concur at the same time. It dealt with so many subjects, all combined in one. And the most important thing? It felt real.
Torrey Grey has moved from the place-she's-ever-known in Colorado to a whole new atmosphere in Texas after her younger sister's tragic death. And all in all, Torrey feels like it's all her fault. The last words she's ever said to her sister was to grow up after she made a stupid decision to make her sister film a video of Torrey and her best friend at the mall. Did I mention that Torrey is a super-famous beauty guru YouTuber? A video of Torrey blasting out at her sister's final moments of living is leaked, and the general public bashes out on her, blaming her for her sister's death. But really, it was a drunk driver's fault. Now she's at her new school, not knowing how to act when people can possibly know who she is and what happened.
The main message that this book let out was that you can't look away from your past and troubles. In those terms, I guess you can say that this book's title makes sense with this whole concept.
Torrey actually reminded me a lot of Bethany Mota. Her attitude wasn't as cheerful and caring as Beth's is, but if you read this, you'll probably see the resemblance. But the thing is, Torrey is really bitchy at times. You possibly might be trying to tell me, "Michelle, this girl's sister just died in front of her eyes. How is she supposed to act?" but then at the same time, she doesn't have a right to block everything out around her and crouch into a shell away from the rest of the world. And that's exactly what she did. She played stupid. She acted like nothing was real—which possibly might be the way she was supposed to deal with tragedy. She was the factor that made this book seem unrealistic. I felt like I was screaming "DON'T WORRY ABOUT ANYTHING!" at her for three-quarters of the story until she smartened up.
The story started off well with a pretty great beginning, and I felt like I was sitting there, reading on to find out what really happened and what made Torrey become this way. Cooner did a fantastic job at trying to get us to realize the who, the what, and the why.
Full of grief, trouble, and a realistic story, Can't Look Away was a pretty good story, but I felt like I couldn't find the relation to the characters. I was left with many "meh" moments. With this book, you'll probably have to be trying to choose your way through the story.
This review can also be found at A Thousand Lives Lived. Check it out for more reviews!
May 15, 2015
For those who enjoy the "teen drama" and "internet bullying" new wave of genre, I think this is one of the best. It captures the clash between wanting to be seen and the danger of being seen in our most intimate moments, in this case, after the death of a sibling. What makes this book better than others is the realistic portrayal of the stages of grief both the narrator and parents face, while also giving the reader a healthy dose of high school drama and young love. Satisfying and a quick read.
February 23, 2015
Torrey, the protagonist, is really, really unlikeable. That’s most of what I thought about this book.
Allow me to elaborate, at length.
Not sure if the author intended for this protagonist to be completely loathesome, but that’s what happened. Here I’d read several books in a row where the protagonist is no saint, and I definitely shouldn’t like him or her, but something makes me like them anyway – their sense of humor, their particular cynical way of describing things, you know, whatever. Something.
And then along comes Torrey, a 16-year-old semi-internet-famous fashion “vlogger”.
Torrey is a shallow, judgemental, bitchy, conniving, social-climbing twit. Her little sister just died, but she sure doesn’t act like someone who’s grieving. She just seems like an average teenage jerk, but with, apparently, a lot of money to shop with, and incidentally, a recent death in the family that any normal human would be dealing with by writhing in guilt.
Did the author intend for it to seem like Torrey is in the shock/denial stage for the first half of the book, months after her sister has died? That is the only slightly plausible explanation I can come up with, and even that doesn’t ring true, because Torrey isn’t in that weird, numb holding place where your life has changed and you haven’t wrapped your head around it yet. Instead, she’s just in bratty teenville, just perpetually like “ohmyguh, I can’t believe I had to move to the sticks and hang out with my cousin who wants to be a baton twirler.”
So here’s the situation – Torrey’s little sister just died in a freak middle-of-the-day accident involving a drunk driver. At the mall. (Huh??? Ok, that could happen, maybe, I guess. Sure, let’s go with that.)
So Torrey’s family has decided to uproot from Colorado to Texas, for reasons and via logistics that are unexplained. New job? Be near family? Something?? They’ve got family there, but really, this move is under-justified and doesn’t make any logical sense. Especially since it’s said to be maybe-kinda temporary. Do either of the parents have or need a job? Wtf?
I suppose the point of this was for snobby fashionista super-bitch Torrey to have to adjust to new people and new surroundings.
Her way of doing this is to immediately sociopath out who is most popular in school and how to get near them and become part of their group, and who she should publicly shun and only secretly be friends with so as not to spook the populars.
... Awesome.
(Her first impression of her new school: “Nobody is dressed to my standards. No big surprise.”)
What I would expect from someone living this storyline in real life, is that she would have already turned her back on some aspect of her old life that made her so selfish and vapid – fashion, popularity/social climbing, the vlog, something. She should be struggling with something along the lines of, “Shit, the things that have made me happy in life cost me my little sister. Should I still be into these things?”
Halfway into the book, I’m going, is she going to redeem herself? Ever? ‘cause it’s not looking that way.
Here’s her first moment of self-awareness, 49.7% in:
“I just used my sister’s death to stay at this table. What does that say about me?“
If you had a sibling die when you were in your teens, wouldn’t you be questioning yourself and life in general a lot earlier in the process???
All right, so maybe that’s just a pacing issue.
I think this book intended to be, “shallow-ass girl learns a valuable lesson about the more important things in life. ... Eventually.”
I get that this is the spirit of the book, I think. If I’m guessing right.
Except Torrey doesn’t really redeem herself. By the end of the book, she starts acting slightly less loathesome and social-climby. So, less bad. She never gets to good, though.
Or interesting, for that matter.
She has no sense of humor.
She hates her fingers, because she believes she had to pick a body part to hate, and, as she puts it, “I figure why not make the hated body part something that really doesn’t count?”
Wow, is there any possible better symbolism for her complete lack of agency and productivity?
Granted, any character who has OMG FASHUNNN as their hobby is not going to be someone I relate to. When I see “hot new styles”, I just see a bunch of hideously ugly shit that’s been recycled from shit that went out of style 20 years ago. (High-waisted shorts, anyone?) And to me, making people feel like shit if they don’t comply with a bunch of completely arbitrary and made-up rules about how to look and what to wear isn’t an art form. Great industry, makes lots of money off of people’s insecurities. But definitely not art.
And granted, I myself was an insufferable judgmental snob at that age, too, though in a more gothy, music-obsessed, you-people-are-all-brainless-sheep way. Kinda the opposite of this ho. I just assumed everyone wearing preppy clothes must be a lobotomized drone. Just like she assumes that everyone who isn’t wearing insanely overpriced name-brand bullshit is soooo beneath her.
So, points for verisimilitude as far as, teenagers can really be dicks?
And finally, to end on a nitpicky note as usual, has there ever been a more awkward word than “vlog”? Every time you say it, people would just hear “blog,” because that’s actually a word, and then you’d have to backpedal and explain it, so really it’s like the word “vlog” is just an abbreviation for “vlog, no, not blog, vlog, with a V, like a blog on video”. And that’s just too much.
Allow me to elaborate, at length.
Not sure if the author intended for this protagonist to be completely loathesome, but that’s what happened. Here I’d read several books in a row where the protagonist is no saint, and I definitely shouldn’t like him or her, but something makes me like them anyway – their sense of humor, their particular cynical way of describing things, you know, whatever. Something.
And then along comes Torrey, a 16-year-old semi-internet-famous fashion “vlogger”.
Torrey is a shallow, judgemental, bitchy, conniving, social-climbing twit. Her little sister just died, but she sure doesn’t act like someone who’s grieving. She just seems like an average teenage jerk, but with, apparently, a lot of money to shop with, and incidentally, a recent death in the family that any normal human would be dealing with by writhing in guilt.
Did the author intend for it to seem like Torrey is in the shock/denial stage for the first half of the book, months after her sister has died? That is the only slightly plausible explanation I can come up with, and even that doesn’t ring true, because Torrey isn’t in that weird, numb holding place where your life has changed and you haven’t wrapped your head around it yet. Instead, she’s just in bratty teenville, just perpetually like “ohmyguh, I can’t believe I had to move to the sticks and hang out with my cousin who wants to be a baton twirler.”
So here’s the situation – Torrey’s little sister just died in a freak middle-of-the-day accident involving a drunk driver. At the mall. (Huh??? Ok, that could happen, maybe, I guess. Sure, let’s go with that.)
So Torrey’s family has decided to uproot from Colorado to Texas, for reasons and via logistics that are unexplained. New job? Be near family? Something?? They’ve got family there, but really, this move is under-justified and doesn’t make any logical sense. Especially since it’s said to be maybe-kinda temporary. Do either of the parents have or need a job? Wtf?
I suppose the point of this was for snobby fashionista super-bitch Torrey to have to adjust to new people and new surroundings.
Her way of doing this is to immediately sociopath out who is most popular in school and how to get near them and become part of their group, and who she should publicly shun and only secretly be friends with so as not to spook the populars.
... Awesome.
(Her first impression of her new school: “Nobody is dressed to my standards. No big surprise.”)
What I would expect from someone living this storyline in real life, is that she would have already turned her back on some aspect of her old life that made her so selfish and vapid – fashion, popularity/social climbing, the vlog, something. She should be struggling with something along the lines of, “Shit, the things that have made me happy in life cost me my little sister. Should I still be into these things?”
Halfway into the book, I’m going, is she going to redeem herself? Ever? ‘cause it’s not looking that way.
Here’s her first moment of self-awareness, 49.7% in:
“I just used my sister’s death to stay at this table. What does that say about me?“
If you had a sibling die when you were in your teens, wouldn’t you be questioning yourself and life in general a lot earlier in the process???
All right, so maybe that’s just a pacing issue.
I think this book intended to be, “shallow-ass girl learns a valuable lesson about the more important things in life. ... Eventually.”
I get that this is the spirit of the book, I think. If I’m guessing right.
Except Torrey doesn’t really redeem herself. By the end of the book, she starts acting slightly less loathesome and social-climby. So, less bad. She never gets to good, though.
Or interesting, for that matter.
She has no sense of humor.
She hates her fingers, because she believes she had to pick a body part to hate, and, as she puts it, “I figure why not make the hated body part something that really doesn’t count?”
Wow, is there any possible better symbolism for her complete lack of agency and productivity?
Granted, any character who has OMG FASHUNNN as their hobby is not going to be someone I relate to. When I see “hot new styles”, I just see a bunch of hideously ugly shit that’s been recycled from shit that went out of style 20 years ago. (High-waisted shorts, anyone?) And to me, making people feel like shit if they don’t comply with a bunch of completely arbitrary and made-up rules about how to look and what to wear isn’t an art form. Great industry, makes lots of money off of people’s insecurities. But definitely not art.
And granted, I myself was an insufferable judgmental snob at that age, too, though in a more gothy, music-obsessed, you-people-are-all-brainless-sheep way. Kinda the opposite of this ho. I just assumed everyone wearing preppy clothes must be a lobotomized drone. Just like she assumes that everyone who isn’t wearing insanely overpriced name-brand bullshit is soooo beneath her.
So, points for verisimilitude as far as, teenagers can really be dicks?
And finally, to end on a nitpicky note as usual, has there ever been a more awkward word than “vlog”? Every time you say it, people would just hear “blog,” because that’s actually a word, and then you’d have to backpedal and explain it, so really it’s like the word “vlog” is just an abbreviation for “vlog, no, not blog, vlog, with a V, like a blog on video”. And that’s just too much.
September 26, 2018
It was a really sad book, I didn't like it that much, because it was really easily predictable.
January 16, 2018
This book was really good!!
August 26, 2014
3.5 Stars
To see my full review:
http://abookvacation.com/2014/08/26/a...
This is an interesting read that depicts the life of a teen beauty vlogger, a wildly popular young woman who posts to YouTube, which I admit is a channel I personally rarely visit. My students are obsessed with youtube videos, so I definitely wanted to check out this novel and see if it brought on any insights, because truth be told, vlogs tend to drive me insane. I don’t think I’ve been able to watch very many straight through, because the spontaneity and bloopers of it all just isn’t for me. But, that’s exactly what Torrey does, or did, prior to the novel’s beginning, and as Torrey looks back on her past life, one where her little sister still existed, we begin to see just who Torrey Grey truly is, both now and then.
I definitely enjoyed this novel, and it did make me tear up a time of two, but I personally don’t follow why people are blaming Torrey for her sister’s death, or why they feel the need to write nasty comments on her vlogs. I get that trolls exist, and over the past three years as an online reviewer, I’ve seen some pretty nasty comments left on both author and blogger accounts alike, but I don’t quite understand the why behind it, and while I think this novel attempts to answer this question, it really doesn’t. Why are people so callous and rude? Torrey fought with her sister, just like all siblings do. She was mean, just like all siblings can be. But she didn’t push her sister into the street, and she certainly didn’t cause the accident, so I don’t see where anyone has the right to bully her, or why they would ever think to, in the first place. Of course, it seems that that is what humanity is good at doing; putting others down anonymously, and this happens to Torrey, though I have to say that I really felt like this was more the background story than the forefront, and I really wish this aspect of online life, with the trolls and wannabes, was dived into more deeply as it’s the main aspect I was more interested in.
Now, as I said, the story focuses on Torrey, and she’s definitely going through a hard time at the moment, and she struggles to pull herself together. Her attempt to piece her life back together, hanging with the popular crowd, is a farce, an attempt at healing—if only things could go back to the way they were, but unfortunately they never do, and Torrey has to learn this the hard way. I respected this about her, but she rubbed me the wrong way on some occasions, snubbing her true friends in order to make a name for herself… I think we’re all probably guilty of this in some way or other, but it did leave me a bit disappointed in Torrey, though she does eventually seem to get her head on straight.
I really liked Luis and enjoyed the Dia de los Muertes references and make-up tutorial (I’m so doing this), but again, never really understood why people were bashing on Torrey, or why the popular crowd at her new school disliked her so much. As I said, I liked the idea behind this novel overall, and the story is indeed well written, it’s just a little beyond me; I don’t really understand why anyone acted the way they did within the novel.
To see my full review:
http://abookvacation.com/2014/08/26/a...
This is an interesting read that depicts the life of a teen beauty vlogger, a wildly popular young woman who posts to YouTube, which I admit is a channel I personally rarely visit. My students are obsessed with youtube videos, so I definitely wanted to check out this novel and see if it brought on any insights, because truth be told, vlogs tend to drive me insane. I don’t think I’ve been able to watch very many straight through, because the spontaneity and bloopers of it all just isn’t for me. But, that’s exactly what Torrey does, or did, prior to the novel’s beginning, and as Torrey looks back on her past life, one where her little sister still existed, we begin to see just who Torrey Grey truly is, both now and then.
I definitely enjoyed this novel, and it did make me tear up a time of two, but I personally don’t follow why people are blaming Torrey for her sister’s death, or why they feel the need to write nasty comments on her vlogs. I get that trolls exist, and over the past three years as an online reviewer, I’ve seen some pretty nasty comments left on both author and blogger accounts alike, but I don’t quite understand the why behind it, and while I think this novel attempts to answer this question, it really doesn’t. Why are people so callous and rude? Torrey fought with her sister, just like all siblings do. She was mean, just like all siblings can be. But she didn’t push her sister into the street, and she certainly didn’t cause the accident, so I don’t see where anyone has the right to bully her, or why they would ever think to, in the first place. Of course, it seems that that is what humanity is good at doing; putting others down anonymously, and this happens to Torrey, though I have to say that I really felt like this was more the background story than the forefront, and I really wish this aspect of online life, with the trolls and wannabes, was dived into more deeply as it’s the main aspect I was more interested in.
Now, as I said, the story focuses on Torrey, and she’s definitely going through a hard time at the moment, and she struggles to pull herself together. Her attempt to piece her life back together, hanging with the popular crowd, is a farce, an attempt at healing—if only things could go back to the way they were, but unfortunately they never do, and Torrey has to learn this the hard way. I respected this about her, but she rubbed me the wrong way on some occasions, snubbing her true friends in order to make a name for herself… I think we’re all probably guilty of this in some way or other, but it did leave me a bit disappointed in Torrey, though she does eventually seem to get her head on straight.
I really liked Luis and enjoyed the Dia de los Muertes references and make-up tutorial (I’m so doing this), but again, never really understood why people were bashing on Torrey, or why the popular crowd at her new school disliked her so much. As I said, I liked the idea behind this novel overall, and the story is indeed well written, it’s just a little beyond me; I don’t really understand why anyone acted the way they did within the novel.
January 11, 2015
Received this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book. It is my true opinion only.
Actual rating : 4.5 stars
This is a story about a beauty vlogger that stops vlogging at a tragic accident that results in her sister's death.
Torrey is used to the spotlight as she has so many followers and views on her channel.
So of course when she's new at school, she will want to be a part of the popular group.
Torn between liking a social drop out called Luis or from being friends with the IT girls, Torrey had to make a decision.
Torrey is being personally attacked by some viewers; saying she's using her sister's death to get her rise in fame.
A video also gets uploaded of her and her sister arguing before she gets killed.
So now Torrey has to deal with the threats as well as the loss of her sister.
I really liked the whole concept of the YouTube vlogging as I do have a channel myself, so therefore I can relate to it.
My only problem was that I had trouble liking the main character Torrey. She is horrible and selfish and I just really wanted to slap her.
I realise this is probably how Donna Cooner wanted it to come across.
But in the end she did see how she came across and righted her wrongs. Well done, Torrey.
This story is fresh in itself though and I did really enjoy it.
Of course my favourite character was Luis. He doesn't care about his social status and yet he's cool at the same time.
I like how at the beginning of every chapter there is a quote taken from Torrey's vlogs, and the chapters are titled as if it's a topic for a video. I really liked that format.
This is definitely one of those books for the fans of contemporaries. It is short, quick and sweet.
Vloggers can relate to this.
Overall I really enjoyed it and recommend you given it a go! :)
Actual rating : 4.5 stars
This is a story about a beauty vlogger that stops vlogging at a tragic accident that results in her sister's death.
Torrey is used to the spotlight as she has so many followers and views on her channel.
So of course when she's new at school, she will want to be a part of the popular group.
Torn between liking a social drop out called Luis or from being friends with the IT girls, Torrey had to make a decision.
Torrey is being personally attacked by some viewers; saying she's using her sister's death to get her rise in fame.
A video also gets uploaded of her and her sister arguing before she gets killed.
So now Torrey has to deal with the threats as well as the loss of her sister.
I really liked the whole concept of the YouTube vlogging as I do have a channel myself, so therefore I can relate to it.
My only problem was that I had trouble liking the main character Torrey. She is horrible and selfish and I just really wanted to slap her.
I realise this is probably how Donna Cooner wanted it to come across.
But in the end she did see how she came across and righted her wrongs. Well done, Torrey.
This story is fresh in itself though and I did really enjoy it.
Of course my favourite character was Luis. He doesn't care about his social status and yet he's cool at the same time.
I like how at the beginning of every chapter there is a quote taken from Torrey's vlogs, and the chapters are titled as if it's a topic for a video. I really liked that format.
This is definitely one of those books for the fans of contemporaries. It is short, quick and sweet.
Vloggers can relate to this.
Overall I really enjoyed it and recommend you given it a go! :)
July 21, 2014
I wanted to read this because I am drawn to stories about grief and how teens cope with it and Torrey sounds like a character that I could feel for and cheer for.
While I liked Torrey in general, and I am all about bloggers of all sort, even fashion and beauty, something about her just didn't click the best for me. She thought about numbers and how testifying about her sister's death could bring an even bigger surge. And I know that death doesn't just make you inevitably stop thinking about the things you love, and thinking in that manner may be her own way of dealing.
Her in the new town was interesting, but at first especially all of the new people ran together, the popular girl, boys talking to her and Luis, as well as Raylene. They all eventually kinda grew into their own characters but they just didn't leave as big of an impression as I liked.
Her family has a special brand of dysfunction. Torrey's mom is in this grief daze, and I totally can't blame her because I can't even imagine what I would do, think, or say if I lost one of my girls. Torrey's dad is a bit more in the present and tries his best to still be there for Torrey.
The semi mystery of everyone's motivations and how they relate with Torrey was entertaining, and well done. The ending worked well for the book, and you can't expect that everything will be a complete HEA because there is the big loss of her sister.
Bottom Line: Good but not the most memorable and not quite what I expected.
While I liked Torrey in general, and I am all about bloggers of all sort, even fashion and beauty, something about her just didn't click the best for me. She thought about numbers and how testifying about her sister's death could bring an even bigger surge. And I know that death doesn't just make you inevitably stop thinking about the things you love, and thinking in that manner may be her own way of dealing.
Her in the new town was interesting, but at first especially all of the new people ran together, the popular girl, boys talking to her and Luis, as well as Raylene. They all eventually kinda grew into their own characters but they just didn't leave as big of an impression as I liked.
Her family has a special brand of dysfunction. Torrey's mom is in this grief daze, and I totally can't blame her because I can't even imagine what I would do, think, or say if I lost one of my girls. Torrey's dad is a bit more in the present and tries his best to still be there for Torrey.
The semi mystery of everyone's motivations and how they relate with Torrey was entertaining, and well done. The ending worked well for the book, and you can't expect that everything will be a complete HEA because there is the big loss of her sister.
Bottom Line: Good but not the most memorable and not quite what I expected.
October 11, 2018
This book is so much fun to read because it has a really good story to it and is a very interesting. I read this book last year and it was my favorite at the time. This book is about a teenager who is a you tuber and she thinks "she killed her sister." Her family moves away because they don't want to stay there anymore and the you tuber gets anxiety about her death. The last words she said to her were something she wishes she didn't say because if she didn't, she would still be alive. I would rate this book 10/10 for sure because its very insteresting and fun to read.
April 6, 2015
This book was a very entertaining book and had you thinking about the character(s). Even though there are many books with the same plot given in this book, there is a different story. It's told in a different way. Torrey Grey feels guilty, and just feels terrible about her younger sister's death, but does not know how to deal with her emotions. I think the best thing about this book is that it makes the reader go into deep thought to figure out how Torrey Grey really feels.
December 15, 2019
The book “Can’t Look Away” by Donna Cooner is about a beauty blogger who tries to get over her sisters death, when she is getting blamed for the cause of her death. I liked the way the character changed from the beginning to the end, at first she was somewhat self-centered, and toward the end she realizes there’s other things to life so don’t live it negative. I give this book full stars and recommend this book to anyone who is interested in realistic fiction.
November 13, 2016
I read this book in 6th grade so I remember very little, but I do remember I loved it!
October 21, 2017
I really enjoyed this book. The book is about a girl named Torrey Grey who is a famous YouTuber for fashion and makeup. Torrey’s sister died in a car accident. Her family moved to Texas in till they have to go back to Colorado for court. Torrey has to go to a new school and meet new friends. Luckily, her cousin Raylene lives across the street from Torrey and go to the same school. At their school, their are a group of popular people three boys and 1 boy and invite Torrey in to their group. Torrey made friends with a guy who owns the local funeral home and also goes to her school. His name is Luis. Luis and Torrey begin to like each other but Torrey doesn’t want to be seen together in front of the popular people. Blair (the head of the popular people) and Luis were in a relationship in till Luis quite the football team to work in the funeral home. On the top of all of that, Torrey wants to tell the judge in court what the impact was when her sister died. Torrey sleeps in the grave yard buy her sisters grave to remember more of her sister. In the end of the story Torrey’s family goes back to Colorado for the court date. That is what the story ‘Can’t Look Away’ is about.
December 18, 2018
Are you looking for a book that will touch your heart, maybe even make you cry? Perhaps a book filled to the brim with drama? Are you a hopeless romantic or love cliche stories? Can’t Look Away by Donna Cooner is exactly what you’re looking for. It’s filled with love, heartbreak, awkward situations, highschool clicks, and even a bit of information about el Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead.
I’m a sucker for anything drama related so this book suited me perfectly. Can’t Look Away is a story about beauty star Torrey Grey and what her life is like after her sister’s death. Miranda Grey was struck and killed by a drunk driver at age 12 after refusing to film Torrey’s video. Torrey faces guilt, trust issues, and frightening nightmares. Can she be near Luis without wrecking her chances of a social life? Are Blair and her trio there to help her or do just the opposite? How will Torrey cope in the public eye?
I suggest that this book is for teenagers who could relate to how difficult it is adjusting to a new school. Anyone who loves romance or drama would enjoy Can’t Look Away.
March 19, 2025
A LFL grab. This book was just okay and not something I would recommend to anyone or consider rereading. I think the author did a good job though on touching on grief, what that looks like for different people and how to cope after a loss. On another note, the author had side characters named Ever and Rat in the book as possible new friends for the main character. They were mentioned twice and never talked about again. Once they were mentioned I was sure the MC would realize those are her true friends and quit trying to chase the popular girls but the MC never befriended them. Not even sure why the author added them in there then. 🤷🏻♀️
May 31, 2015
***Spoiler Alert***
Have you ever had so many things in your life happen at the same time? Well a 16 year old girl named Torrey Grey has and it was terrible for her and her family. Can’t Look Away is a great fictional drama book that has many conflicts happening at once.
Torrey Grey had recently moved from Colorado to Texas after a great tragedy happened to the family. This tragedy had devastated everyone. Torrey’s 12 year old sister, Miranda, was killed. Back in Colorado, Torrey was a famous person on YouTube by making beauty videos. She would say which patterns would go great together or which styles look best with another style. One day, Torrey decided to make a video with her best friend Zoe at the mall, but she needed someone to record them. So, Torrey took Miranda with her to the mall, but didn’t tell her she was going to record until they got to the mall. When Torrey told Miranda she was going to record them, Miranda became angry. She left when she found out she was supposed to record and began to push past the huge crowd that was ahead. Miranda’s final words to her sister were,” I’m going home!”, and with that Miranda came upon a car with a drunk driver behind the wheel. A few weeks after the death of Miranda, the family moved to Texas, in a home right across from other relatives. Torrey would blame herself for the death of her sister. She was so worried about what her fans would say about her. Not only did the family and experience a painful tragedy, but Torrey needed to begin school somewhere else in the middle of the year. Torrey was torn when she began school. She didn’t know whether to hang out with popular girls or her cousin Raylene and her friend Luis. She wanted to become popular, but she needs to follow what her heart says. She likes to hang out with Raylene, but people think she’s just plain weird. Torrey also wants to hang with Luis, but he wasn’t popular enough. One day Torrey became really worried about her popularity when a video of her came out into the internet. The video was about the scene of when Torrey and her sister fought before the tragedy happened. She thought people were going to see it and blame her for everything. People did blame her and made her feel bad. Those people from the internet that were making her feel bad were her own fans, so that made her feel even worse. Torrey decided to just log off from all of her social media. She would talk about this to Raylene and Raylene would help her feel better and tell her it wasn’t her fault. Sometimes she would talk with Luis, but what she didn’t like about him was that he worked at a funeral home. As Torrey talked with Luis about the Day of the Dead, she became more and more interested in that holiday. When Day of the Dead finally came, Torrey went to her sister’s grave for the first time. She laid down on Miranda’s grave multiple things that used to be Miranda’s. She put down the most important thing of Miranda’s, her moonstone bracelet. Torrey gave Miranda that bracelet one day when Miranda was afraid of the dark. The bracelet helped Miranda because since the moon gave out light, the moonstone bracelet would light up for Miranda when she was afraid of the dark. Torrey fell asleep by the grave and awoke the next morning to find that Miranda’s moonstone bracelet was gone. At the end, Torrey believed that Miranda somehow took her bracelet back. Also in the end Torrey had chosen to stay with Raylene and leave the popular. In addition Torrey didn’t care anymore what people said about Luis because she actually liked him for him, and didn’t judge what he did as a job. Torrey and her family had started moving on about had happened to Miranda, but they would never forget about it because that thought would always be with them no matter what.
The main character Torrey had changed over the story because at first she was always worried and cared about what people actually thought about her. As the story continued, Torrey began to realize that it really didn’t matter what people thought of her. She started to listen to her heart more and listen less to the opinions. My favorite part from “Can’t Look Away” is when Torrey began to realize that popularity didn’t matter. She only used the popular group to just bump herself up. She also stopped caring about others opinions about her friends and liked them for who they really were.
“Can’t Look Away” is the title of the book because Torrey couldn’t forget what had happened to her sister. Torrey “Cant Look Away” from all the things that her family had gone through like her sister’s death or like facing her sister’s murderer. Torrey’s motivation to keep moving on in life was Miranda because Torrey knew that Miranda would be proud of her if she kept living her life while she still had it. Torrey needed to make each day count and make it be the best one yet.
Overall, I give “Can’t Look Away 5 out of 5 because this story had me in wonder of what would happen next. Also the story had many conflicts going on at once that you wondered about each one, which made you to keep reading on. This story is great if you like drama that keeps going until you have reached the end.
Have you ever had so many things in your life happen at the same time? Well a 16 year old girl named Torrey Grey has and it was terrible for her and her family. Can’t Look Away is a great fictional drama book that has many conflicts happening at once.
Torrey Grey had recently moved from Colorado to Texas after a great tragedy happened to the family. This tragedy had devastated everyone. Torrey’s 12 year old sister, Miranda, was killed. Back in Colorado, Torrey was a famous person on YouTube by making beauty videos. She would say which patterns would go great together or which styles look best with another style. One day, Torrey decided to make a video with her best friend Zoe at the mall, but she needed someone to record them. So, Torrey took Miranda with her to the mall, but didn’t tell her she was going to record until they got to the mall. When Torrey told Miranda she was going to record them, Miranda became angry. She left when she found out she was supposed to record and began to push past the huge crowd that was ahead. Miranda’s final words to her sister were,” I’m going home!”, and with that Miranda came upon a car with a drunk driver behind the wheel. A few weeks after the death of Miranda, the family moved to Texas, in a home right across from other relatives. Torrey would blame herself for the death of her sister. She was so worried about what her fans would say about her. Not only did the family and experience a painful tragedy, but Torrey needed to begin school somewhere else in the middle of the year. Torrey was torn when she began school. She didn’t know whether to hang out with popular girls or her cousin Raylene and her friend Luis. She wanted to become popular, but she needs to follow what her heart says. She likes to hang out with Raylene, but people think she’s just plain weird. Torrey also wants to hang with Luis, but he wasn’t popular enough. One day Torrey became really worried about her popularity when a video of her came out into the internet. The video was about the scene of when Torrey and her sister fought before the tragedy happened. She thought people were going to see it and blame her for everything. People did blame her and made her feel bad. Those people from the internet that were making her feel bad were her own fans, so that made her feel even worse. Torrey decided to just log off from all of her social media. She would talk about this to Raylene and Raylene would help her feel better and tell her it wasn’t her fault. Sometimes she would talk with Luis, but what she didn’t like about him was that he worked at a funeral home. As Torrey talked with Luis about the Day of the Dead, she became more and more interested in that holiday. When Day of the Dead finally came, Torrey went to her sister’s grave for the first time. She laid down on Miranda’s grave multiple things that used to be Miranda’s. She put down the most important thing of Miranda’s, her moonstone bracelet. Torrey gave Miranda that bracelet one day when Miranda was afraid of the dark. The bracelet helped Miranda because since the moon gave out light, the moonstone bracelet would light up for Miranda when she was afraid of the dark. Torrey fell asleep by the grave and awoke the next morning to find that Miranda’s moonstone bracelet was gone. At the end, Torrey believed that Miranda somehow took her bracelet back. Also in the end Torrey had chosen to stay with Raylene and leave the popular. In addition Torrey didn’t care anymore what people said about Luis because she actually liked him for him, and didn’t judge what he did as a job. Torrey and her family had started moving on about had happened to Miranda, but they would never forget about it because that thought would always be with them no matter what.
The main character Torrey had changed over the story because at first she was always worried and cared about what people actually thought about her. As the story continued, Torrey began to realize that it really didn’t matter what people thought of her. She started to listen to her heart more and listen less to the opinions. My favorite part from “Can’t Look Away” is when Torrey began to realize that popularity didn’t matter. She only used the popular group to just bump herself up. She also stopped caring about others opinions about her friends and liked them for who they really were.
“Can’t Look Away” is the title of the book because Torrey couldn’t forget what had happened to her sister. Torrey “Cant Look Away” from all the things that her family had gone through like her sister’s death or like facing her sister’s murderer. Torrey’s motivation to keep moving on in life was Miranda because Torrey knew that Miranda would be proud of her if she kept living her life while she still had it. Torrey needed to make each day count and make it be the best one yet.
Overall, I give “Can’t Look Away 5 out of 5 because this story had me in wonder of what would happen next. Also the story had many conflicts going on at once that you wondered about each one, which made you to keep reading on. This story is great if you like drama that keeps going until you have reached the end.
June 29, 2018
I'll admit, I prejudged this to be a frivolous read and almost abandoned it (20-30 pages in...). Looking back, however, I'm glad I didn't. Aside from the typical high school issues, there is real grief and pain captured here. Powerful and thought-provoking.
August 16, 2018
I thought this book was kind of cliche. I didn't like the way the main character was represented. I thought she was mean to Luis and her cousin. I honestly was not a fan of this book, although maybe I am just too old for this type of story anymore.
April 20, 2020
This book was a pleasant surprise. It felt like it was aimed at a more pre-teen crowd, but that's actually an added bonus as Can't Look Away is an excellent depiction of dealing with guilt and grief. I'm generally a proponent of trusting kids' stories with serious topics. I often felt like I had to read books meant for older audiences to get that sort of meaningful storytelling was I was twelve or thirteen. Even Torrey's superficial side was smoothed really cleanly into a story about a girl learning how to appreciate the things that really matter in her life. I understand how the way she was mourning her sister's death for most of the book could be a little frustrating to people. Focusing first and foremost on what it's doing to her public image. But I mean... That just felt like such a clear defense mechanism to me. A safer thing to focus on than having to acknowledge how much she missed her sister and regretted pushing her away in the years leading up to her death. It may be uncomfortable to read... but it's very intentional. And I think it comes together well looking back on the book as a whole.
October 23, 2017
I really enjoyed this book. It has a cool story and I liked how they changed things up and added " the day of the dead" in.
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