Amber Lehman has written a very good coming of age romance in Torn. However despite publicity about it being a cutting edge book dealing with the issues for young GBLTs (Gay Bisexual Lesbian Transgenders) this book conveniently avoids the real issue and everything works out more a dream then reality.

At age 22, author Amber Lehman began researching and writing what would become the novel Torn. In the novel, Krista McKinley doesn't realize what awaits her when she's uprooted from an Ohio convent school and placed in a California public school her ninth grade year. Carrie is the first to befriend Krista and soon after she becomes friends with the enigmatic Brandon. The three quickly form a close friendship. But when a harmless dare to kiss Carrie on Homecoming night escalates into something beyond her expectations, Krista questions her feelings and her sexuality. Unhappy in her uncertainty and on a quest to determine her sexuality, Krista asks an unlikely question of Brandon: will he take her virginity? The experience leaves both with feelings deeper than wanted for the other.

Scott is the new kid in town who likes to look at his life through the lens of his high definition video camera. He has a knack for seeing people s secrets, and it makes him a natural for Max s hardcore website. His videos are raunchy, astonishing, and sometimes hysterically funny. His love affair with fellow director Cody ends when Cody disappears and Scott sets out to find him on a cross country trip from Miami to the Rockies. Part romance, part road trip, part coming of age, "The Auteur" by author Ward Wood is full of enough unforgettable characters to fill a dozen books.