Review: Haunting! A Chilling Must-Read YA novel!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 27, 2013
The Tearings moved me to tears. VC Repetto's gripping debut novel took me to dark places where unexpected glimpses of hope lingered reminding me that in humanities darkest hour, a small light can shine within us all.The Tearings begins with Maya, a normal seventeen-year-old girl with a very normal seventeen-year-old life. She's on the swim team, has normal teenage emotions, has friends, enjoys going to the movies...and in one cough Maya's world is ripped from her.Maya is forced in a "healing center" where she soon uncovers a horrifying truth. The Tearings reminded me of a modern day Schindler's List. In parts of the novel that I struggled to remain composed, I thought of that little girl in her little red coat.The Tearings evoked emotions within me that forced me to think of scenarios we, as humans, ignore because the thought is too inconceivable, and yet the fictional atrocities woven throughout this haunting novel have sadly been very real in our history.Let my words be heard: The Tearings will stick with you, grab you, and not let you go. As heart wrenching as The Tearings is, there is hope, not always the hope we expect, but the hope we don't see coming that restores faith, and that hope can come in the form of a blanket, a piece of bread, a sip of broth, and that the symbolism of survival can come in the shape of a dandelion.The Tearings reminded me that death is not the biggest challenge we face, but that living with scars inflicted by the ugliest shades of humanity is often harder.Maya emerges as a champion, as a fighter, and her words cut you deeper than any knife ever could. I will continue to cheer for her, and eagerly await the second installment!