Torn From Normal

What are Teens REALLY Like and Why?

TORN FROM NORMAL is the story of a young man whose life disintegrates through no fault of his own, and the story of another young man who could easily be in the same position, if circumstances were slightly different. Bartloff captures perfectly what it feels like to be on the edge of adulthood, how quickly and wildly a young person can veer from one maturity level to another, one emotion to another, one view of a situation to another. He puts his finger surely on the wrenching psychological position of feeling powerless and guilty in the same situation. No, it doesn't make sense to feel incapable of doing anything AND to feel like you've caused the events that are sweeping your life away, but it's a real sensation. Bartloff makes the reader not only understand it, but share it.

Andy, the boy whose story the book tells, suffers most from this bind. Although he's never diagnosed, it's pretty clear he's dropped into clinical depression. Bartloff was wise not to raise this diagnosis, since most people who haven't suffered from it don't understand how someone can be clinically depressed and still laugh and tell jokes and show enthusiasm about things.

I recommend this book for young people and adults who want to understand them.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Intriguing and Transformational Story

I did not know what to expect when I started this book. What I discovered was a very intriguing and transformational story. It is a story about the difficulties of a typical adolescent wanting to grow up normal. But misfortune interrupted his life in immense but realistic ways, hence the brilliantly applicable title for the book.
I typically read non-fiction books. I read them for relatively short periods absorbing as much as I can. I then put down the book and begin reading it again over a timeframe of multiple weeks. That was my beginning expectation for this book. However that was not to be the case; I read it in two sessions and it would have done it in one had I not first started reading it in the evening. That speaks to the intriguing and compelling nature of the story and how it is written, but the book did more than that, it did something to me - it transformed my thinking about life in a positive way.
This book will entertain you with its story but it will also create a new sense of awareness about your relationships with friends, relatives and people in general. Every parent and every adolescent need to read this book, for the entertainment for sure, but mostly for the positive transformational affect it will have on one's thinking and behaviors. I think Martin has done a great service to mankind in many ways by writing this book.
Don L Redinius
Author - The New Era of Financial Success

Serendipitious Readings Review

Andy has the typical adolescent life. His mom stays at home while his father who is a long-term trucker makes a living to support his family, albeit, from a distance. Sure, Andy misses his father when he is away, but he cherishes the times when he is home and able to spend time with him.

Then tragedy strikes.

As the unexpected death of his father, he thinks that he isn't worth anyones love. Through his grief, Andy takes it out on the people who are closest to him trying to deal with this exhaustible loss, that even he cannot seem to get a handle on.

It is when another tragedy strikes that he believes for a fact that God is against him. Randomly wandering towns, not willing to face reality, he befriends a group of people that he really shouldn't.

This helps him meet an angel of sorts.

Danny and his father seem to almost rescue Andy from the group he has been hanging around with after one of the boys robs Danny's father. Danny has had many step brothers before, his father being foster parent, mostly to beaten up, emotionally spent youth. He accepts them for who they are while slowly turns them around to feel like they matter.

Andy is sent to his Aunt's to live, but even the situation there isn't as perfect as they all think. On a trip to Germany, Danny and his father find out Andy has run off.

Will Andy's dream of living with Danny and his Father finally come true?

I liked this book. The underlying issues make it an interesting, but, possibly a difficult read for some that are sensitive to the subjects talked about. This is a young adult for ages 13 and up, it will not be for everyone, but heartfelt, honest, and true to the message.

Reviewed by John Jacobson aka "R.J. Jacobs" for TeensReadToo.com

The book starts out with Danny, who is overcome with immense sadness. His best friend, Andy, committed suicide. He sets out to tell that story, and begins to write, sending the reader off into the world of Andy Riley.

Andy Riley is a regular teenager. He has stress, friends, and a lot going on his life. So when he runs away from home, things are thrown out of proportion. He lives with his Aunt Lily, a completely disgusting personality who yells at him and amuses herself by sending her dog, Fido, out to torture him. She's couch bound and abusive, and he finds solace in leaving her behind.

While travelling as far away as he can, Andy thinks back to his best friend and his father, Marvin. They're like family to him. And he thinks back to how his entire life came about. His father, a trucker, has a heart attack and suddenly dies, leaving the family under a cover of depression. Andy's life starts out hard, and it doesn't get much better.

Bartloff gives us a lot of characters to work with, each interesting and compelling in their own sense. Andy's a difficult protagonist to work with - a thinker who loves to hop around from one place to another. Danny is our other big player; a very good friend to Andy, and intent on having him as a foster brother. The plot is much the same; filled with a veil of tragedy and sadness framed by the opening passage about Andy's eventual suicide.

While the premise of the book is very interesting, I myself could not get into it like I thought I would. The characters are fine enough, but they never really feel real, even Andy. His constant stream of tragedies felt so unheard of and humorless, that it felt too unreal. Not to mention, the book moves a lot in the first 50 pages alone, constantly streaming the readers new information about Andy's past. It's a lot to work with, and makes you wonder why the pacing is so fast for a subject that's meant to be examined.

Editing issues were also a big slowdown, with many areas needing a good comma or two in them. It wouldn't have been much of an issue, but the shear amount of grammatical editing that felt left out really made the experience bitter. Another minor quip was that the back cover left no suspense to the story. It felt as though I was building up to absolutely no surprises.

Despite these issues, Bartloff has gleams of great writing within the book. As many times as I cringed at a lack-of-comma, I also smiled at the placement of a thought-provoking metaphor or description. The description was one of the book's strongest aspects, working well with the protagonist's constant thoughtfulness, based on his situation. Some descriptions, however, tried to retain the voice of a teenager, and the working of the narrative made said descriptions seem more awkward than needed.

Overall, TORN FROM NORMAL was an interesting and thoughtful read that dealt with many hardened issues among teenagers today. Unfortunately, clunky grammar and some bad plot dealings bogged it down from being a really powerful read, despite some fairly interesting characters and descriptions. The subject of suicide still holds strong, and the message of treating people right will always be welcomed, though hopefully Barloff's next book will be a bit more polished.

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