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bethanymiller415 's review for:
Can't Look Away
by Donna Cooner
Grade Range: 9-12 grade
Genre: Realistic
Literary Merit: Good
Characterization:Very Good
Recommendation: Recommended
Here's my review. See below for a student's take on this novel.
At first glance, I did not think that Can’t Look Away showed much promise to be a book that I (a non-teen YA reader) would enjoy. On the book’s cover, there are many different photos of a girl on a YouTube style window showing emotions ranging from sad to frustrated to bored. It did nothing to pique my interest, and the first few chapters of the book did nothing to change my mind. The main character Torrey is a teen beauty vlogger who has recently become controversial because of her involvement in an accident that caused the death of her sister. In the beginning there is not much about Torrey that makes her sympathetic or that makes you want to root for her. She comes across as shallow, superficial and downright mean. Torrey’s first person narration gives readers access to every thought behind her awful scheming and manipulations in an attempt to achieve popularity at her new school. She meets a boy named Luis who seems to be an outcast at the school yet she is inexplicably drawn to him. She begins developing a relationship with him in secret so as not to hurt her chances of becoming popular.
Eventually, in very small increments, Torrey does begin to show some growth in character and slowly starts to learn to deal with her grief, and that is what saved this book for me. Though I didn’t enjoy Torrey’s awfulness and frequent back slides into mean girl territory, I thought it was a realistic portrayal of a teen’s personal growth because it isn’t something that’s going to happen overnight. Overall, I did enjoy the book and found that it had more depth than what I was originally expecting. Recommended for teens who enjoy contemporary, realistic fiction dealing with both family life and high school drama, especially those with an interest in fashion.
Student review by Dominque E. (11th grade)
Can’t Look Away by Donna Cooner is about a girl named Torrey Grey who is an internet fashion advice sensation who just can’t get enough of the praise from her fans, until a horrible car accident killed her 12 year old sister. Torrey is now shunned by her fans and peers, and her distraught parents move her to Texas with her supportive but unpopular cousin Raylene. There she meets Blair, who is pretty much the Torrey that she was before she left, and Luis, who is anti-social and unpopular but also brooding and attractive. His family runs the funeral home, and he begins tells Torrey about the Day of the Dead. Torrey must decide if she wants the life she had. trying to act like the death of her sister didn’t affect her, or come to terms with her turbulent emotions and make peace.
Can’t Look Away was absolutely amazing; it should be titled I can’t put it down because I literally couldn’t. This book’s pace was not at all slow, and some parts it moved kind of fast. One minor issue I had is (while this to be expected) only the main character got the most development throughout the story while some characters who were important were just there and not adequately developed. Overall, this book deserves a 10/10 and is suitable for all high school age groups and older middle school.
Genre: Realistic
Literary Merit: Good
Characterization:Very Good
Recommendation: Recommended
Here's my review. See below for a student's take on this novel.
At first glance, I did not think that Can’t Look Away showed much promise to be a book that I (a non-teen YA reader) would enjoy. On the book’s cover, there are many different photos of a girl on a YouTube style window showing emotions ranging from sad to frustrated to bored. It did nothing to pique my interest, and the first few chapters of the book did nothing to change my mind. The main character Torrey is a teen beauty vlogger who has recently become controversial because of her involvement in an accident that caused the death of her sister. In the beginning there is not much about Torrey that makes her sympathetic or that makes you want to root for her. She comes across as shallow, superficial and downright mean. Torrey’s first person narration gives readers access to every thought behind her awful scheming and manipulations in an attempt to achieve popularity at her new school. She meets a boy named Luis who seems to be an outcast at the school yet she is inexplicably drawn to him. She begins developing a relationship with him in secret so as not to hurt her chances of becoming popular.
Eventually, in very small increments, Torrey does begin to show some growth in character and slowly starts to learn to deal with her grief, and that is what saved this book for me. Though I didn’t enjoy Torrey’s awfulness and frequent back slides into mean girl territory, I thought it was a realistic portrayal of a teen’s personal growth because it isn’t something that’s going to happen overnight. Overall, I did enjoy the book and found that it had more depth than what I was originally expecting. Recommended for teens who enjoy contemporary, realistic fiction dealing with both family life and high school drama, especially those with an interest in fashion.
Student review by Dominque E. (11th grade)
Can’t Look Away by Donna Cooner is about a girl named Torrey Grey who is an internet fashion advice sensation who just can’t get enough of the praise from her fans, until a horrible car accident killed her 12 year old sister. Torrey is now shunned by her fans and peers, and her distraught parents move her to Texas with her supportive but unpopular cousin Raylene. There she meets Blair, who is pretty much the Torrey that she was before she left, and Luis, who is anti-social and unpopular but also brooding and attractive. His family runs the funeral home, and he begins tells Torrey about the Day of the Dead. Torrey must decide if she wants the life she had. trying to act like the death of her sister didn’t affect her, or come to terms with her turbulent emotions and make peace.
Can’t Look Away was absolutely amazing; it should be titled I can’t put it down because I literally couldn’t. This book’s pace was not at all slow, and some parts it moved kind of fast. One minor issue I had is (while this to be expected) only the main character got the most development throughout the story while some characters who were important were just there and not adequately developed. Overall, this book deserves a 10/10 and is suitable for all high school age groups and older middle school.