Book Review: TORN

Torn by Amanda Hocking

Torn is the second book in the Trylle trilogy, describing the life and adventures of protagonist Wendy Everly after she finds out that she’s a changeling switched at birth.

In the first book, Wendy discovers that she is a troll and returns to her hometown with her handsome bodyguard Finn Holmes, whom she clearly shares an attraction with. Due to their social ranking, Wendy is forbidden from having contact with Finn, and Finn is ordered to leave Wendy by her overbearing, cold mother, Elora. As a result, Wendy foolishly runs away to her old home, despite being in grave danger from an enemy clan of trolls, the Vittra.

This leads to the second novel, in which, as expected, the Vittra succeed in kidnapping her, which leads to yet another discovery, that the King of Vittra is actually her father. And the rest of the story essentially describes how she is rescued, and spends the rest of her time either training in preparation for another confrontation with the Vittra, planning her future wedding with a fellow Trylle named Tove, trying to get Finn to return to her, and flirting with a Vittra prince named Loki.

As a reader, it seems to be that absolutely nothing of importance happens in the novel other than her meeting with Loki, being told to marry Tove and her mother’s collapse. Everything else is superfluous, as they do not affect future events in the books. In fact, if Amanda Hocking had kept out all the unnecessary details, she could have shortened the 291-page novel into a 50-page one.

Another huge problem I have with the book is how stupid and dislikeable the two main characters are. Wendy, as a protagonist, is incredibly stupid. After barely surviving an attack by the Vittra which killed or injured many other Trylle, instead of staying in Trylle where she would at least have some protection, she runs to her human home with no one but a “mansklig”, or a human. When Duncan and Finn, two perfectly capable Trylle bodyguards, turn up to persuade her to return, she yells at them and gets them to leave. And, of course, immediately after that she gets kidnapped. And during a confrontation with her mother, despite noting that she is wan and tired, she still manages to get into an argument with her mother about marrying Tove, which leads to her mother’s collapse.

Not only that, Wendy is also immensely thick-headed and selfish. In the previous novel she has been warned not to enter a relationship with Finn, as that would dilute the pure bloodline she had, thus diminishing the (supposedly) considerable powers she possesses. Furthermore, it would lead to her banishment. Finn is also determinedly ignoring her and trying to convince her not to be with him. Despite all this, she persists in chasing him and trying to get him to talk to her, and after every rejection we, the readers, are treated to a scene of her being frustrated or hurt or breaking down. To which I have only one thing to say: you deserve it. Hello, girl, how many times does he have to tell you to stay away? Wendy has only herself to blame for being so thick-headed and obtuse. Her selfishness at insisting on being with Finn, in spite of everything at risk, is also extremely annoying. She has a mother who did everything for her kingdom, including marrying a cruel tyrant and giving birth to his child, and she can’t even promise to keep away from a guy. And we’re supposed to feel sorry for Wendy? Sorry, not happening.

Finn Holmes, Wendy’s bodyguard and crush, is equally unlikeable. For a bodyguard, he does an incredibly poor job at protecting Wendy. Despite promising Wendy to protect and be there for her, he fails to stop the Vittra from kidnapping her, and I have to point out that the Vittra kidnapping was almost immediately after Finn left Wendy. With that little distance between them, how could he manage not to be there in time for her? Hocking gives the excuse that he is delayed by the Vittra, but he is in the company of another bodyguard, Duncan, and he’s been claimed to be one of the best bodyguards in Trylle. Is the quality of Trylle’s bodyguards really that poor? If that’s so, then I despair for Wendy’s safety even in Trylle.

Not only that, Finn is also a complete hypocrite. He ignores Wendy almost all the time under the pretense of following Elora’s orders to keep her away from him, and yet several times in the book he kisses her. Although I still think Wendy is incredibly stupid for chasing him so many times, but you can’t blame a girl too much when Finn keeps on giving her false hope.

Incredibly, it’s the supporting characters that give this book hope. Those characters, although not fully fleshed-out, are interesting enough and mildly enjoyable. From the cold but self-sacrificing Elora to the quiet but intriguing and powerful Tove, all the supporting characters are somewhat admirable and fun to read about.

Another minus about this book is that it has a number of grammatical mistakes that made me wonder if Hocking had bothered to check through her book a couple of times for such glaring and simple mistakes. 

This book is not well written, and it is definitely not an intellectual book. It is a book full of fluff and not much substance – the unfortunate truth is that I would likely be able to find fanfiction written better than this novel. For those hoping to lower their intellect for whatever reason, this is the book to read. Otherwise, steer clear of it.

Rating: 1.5/5

For the more intrepid readers who persist in trying out the book, this book is recommended for readers aged 9 and above.