Torn

Massey draws from personal experience as a consultant to London’s counterterrorism unit in his intense and heart-wrenching debut novel. British private Elinor Nielson is only 19 when she is sent to Helmand province in Afghanistan as a medic. Initially, everything is a shock to her: her bunkmate is chilly, the weather is as extreme as the accommodations are basic, and—in a subtly supernatural thread—a girl in a blue dress mysteriously appears in life-threatening situations. Elinor befriends a trio of rowdy but loyal soldiers and is drawn to Ben, an American Navy SEAL, while facing deadly ongoing assaults from both the Taliban and a group of orphaned children, the Young Martyrs. Compassionate and strong, Elinor strikes a deal with Husna, “a homicidal eleven-year-old,” promising to find out the truth about his family’s death in exchange for a truce. Massey delicately and impressively explores military politics, the stress of combat, and the roots of terrorism in a story about the daily pressures of war and the heavy toll it exacts on all parties involved. Ages 14–up. (Aug.)