Torched

by April Henry

When Ellie's parents are busted for possession of marijuana, the FBI gives her a choice: infiltrate the Mother Earth Defenders (MED), a radical environmental group, or her parents will go to jail. At first Ellie is more than willing to entrap the MEDics, but the more time she spends undercover, particularly with Coyote, the green-eyed MEDic that she can't stop thinking about, the more she starts to believe in their cause. When talk turns to murder, Coyote backs out, but Ellie is willing to risk everything to save her family, even if it means losing Coyote and putting her own life on the line. April Henry, author of the acclaimed YA thriller Shock Point, pulls an issue straight from the headlines as she deftly explores what happens when good intentions get out of hand. With the environment a hot topic, this blend of explosive action and romance will make Torched a must-read for all suspense lovers.

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

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 17, 2009

About the author

I write mysteries and thrillers. I live in Portland, Oregon with my family.

If you've read one of my books, I would love to hear from you. Hearing from readers makes me eager to keep writing.

When I was 12, I sent a short story about a six-foot tall frog who loved peanut butter to Roald Dahl, the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He liked it so much he arranged to have it published in an international children's magazine.

My dream of writing went dormant until I was in my 30s, working at a corporate job, and started writing books on the side. Those first few years are now thankfully a blur. Now I'm very lucky to make a living doing what I love. I have written 27 novels for adults and teens, with more on the way. My books have been on the New York Times bestseller lists, gotten starred reviews, been picked for Booksense, translated into seven languages, been named to state reading lists, won the Anthony award and won the Oregon Book Award.

Reviews

[TheNextGenLibrarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

An undercover mission for a high school girl leads to an explosive ending.
💥
After the FBI arrest Ellie’s parents for distribution and use of marijuana, she takes their deal to go undercover in a domestic terrorist organization to get information and help release her parents from jail. The problem is she’s falling for one of the group’s members, the mysterious Coyote. When even he backs out of the latest mission to blow a business up, potentially killing others, Ellie must follow through in order to save her parents.
🧨
This was one of @aprilhenrybooks first YA thriller books so it is a bit dated in the marijuana angle and cell phone usage, but the story itself is still one that will keep you turning pages. I’ll need to grab this one for our library The audiobook was great!

CW: death, murder, arrest, jail, explosives/fire, drug use

Too dated for me to enjoy a whole lot. 3 ⭐️

[Hannah Bond]

Some teenagers grow up being embarrassed from their parents and never want their friends to come over and associate with them. This is Ellie’s case in the book Torched by April Henry, a young adult fictional book, but much bigger. She is a sixteen year old girl who is in the process of trying to save her parents who got caught for selling marijuana. While also deal with her new boyfriend Coyote and her beliefs of what she believes is right.
In this book it starts out with Ellie’s parents being caught for selling drugs. The FBI gives Ellie two choices for her to decide. First, bust the Mother Earth Defenders (MED), which are an environmental group to protect the environment, or her parents will go to prison. Her parents are free if she infiltrate MED and spills any information about actions that are going to be taken place. She doesn’t know which decision to make between helping her parents by ratting out the MED’s or choose her growing love for Coyote and not rat out the MEDs the environment. Ellie has to go throughout this book walking a fine line with everyone and lying about everything.
I would rate this book a 4 out of 5 stars. It explains the complications that some teenagers have to go through in their lives. Torched starts out extremely interesting and does not leave you bored while reading. I would recommend this book to anyone that thinks they have a very unusual family and think that no family is more embarrassing than theirs. This book will leave you on the edge of your seat through times and keep you wondering what is bound to happen next. It leaves you questioning how far you would go to support a cause you thought was very important, and also make you question how far you would go for a loved one that needed your help.

[Rhi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since I started to read April Henry’s book I have fallen in love with all of them that I have read. They make you think deeply about topics that other authors would not touch. Torched makes you think deeply about the damage caused to the environment that we have caused. I really liked this book and would recommend it to anyone that is interested in mystery and environmental books.

[Jennie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is surprisingly bad. It dissapointed from the moment I read the first page. The worst thing about it is how the author portrays the girl as a weak and in love at first sight. She is completely "in love" with a boy she practically just met. Not only that, he's a typical hippie who takes great pride in "sticking it to the Man". He gets in a lot of trouble with the law only to feel a little adrenaline rush. Basically, this book made me stressed out instead of being entertaining. I don't recommend this book to anybody.

[Brandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like April Henry’s books and have read most of them. I typically give them 5 stars. They are very action packed and hard to put down. This is an earlier book of Henry’s. It is slower than her other books. Once the action comes, it is much smoother. I also feel like the dialogue is the worst part of the book. It doesn’t feel appropriate for he the people talking. Even the adults in the book talk like they are teenagers. I feel like Henry has really grown as an author and her more recent books are well done.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this was one of April Henry's earlier books but I enjoyed it just as much as the others. She does a great job of creating mystery stories which are not too heavy and teens find enjoyable. This book was about a group of young adults who are protesting deforestation in an area which they have just noticed lynx have returned. Though most of the groups tactics are non-violent, there are members who have a different mindset about how they should act.

Ellie gets pulled into working for the FBI to gather information on the group due to her parents' free spirited way of life. The FBI gives her an option to either have her parents serve time and her go to foster care or she can work for them. Either way, there is really no choice for Ellie. As time goes by and the more time she spends with the group the more she understands their purpose and wants to help them succeed in their protest, but she also doesn't want to see anyone get hurt. Ellie has to find a way to meet the needs of both the group and the FBI, but making that possible may be more than she can do.

This is an author that my high school students ask for by name so I am more than happy to say that they will not be disappointed with this addition to our collection. I think this was more realistic fiction than mystery this time but either way it still has the pull of the other books she has written. The book is clean overall though I do have to admit there is some drug referral in the book since this is what her parents are charged for when Ellie is approached by the FBI. No language or sex though so overall very clean.

[Christina Getrost · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another out-of-print April Henry book I was able to read thanks to the newly released audiobook version! In this thriller, Ellie's parents are arrested for drug dealing (they're older hippies in Portland who share marijuana, then illegal, with their young activist friends; this was the only dated thing in the book) and she is given a choice: go undercover into the local radical environmental group Mother Earth Defenders and find out what they have planned, or see her parents go to jail. It's not that hard of a choice for Ellie, especially because she's starting to fall for the really cute young guy in the group, Coyote, and would love to have more reasons to hang out with him. And the longer she's undercover with them, the more she starts to believe in their cause--until their acts of defiance against polluters and corporations start to get deadly. She's going to have to decide how far she is willing to go, and if not, how can she extricate herself before the group turns to murder?

Good story, still a relevant plot concept, and fast-paced. Maybe a little slow in the beginning, setting up the characters and premise.

[Jazmine C · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the second book I picked up of April Henry's books I was iffy about this book she's a really good author but could of done a lot better with this book ( I never thought I would dislike one of her books) I would pick this book back up if I had to but other than that IDK

I liked the story line but I don't think many people could relate to the story line I still recommend all her other books especially Lonely Dead

[Cecily Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

For some reason I thought this book (based on the cover) was going to be all romantic and such. Turns out it's more focused on activism turning violent. The story was okay but not really my thing overall. Okay read.

[Juniper Schaefer · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING!!!! SUSPENSFUL!!!

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

super easy to read and a real page turner. interesting plot and development.

[Ranada · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not only did I have to buy a copy of this because my dog ate the library copy, but it had a totally cheesy and unsatisfactory ending.

[Chrisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Kiera · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite April Henry book!!! It had good depth but didn't take too long to read.

[Lia Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good YA mystery/thriller.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

Ellie is the adopted daughter of a couple of old hippies. They love telling stories about their past as young rebels and spend their time looking out for new causes and smoking pot. It wasn't unusual, then, when members of MED, the Mother Earth Defenders, started hanging around in Ellie's living room. There were some fairly lively discussions and one pretty cute guy named Coyote.

When Ellie agreed to a couple of coffee shop dates with Coyote, little did she know she would soon be learning more about him and the MEDics' causes than she ever wanted to know. The cops had evidently been keeping an eye on Ellie's house because known members of the group had been meeting there. During a raid to arrest the group cops had labeled "ecoterrorists," Ellie's parents were arrested for drug trafficking.

Being arrested was not new to the couple, but in the past they had been younger and healthier. Now the prospect of jail time was frightening, especially for Ellie's father and his weak heart. In order to protect her parents, Ellie finds herself agreeing to help the FBI in their investigation of the MEDics.

Now Ellie is closer than ever to the handsome Coyote, but she also can't believe she is buying dark-colored clothing from the Goodwill store and planning a solo initiation attack to convince the group that she is legit. Once she is accepted as part of the group, things begin to escalate. They may be protecting "mother earth," but they don't seem to be above taking human lives to further their cause.

TORCHED by April Henry is an edge-of-your-seat thriller. The book starts with a Prologue that puts readers in the thick of the action, and things don't slow down from there until the end.

As a reader, I became involved in the story on several levels. I liked the fast-paced action, but I also found myself identifying with the MED cause. Protecting our great planet is a worthy cause, and Ellie's experience did have me thinking about many of the wasteful things I do to contribute to the problem. TORCHED should prove popular with many teen readers.

[Justin Klotz · Rating 4 out of 5]

In “Torched” by April Henry, Ellie's aging hippie parents may be embarrassing at times, but she loves them and can't imagine life without them. When her parents are arrested for growing marijuana in their basement and threatened with lengthy jail time, Ellie is given a way to have the charges against her parents dropped. The FBI offers her a deal. They want her to spy on the Mother Earth Defenders or MEDics. The MEDics care about the earth and save animals that are becoming extinct. While these may sound like good things, they sometimes do so through violence and even murder. When the MEDics find some Lynx, which are almost extinct and have not been found anywhere around Oregon in 30 years, they try to save them by performing tree sits to stop the logging so the Lynx can have a place to den. Richter and Ponytail, two FBI agents gave Ellie a watch that can record conversations. They have her join the MEDics and find a way to record some of their schemes and get them arrested before they start killing people. Once the MEDics accepted her, they gave her a partner, Coyote; once she meets him she falls in love with him and doesn’t want to lie to him. She now has a big lie building up inside her that she has to hide from him. She doesn’t want to do this at all and has no intention on being a MEDic, but is reminded of her parents and can’t let them go to jail. So she goes through with all the group’s plans and records all important information on them to get them caught. Ellie really cares about Coyote and doesn’t want to get him in trouble, but she is forced to decide between him and her parents.
This was a great book. It kept me waiting to see what will happen next. This shows how hard some people’s lives are and what they have to do to save loved ones. Appreciate your parents while you have them because they may not be there forever. It is very suspenseful at times and has some cool action scenes. Overall, this is a wonderful book; great job, April Henry! I would recommend this book to anyone who likes suspenseful mysteries.

[Cindy Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ellie is used to her parents having groups of friends over to smoke marijuana and get stoned. She often feels more like the parent than the child, cooking for the people who drop in and cleaning up when they leave. Otherwise she spends her time trying to do well in school. But when the FBI raids her home and arrests her parents for growing marijuana in their basement, she can’t go back to living life as she knew it.

The FBI most wants to find out about the activities of the Mother Earth Defenders, (MED) a radical environmental group that her parents were meeting with. The FBI will let her parents go, but only if she agrees to infiltrate MED and pass along information about any violent actions the group plans to take. Against her wishes, Ellie agrees to help.

But as she gets more involved with the group, and she begins to fall for Coyote, one of its members, she begins to see why they are so passionate about their cause. Torn between wanting to help her parents, her growing love for Coyote and her concern for the environment, Ellie must walk a fine line and lie to everyone she cares about. How can she see it through without losing everyone she cares about as well?

Torched by April Henry will keep you turning pages as you follow Ellie from fire-bombing a Hummer dealership, to tree sitting and more. Her conflicted conscience brings up great things to talk about in a mother-daughter book club. Among other things it asks the reader to ask: How far would you go to support a cause you thought was vitally important? What would you do if you could help someone you loved, even if it was dangerous? While you may expect to have a happily-ever-after ending, Henry keeps you guessing at the outcome right to the last page.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ellie's aging hippie parents may be embarrasing at times, but she loves them and can't imagine life without them. When they're arrested for marijuana posession and threatened with lengthy jailtime for the marijuana field in their basement, Ellie is given a way out. The FBI offer her a deal. They want her to infiltrate a group of eradical nvironmental activists--the Mother Earth Defenders--and get evidence that they've moved beyond peaceful protests to violence.

Ellie is scared, but willing to do anything to help her parents. But the deeper she gets into MED, the more she starts to believe in their cause--and to fall for Coyote, whose passionate arguments in the defense of Mother Earth are beginning to sway her to his side. But when MED's plans start to become more violent, Ellie has to make a choice. Should she follow her heart--and Coyote? Or is she willing to risk it all to protect her parents?

It's a compelling read, and an interesting premise, but Ellie never really came together for me as a character. The villainization of environmental activists reminded me so strongly of Robert Muchamore's CHERUB books, where the bad guys are always some flavor of radical environmentalist or animal lover. There's enough suspense to keep the plot moving along rapidly, but it's not exactly a character study.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Raised by hippie parents, Ellie is used to strangers coming into her doors and hearing about all the ways her parents are out to change the world. When the FBI comes a knockin', Ellie's life gets completely flipped. The voice of Ellie, her fears and her eagerness to make sure her parents don't end up in prison was written well and kept up with the suspense of what exactly the environmental activist group, MEDic, was really up to.

This is the first time I've read a book by April Henry, and for suspense and plot, she did a great job with it. There were a lot of characters introduced within the MEDic group, and sometimes it was hard to remember who was who. While I think Ellie was a great character who was developed, the other ones seemed to fall flat. The relationship between Coyote and Ellie seemed to lack a lot. I wish it would have been expanded more on Coyote's character because I did find him really interesting. There were a few others like Cedar and Hawk that I wished would have been more developed too since they were such activist throughout the entire story.

Overall Torched is a fast read and one that keeps you wondering how exactly things are going to play out in the end. I may not have loved-loved it, but I did enjoy it. I do plan on checking out more of April Henry's work in the future.

[Eric Rodricks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I neither loved this book nor hated it. It was a very simple read with short chapters. The book is about a high school girl named Ellie also known as Sky. When Ellies parents get busted by the F.B.I. She has to go undercover to help them bust a group known as Mother Earth Defenders (Meds) To save her parents. As the story keeps on Ellie finds herself falling for a boy named coyote who is also a Med. Ellie also finds herself caught up in the wild world of the Meds, to prove herself she has to set a hummer dealership on fire just to get in with the meds. But as the book goes on and the more time she spends with Coyote the harder it is for her to believe who is right the F.B.I. or the Meds.
This book came with a lot of twists and turns in it that I found hard to believe. From drug dealing parents to high school bomb makers and dirty F.B.I. Agents, but at the same time it held my attention for most of the book. Like I said this book was a very easy read. It only took me about a week to blow through it. If you have enough time you could easily finish this book in one sitting. I would recommend this book for a younger age group or someone that has a very open mind about Mother Nature.

[Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm disappointed that I bought multiple copies of this for the library based on reviews, and it just didn't do that much for me. The good: environmental issues are discussed in a way that might be palatable to teens. The bad: the environmental group featured in the book is becoming radical and potentially violent, so their causes seem marginalized. The mediocre: the suspense--will our heroine be able to get the goods on the Mother Earth Defenders for the FBI so her aging hippie parents won't go to jail for their small-scale pot growing? I don't think I'll put this on the Peach consideration database unless someone else reads it and can recommend it more than I can. At least it was short.

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS.

Juvenile lit.

A teen of now middle-aged hippies gets involved with an activist (i.e., destructive) environmental group, to serve as an FBI informant and thus protect her parents from an arrest (for hosting social events where weed is used).

The teen has to deal simultaneously w. first love -- involving Coyote, a fellow member of the enviro group -- and hardened law enforcement people at the same time.

She ends up outsmarting the FBI (preserving evidence of the agents' lack of compassion and extortion), keeping her parents from the slammer AND laying the foundation for a serious, positive relationship w. Coyote.

Typical teen romance, allied w. very contemporary social themes.

[bjneary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ellie is sixteen and has parents who like to support environmental causes. Only problem is, one day her parents are arrested on marijuana charges and Ellie is forced to spy for the FBI and become involved in ecoterrorism or else--- Ellie will go into foster care and her parents would go to jail forever unless she goes undercover to help them. Ellie begins meeting with Mother Earth Defenders (MED); she has convinced them of her earnestness. She also begins to fall for Coyote, another member who has been involved with MED for a few years. The suspense is gripping, Ellie's fear is palpable, but she is determined to save her parents no matter what. She is resourceful and determined. Great for reluctant readers too.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

New young adult thriller by Portland author.

Update: Although it's hard to imagine the FBI telling a teen that she has to infiltrate a borderline terrorist environmental group, this is a good suspense/thriller for a young teen. To avoid having her parents go to jail for growing pot, Ellie must join the MEDics to keep the FBI informed of their covert activities. She is immediately attracted to one of the members, Coyote, but isn't sure she can continue when the group starts thinking of murder as a way to make their point. I would recommend this to any teen wanting a fast-paced and action packed read, plus it does have a message.

[Deb]

"I thought this was a great YA novel. Possibly more for girls than guys, due to the romance that was a secondary plot, but a lot of interesting commentary on the current environmental issues, and the ethics of protesting and direct action against the government/business/people.[return][return]Ellie was a very sympathetic character, fairly well fleshed out, interesting but not perfect. Relatable. A lot of them book actually deals with Ellie facing her fears - for her father's health, for the environment, for innocent bystanders, even her fear of heights.[return][return]I enjoyed it, and I'll probably recommend it to any teens looking for a good book."

[Read InAGarden · Rating 3 out of 5]

After Ellie's parents are arrested for producing marijuana, the FBI makes a deal with Ellie - if she goes undercover with a seemingly radical environmental group (MED) they will let her parents off without jail time. Ellie is not thrilled about this arrangement but she goes along with it to save her parents. As she gets further enmeshed in MED she begins to understand their reasoning and beliefs and feels more aligned with them than the law enforcement agencies. But the FBI keeps telling her that she must gather evidence or else her parents will go to jail and die inside. A quick read full of fast paced intrigue.

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I'm really glad that I read this book. I would have not had a reason before the Seasonal Reading Challenge to read this, or at least it wouldn't have become a priority. I picked it up at the library because it was on display as a book that was notable. I thought it was a good book for people who really care about the environment and want to make a difference. I also think it would be good for anyone who maybe doesn't think the environment is important. Although this is a fiction book, the events could actually happen.

[Aniyah Payne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that this book could be challenging for some to read because of bias. Some readers may have different opinions from what choices the characters make. This book has taught me that sometimes you have to risk your life to save others' but in the end, it will all workout. The book takes you on a ride from start to finish about a girl who puts herself into a dangerous group called the MEDics, only to save both her parents' lives and later to find out, her own as well. I totally recommend to young adults and high school students.

[Maryam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book! I loved it! This story starts off with the action but the back ground story comes along a you get further into the book and I absolutely loved it. One thing I love about April Henry's books is that the characters are really well developed. They seem like actual people and they way that the plot takes so many twists and turns, it always keeps me in the edge of my seat and I loved every page of the book!