Torn to Pieces

by Margot McDonnell

SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD ANNE ALWAYS thought her mother was kind of quirky. In fact, her mom’s taste in 70s-esque furniture and mysterious frequent business trips were just the tip of the quirky iceberg. When her mom doesn’t come home on time from one of her long jaunts, Anne isn’t too surprised. But when a day late turns into a few days late, Anne knows something is very wrong.

She tries the hotel number that her mother left her, but it has been disconnected. Then a strange man keeps leaving messages on their answering machine, looking for a woman who doesn’t even live there. However, when Anne discovers a lengthy letter from her mother explaining why she has disappeared, the fabric of Anne’s relatively normal life is torn to pieces. Despite her shock, Anne must pull herself together and protect herself—from people who want to find and hurt her mother, and the strange new boy who may change everything.

Genres: Mystery, Young Adult, Thriller, Realistic Fiction, Contemporary, Fiction, Teen

258 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Margot McDonnell is a former high school teacher and earned an MFA from Arizona State University. She lives in Phoenix.

Reviews

[J.M. Robison · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fast paced book. Easy read. It was hard getting into because there was some backstory I didn't care for, but once it picked up it really went. What I didn't like was the writing style. Short, choppy sentences are effective to build suspense but. Not when it goes on. For the entire book. She did not use the word "and". To transition. She only used periods, and a few commas.

Anyway, it felt jerky because the entire book was like that.

What bothered me were the extremes measures that were taken to keep Anne protected. She had a top notch security alarm that "not even a wizard could defeat", an unmarked patrol outside her house, a U.S. Marshall who had been watching over her for the past year, and YET... Anne was still assaulted many times in her own home. So that was unbelievable. And all the assaults got tiring. She kept going back to the house and getting assaulted.

The suspense was good as well as all the twists.

[John Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Torn to Pieces by Margot McDonnell, is one of those YA books that blends plot twist after plot twist in a most skilled way. As each one reaches a solution, the answer builds your anticipation as well as the suspense. 17 year old Anne is used to her mother's quirky and unpredictable ways. Mom is often absent, supposedly off on an assignment, interviewing someone famous so she can do their biography. Anne, her mom and her grandparents who live down the street, have also moved numerous times, even with almost notice once or twice. This town, small as it might be, is more like home than Anne has ever known. She's got a close friend, she's in the band, some of the boys are finally starting to notice her. The hot new guy in school seems extremely interested in her and she's trying to figure out the quiet, loner boy, Evan.
Then everything starts to change. Mom is overdue, the hot guy acts funny, strange things begin happening while Anne's alone, Evan starts talking to her. Before long, Anne starts finding clues in a long letter her mom left for her to read. I really like the way one page from the letter is read by Anne after each chapter to help explain what's happening. Is her mother the person who she is called to identify in the morgue? Who is the blonde her friend Bianca keeps seeing the hot guy meeting at the mall? What isn't Evan telling her about his abusive dad? What is the secret her grandparents are hiding from her? Why is the big estate her mom left her suddenly frozen and by whom? Who were the two guys who assaulted her when she caught them ransacking her house and what, exactly were they looking for?
By the end of the book, the author has done one heck of a nice job answering these and a bunch more questions, leaving the reader wrung out, but oh, so satisfied.

[Georgina Lacayo · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a book.
This is the kind of books that make me feel all of the emotions that the characters felt throughout the chapters.
Sometimes I got startled from my own gasps.
And the plot, oh my, it's a plot you'd ceratainly find in tv shows, or at least that's what I wish it became. And really, it's not even that long, but it's the way it unfolds smoothly, not in any way confusing you, not for long intervals, and how it keeps you craving the words, making you want to try and guess who, what, why. This is one of the best plots I've ever read, and I'd definitely recommend the book, except I want Torn to Pieces to end up in tv, so I'll want everyone watching it instead.

The whole thing unwrapped the way snobby grandmas unwrap gifts, carefully and slowly so they could reuse the wrapping paper, except there is nothing in the book that is reused, haha. Anyway, the twists can either leave you with your mouth wide open or tightly closed, because throughout the book, and I say this because it happened to me, I kept telling myself the possible outcomes, so that everyhting ended up like I wanted it to. Don't get me wrong, it ended espectacularly.
Whenever you think you've figured everything out, well, you're not. I got it the hard way.

[Savannah Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Torn to Pieces is a very good book because I love mystery, and it is full of it. I think everyones' parents keep things from their children to either protect them, or maybe they are scared of how their child will handle it. I would reccomend this book to girls and boys who like mystery because you are constently trying to figure out what is going to happen next. There is a lot of foreshadowing in this book. Every once in a while it gives you a piece of a letter written by Penny Cadwell to her daughter, Anne. There is also a lot of external conflict with Anne. She is continuously trying to figure out what happened to her mother, and runs in to many events that cause some sort of harm to Anne or her family. The author shows that fear and dissapointment is unstoppable in life. You just have to fight it.

[7706anjali · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Torn To Pieces" was a REALLY well written realistic fiction book. There were so many twists in the story line, that it made it hard for me to put the book down! "Torn To Pieces" was about a girl, Anne, who was used to her mother being away on business trips. But when her mother is a few days late coming home, and misses Anne's birthday, which she has never done before, and misses Thanksgiving which is also unusual, Anne knows her mother must be in some sort of trouble.
In "Torn to Pieces", Anne must face many scary and frightening situations in order to find out important things about her mother.
I would recommend this book to people who like scary, and suspenseful stories, and stories about brave, strong, and smart girls.

[Marilyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing was a little choppy for me and the story line sort of confusing. I don't read many thrillers but this one didn't really get exciting until over half way through the book. I can't really seeing a teen sticking with it. I'll recommend it to teens who like Caroline Cooney. Some drug use (pot) and underage drinking.

[CanadianReader · Rating 2 out of 5]

Competently written and ultimately forgettable. Misnamed book. No one is really torn to pieces in the book and the book lacks any kind of emotional resonance.

[Agbodineyahoo.Com · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the book “Torn to Pieces” by Margot McDonnell. Margot McDonnell has received a nomination for the Edgar Award of Best Read for this book. The author has written this book, and one other piece. “Torn to Pieces” follows the life of a girl named Anne who has a mother that travels too often… for her own good. The book is full of twists and turns all the while there are two new boys at school, and both have caught Anne’s eye. The genre of the book is young adult fiction. The title fits in with the story because Anne is torn apart about her mother not being there at pivotal points, but it also has a more literal meaning to the story as you find out throughout the book. The book is arranged in chapters that are manageable to read and not too long, which is a plus if you aren’t a huge reader. This is a book that would appeal to more of the teen and young adult population, and it serves its purpose well. Overall it is a very good read, you learn about the bond between a mother and a daughter, the twists and turns of life, and what happens when everything is torn to pieces.

[Daniela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Growing up, Anne was used to her mother’s long trips. She learned to adapt to her mother’s schedule. However, when her mother has not returned from one of her trips, Anne begins to worry. No one can track her mother down. Her grandparents give her a letter revealing all of her mother’s secrets. Her whole world takes a huge turn and her life is at risk. Along with life threatening problems, she encounters other normal teenage girl concerns, boys.
This book is full of plenty twists and turns. As well as mystery and romance.

[Lynn Slaughter · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Margot Mcdonnell’s TORN TO PIECES, seventeen-year-old Anne has gotten used to her mom’s frequent business trips. But then her mom doesn’t return. When Anne confides in her grandparents, they give her a letter that her mother wrote before her last trip. Anne discovers that nothing about her mother’s life, or for that matter her own, that she’s always believed, is true. And now she’s getting threatening phone calls.
Full of twists and turns, this novel will keep you guessing. And reading.

[Veronica Furfaro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very slow beginning, but once the mystery unfolded it was beautiful.

[Brandi Doherty · Rating 5 out of 5]

good book with a lot of twists

[Marissa Altovilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this in the 7th grade with no problem at all. I absolutely loved it. To this day, I still think about it, and remember most of the plot. Very well written and easy to comprehend.

[Kylie! · Rating 4 out of 5]

gud book

[Dalia Kane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this in high school and took me years to hunt down. Still love this book!

[Brandi Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quick-read YA suspense novel about Anne the search for her mother, who doesn't return from a business strip. Having grown accustomed to her mother's traveling as a writer, Anne is worried when her mother doesn't return home. Her mother had always returned home before. Soon, Anne realizes that her mother's job was more than she thought, and she's not sure who she can trust: friends, family, or her own intuition.
I enjoyed the fast pace of this novel, but I was frustrated with some of the decisions Anne made. Of course, as a teenager, Anne's impulsive decisions were realistic.

[Sara A · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book I recently finished is Torn to Pieces by Margot McDonnell, it is a suspenseful novel to keep you turning the pages. In the beginning it was boring but as i continued more and more secrets unraveled and the more and more interesting it got. I really enjoyed this book especially becuase it had a new twist with every page you turned.

Torn to pieces is about a 17 year old girl Anne who lives with her mom who is out traveling most the time due to her job, the only other family she has are her grandparents Mim and Gramps. They all live in a small town of centerville and she's a senior at her local highschool. After her mother had left on a trip and hadn't returned when she said she would, Anne began to worry and the things making her worry even more were the messages left on the answering machine. She truned to cops and discovered things she had never imagined, things that would change her life forever. Anne faced many betrayals and created many new friends throughout the book.

A thing i really enjoyed about this book is that they keep the readers attached to the book by adding a new twist with every chapter, so it really keeps the readers turning the pages and wanting to figure out want happens next. Another thing i really liked about this book is the foreshadowing that they put before they revealed something. It allows the reader to take a guess about what is going to happen by giving hints but not giving the entire things away. Another thing I really liked is that they put Anne's mom's letter in between chapters so as the story went on they also explained everything so that the reader wasn't left with multiply questions in the end. Something I disliked about this book is that it wasn't very clear on explaing why and who started all this. It also didnt specifically describe her past it did leave a few important unanswered questions, but you could also turn this bad thing into a good thing by imaging the answers to the unanswered questions and give it your own twist.

I would recomend this book to mature readers becasue in order to fully enjoy this book you have to create a connection and some of the content is a little heartbreaking to imagine. Mature readers would be capable of handling all the heartbreaks and be able to make iinferences that are needed to be made while reading this book. Overall this book was great it kept be at the edge of my seat till the very end.

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine that one day your mom said she was going on a business trip for three days and didn't come back for almost three months. Wouldn't you worry about where your mom was and when she would be coming back home? Wouldn't you even start to think that something wrong may have happened to her? This is how Anne felt when her mom suddenly disappeared on one of her business trips. One day late from the scheduled time her mom was suppose to come home turned into several weeks. She knew something was wrong but she didn't know what. Anne even tries the hotel number that her mom left her, and it's disconnected. Anne doesn't know what to think at this point and she looks to her grandparents for help.

What's even weirder to Anne is that this strange guys keeps leaving messages on her answering machine asking for someone who doesn't even live with her. Anne thinks that maybe it has to do with her mother but is just freaked out by the guy. When Anne's house is then robbed by two men she starts to look for clues in the house that may lead her to finding out about her mothers whereabouts. The letter that she finds (in the house) from her mom describes to her why she disappeared and from then on her life is torn to Pieces. Anne struggles to cope with the truth about her mom leaving her.


This book is very interesting and it's constant surprises keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. The whole time I was reading this book I wanted to know why Anne's mom left her and why strange things were happening in her house. I was really surprised to read that the reason for Anne's mom traveling was because her job consisted of smuggling illegal things across to different countries. I also liked that Anne had to read the mysterious letter to find out what was going on with her mom. Themes of love, loss, and friendship were very important in this novel and I loved how they were all interrelated with each other.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes suspense novels. The suspense lasts for almost three quarters of the book and it's sure to have you guessing about what comes next. Torn to Pieces by Margot McDonnell is wonderful and it's fascinating storyline is relateable to the reader. Definitely read this book because if you don't you'll be torn to pieces!!!!

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Breanna F. for TeensReadToo.com

Anne is a 17-year-old girl who lives with her quirky mother. Ever since Anne was little, she and her mother (and her grandparents) would move around every once in a while. Anne's mom is a writer so she does a lot of traveling, and Anne is by herself. She often stays with her grandparents just down the street, because it's creepy being alone in that big house.

Anne has always found her mother to be a bit strange by the furniture that she buys and the long business trips that she takes. But her mother has always been a stable figure, and Anne hasn't minded her mother's long trips because she always comes back and is always there for her.

But when her mother misses Anne's birthday, she knows that something is up. Not once has her mother ever missed her birthday, no matter what. Immediately, Anne starts to investigate, starting off with asking her grandparents questions. When that doesn't work so well she starts to dig further. Who knows what she may find out...

This book was so addicting. I read it in two days. It really was a page-turner. It seemed kind of like a mystery to me. I had to keep guessing what was going to happen. Anne was such a determined character. She would stop at nothing to find out what was going on with her mother and I loved that about her. The secondary characters were pretty awesome, as well.

All in all, TORN TO PIECES was just a really good book. The writing was great and the suspense was awesome. I'd check this one out if you're in for some mystery and suspense.

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anne's mother is odd, and she knows this. Their life has always been strange, with her mother running off with little or no warning to do her job. Anne has always been told that her mother is a writer, and she believes it. And I'll give Anne this much credit: it makes sense that she would. Too often, a plot like this will drop anvil-sized hints that something is amiss. There are no anvils here. The hints that Anne's life is not all that it seems are just that, hints, and ones that would be so easy for Anne to ignore.

The story picks up when Anne's mother doesn't return from one of her interview assignments and things begin to slowly unravel. The tension amps up slowly at this point, until I was reading the last 50 at light speed to see what happened. This was a book I just had to finish in one day, because I couldn't stand to take any longer. It does all end up wrapped up very, very neatly in the end, but the ending did make sense and I felt like it was earned. Maybe not entirely realistic, but it did make sense.

The author did a good job with the characters, in that they felt like real people with at least some sense. Even some of Anne's less intelligent choices made sense for her to make when she made them. And I can't blame a character for doing something that I might do myself.

There were some questions left dangling at the end that I wish hadn't been, but overall this was a very satisfying, quick read.

Cover: The negative photograph is very eye-catching, but I'm not sure what it had to do with the story itself.

[Fatima · Rating 5 out of 5]

Torn to pieces
By:Margot McDonnell
Torn to pieces by Margot McDonnell, is about a girl named Annie. She thinks that her mom travels around the world and writes articles of situations and people. Then one day she doesn't come home and she said she'd come back in 3 days, and it had already been 3 weeks. Annie also meets a new guy named Tel who she had feelings for and liked. She met another guy who she invited to stay over while her mom was away in the guest room. After a time goes by something occurs and Tal disappears like he never even existed. I think this book is very interesting, and is a cliff hanger.
I think this book is very interesting and is a cliff hanger because of how the story is told. The story is told like how a normal girl (Annie) how her life gets turned upside down after a letter her mom left her if she didn't come back after 3 weeks. Then people around her trying to come at her & her so called "crush" ran away after an accident makes it wonder wow how did this happen, and make you want to know right away what's going to happen next. Then it shows how people can be really fake to you & make you think twice of who you trust and let in, into your life. I think this book is very interesting & the plot twist get you wanting to know right away.
I rate this book 5/5 stars.

[Mis'tija · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel grabbed my attention for the very beginning. Torn To Pieces is about a young lady named Maryann. She is a senior in high school at the age of 17. She is also in the school band, she plays in the brass section. Her mother is always off on business trips so shes not back for a day or two. this causes Anne to be home alone and take care of herself. She is a very independent scholar when it comes to this. However one day changed her whole life. Her mother went on a business trip and never came back. After a few weeks with out her mother returning she noticed something was not right.
throughout the novel Anne has ran into various problems she can not solve. There has been mysterious things happening and she dose not know what. Before he mother left, she talked about financial issues which worried Anne because her mother just so happened to leave a large amount of money. The money can get Anne and the friends around her in danger.
After of Anne's mom being missing for a week, she sends a note to Anne. Her mom finally confesses about her life. This letter contains many of Anne's secrets. She finds out that he whole life was a lie

[Kat O'B · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book jacket teaser describes a mystery/thriller in which Anne, a 17 y/o girl, makes shocking discoveries about her mother's true identity after her mother disappears. This book has a little bit of everything, including false identities, federal agents, double-crossing lawyers, hidden money, threatening criminals, robbery...all the way to the new boys at school, teen romantic interests, best friends, and school assignments. Overall an interesting read, but I found some of the plot elements unnecessary or unbelievable, such as when Anne mentions how hard it is missing school a few times as an aside as if it bothers her- maybe to make her seem more like a "regular" teen while she's sneaking into locked houses and trying to evade bad guys? The two boys from school drift in and out of the picture frequently, which is perhaps meant to be part of the twisting plot, but I found Anne's feelings toward both of them less-than-authentic because of the fact that we never got to know either of them very well. Still a pretty good mystery that should have fans in the middle school library.

[Lissa Notreallywolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a coming of age story where no one's identity is what it seems. It ends rather moralistically with the narrator, a 17 year old girl who has discovered that her mother is not who she assumes she was and her "grandparents" are loving retainers. But she makes the ethically correct choice in preserving relationships with the people she cares about-except perhaps her best female friend.
Throughout the book we get glimpses of how wealthy an existence this girl leads, auto deposits to her bankaccount rather than a chorebased allowance or grade merit dole outs. Her Jeep, the fact she is red headed and not exactly thin... the voice is one of extreme insecurity, the objects one of great economic priviledge. And to her credit Anne is generous with her best female friend and not snobbish in her relations to a boy who is homeless or darn close. She is equally gnerous with her fly by night mother who seems more like a friend than a parent. I won't spoil all of it but be aware that the conclusion involves substantial violence.

[BxerMom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had me hooked the very first chapter. The writing is great. The characters are charming. The plot was one that kept me guessing and I really enjoyed it. Its a YA book, a quick read, and quite enjoyable!

Anne has the perfect life...that is if her mother, Penny, would ever stay home. Penny, a ghost writer, does nothing but travel. She's always gone for days, never telling Anne any details. But one day, Penny doesn't come home. Anne begins a search that will turn her world upside down and make her question everything she was ever told. Who can she trust? Tal, the handsome band member who acts like he wants to be Anne's boyfriend but keeps distancing himself? Mims and Gramps? What about Evan? The boy who moves from place to place and sleeps wherever he can because his father locks him out of the trailer? Where is Anne's mom? And who is this strange man who is looking for her? You'll have to read to find out!

[Justine · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

I grabbed this book originally because I thought this cover was amazing. The book synopsis is also very intriguing and made me want to read this book even more. Torn to Pieces was a mystery in a mystery mixed in with a bit of thriller. I did like the idea of this novel but it just felt like it was a bit slow throughout. Also I wasn't sure how "realistic" these events would be, saying that I know that this is a fictional novel lol.
The characters in this book were okay. I think Anne's mom was the biggest and best character even though she was there in presence only. I feel like Anne did somethings that were unrealistic. How would she know to do some of the things she did? I did admire her for how she handled things at the end of the book.
Overall, this novel was pretty good. It kept me interested but it was a bit slow for a mystery thriller. Despite my feelings, I would still recommend this to readers looking for a YA contemporary mystery.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't read a teen thriller in awhile, so I wasn't sure what to expect. This book was OK, but I didn't love it. However, I think reluctant adolescent readers will find it interesting and satisfying. There are many, many plot twists (which is probably which turned me off to the book -- it got less and less believable), there's a little bit of romance, and really interesting characters. It's easy to get hooked on this one, so I'll keep it in mind for kids who think books are boring. It's definitely in the Caroline Cooney category.

One small gripe: the author is a former English teacher, and I felt that she was being a tad self-indulgent in the many side references the main character makes to what her English teacher would do or think. If the English teacher were a major character, go for it, but the little witticisms didn't work for me in this plot.

[Kayla Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a puzzling book because of the life the character lived and her confusing family.
Anne's mother is not a stay at home mom, she is rather the opposite. Her mom is never at home and always away on business. Anne starts to worry when she her mother doesn't arrive home on time and she is not picking up her phone. A threatening man leaves voice mails on the phone for a mysterious woman. After explaining the disaster to her grandparents, they give her an envelope with the details she needs to know from her mom. Anne reads the letter and is shocked to see the things that is going on, her mom has deep dark secrets that no one has ever known. People close to Anne are not who they are known as and Anne needs help.
I recommend this book to 8th graders and up because it was a book that really makes your mind tick to know what happens next.

[Kaylee Collins]

Torn to Pieces is a mystery-thriller with an unexpected twist after each page and a lot of foreshadowing to keep you interested and guessing. There is also a lot of internal and external conflicts while Anne is on the journey to find out where her mother is and her real life story. I can't exactly relate to Anne's main conflicts but she uses a lot of bravery when trying to find out the truth about her mother and her earlier life, and everyone uses some kind of bravery at one point in their lives. I recommend this book to anyone who has a parent that travels or someone who likes action- packed books. I think the author wrote this book to entertain her readers by giving a book that you never know what's going to happen next. The deeper meaning, in my opinion, is that nothing is ever as it seems because pretty much all of the characters in this book are living a double life.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose this book because I am interested in dramatic and suspenseful novels, as soon as I read the blurb I was immeadiatley intrigued. Novels like this one never get boring and action is continuous from begginning to end. Yes, i loved it, normally i get sick and tired of reading the same book for a long period of time, but I was happy that i took the time to grasp every aspect of the novel. No, i cannot relate to the novel because my life is not nearly as dramatic as the characters in the novel. i would say that everything the characters experience are way too over exagerated. i would definetly reccomend this book to a friend, in fact i have already. i think this book is enjoyable for everryone with different favorable book genres.