Rating: 
Summary: Doesn't Deliver
Review: Eh. I'm more than a little disappointed. If you like the "Go Ask Alice" type of thing, this is the book for you. I didn't care for that one either. The whole time I was reading "The Torn Skirt" I kept thinking to myself, 'is this repetitive melodrama or is it just me?'
Rating: 
Summary: A gritty coming-of-age tale...
Review: For those who enjoy books about teenagers and coming-of-age stories, The Torn Skirt is just for you. Rebecca Godfrey's offering, however, is a very dark, edgy tale of drugs, prostitution, crime, and runaways. Very good and very scary.Sara Shaw is tough. Abandoned by her mother at an early age, she lives with her hippie, drug-addict father and plays the role of caretaker and billpayer as best she can. Suddenly, once Sara turns 16, things in her life start changing. A form of rebellion heats up inside of her, made more flammable by her father's abrupt departure from her life and a strange and elusive girl named Justine whom she meets while skipping school. Now Sara is on her own and not sure where to go from there. However, the girl Justine has piqued her interest and Sara sets out to find her again. This journey will lead Sara into a world of all sorts of illegal, terrifying things -- a journey that ultimately comes to a horrible conclusion. I enjoyed this book, but I believe it isn't for everybody. The writing style is a bit poetic, which at times can be sort of weird (and annoying) to read through. Rebecca Godrey is quite talented, though, and the foreshadowing of the ending was enough to keep me turning the pages to find out what happens. The Torn Skirt does open readers' eyes to a new world of teenage rebellion and all the scary things that hide around each corner. The character of Sara Shaw is both innocent and experienced, and I felt motherly and protective toward this girl while reading her story. The mark of a good book: one where the author has managed to make me truly care about a character. Sara Shaw, The Torn Skirt, and Rebecca Godfrey will remain in my mind for quite some time.
Rating:
Summary: I thought it was going to be better....
Review: I had high expectations for this book and I bought it off amazon.com hoping it was going to be good. I was wrong. At first I thought the book was just off to a slow start and would eventually get better. I read the book in about a week and found hardly any improvement in it's entertainment value. I would have checked it out from the library except there wasn't a copy that wasn't lost. Although there were some decent parts, it wasn't enough to make me think this book was worth the money it costs. If you really want to read this book, buy it used.
Rating: 
Summary: Brutally honest chronicles of a teenage runaway!
Review: I have read various book of this sort -- a coming-of-age story of a teenager who learns the facts of life the hard way. However, Rebecca Godfrey's The Torn Skirt is written with a fresh approach to brutal honesty. The novel's language is beautiful and sinister at the same time. After her father abandons her, Sara's journey is one of struggle and heartbreak. Her loss of innocence is gruesome and disturbing -- especially when she encounters various teenage prostitutes... Few authors have dared to enter this uncharted territory in fiction. However, this book is so beautifully written it is to be savored over time, like an exceptional wine. One must open one's eyes and see that the real world -- especially when seen through the eyes of a child -- isn't sugarcoated. And that is why I love this sort of literature.
Rating:
Summary: Something new
Review: I have to say I completely and heartily disagree with two readers below. For one, I don't think any one of the critics or readers has said this book is shocking. There is more talk about the lyrical quality of the prose, and the rendering of an experience that is authentic and strongly felt. I related so much to these characters, and to Sara's attempt to have compassion, and experience. I don't see how old ms. or mr. droogs could find them bores, but then I checked some of droogs previous reviews and found she/he hates toni morrison ( " a black danielle steele") and sylvia plath, so there you go. The Torn Skirt is one of my favorites this year.
Rating: 
Summary: Dissenting opinion
Review: I just bought this book based in a large part on these glowing reviews. Well, I can now tell you that the reviews are far better written than the book! Seriously, I could have saved myself the $ I spent on this short, naive tome and spent it on something more worthwhile, like an ice pick to stab myself with after forcing myself to continue reading all the way to the end despite the awkward, self-conscious phrasing, the over-zealous imagery, and derivative concepts that make The Torn Skirt feel more like a water-downed version of much better written fictional pieces.
Rating:
Summary: A great weekend read...
Review: I picked up this book for two reasons: first of all, i work in a book store and since it came out, we've been selling tons of copies of the book off the display tables, which always makes me curious to read a book. And secondly, the author is compared to William S. Burroughs, and to compare any modern author to a great such as Burroughs, makes me skeptical, so i had to see for myself. This book is very well written. The story is a flashback, so it keeps foreshadowing as to what may happen... but doesn't give away too much until the last few pages. She keeps hinting at what happened in little bits and pieces, which makes the reader very curious to put together. This makes the reader want to keep going - and for this reason i read the whole book in 3 or 4 days (while working full time and X-mas in between - so i didn't have much time!) The story, is a little unbelievable though. It seems a little bit exaggerated that one little girl could have so many adventures in the course of a week. But the author does depict the pettiness of high school well, and the boredom of kids growing up in small cities or suburbs. I'd consider this a good read. Great to polish off in one weekend and feel accomplished... but then think about for days afterwards. If you enjoy this... try also
Francesca Lia Block's "Dangerous Angels"
and
Douglas Coupland's "All Families Are Psychotic".
Rating: 
Summary: good book
Review: I read this book while laying on the beach in marthas vineyard. It was something that a friend just recommended when she was rambling off good books to read. I was in a hurry at barnes and noble and was quite close the "G"'s in the fiction section. The book went by fast and kept me out of the water. I rarely read books twice and I've read this twice....
Rating:
Summary: A punk rock fairy tale
Review: I really enjoyed this book, and thought of Sara Shaw as a girl in a fairy tale. She is constantly coming up agianst these shadowy figures, like wolves or witches, (only they're real people) who are dangerous. I liked the atmosphere of the forests, and the strange places, the Red Room, the Blue House. The writer is particularly good at creating atmosphere. These places all seemed real, yet surreal and beautiful. I could see Sara in her white uniform, or with her red hair, like one of those drawings of a girl in a fairy tale forest. There were many images that stayed with me, and continue to do so. I did find that often the chapters were too short. I would have appreciated more time in these places. Sara seemed to hurtle through everything, always running, never really taking the time to settle down or get close to anyone. The other girls also seemed like fairy tale characters, particularly China in her white fur coat. A princess or a witch? I hope they do not turn this into a movie and ruin it. All around, a book that stays with you and makes you think about the world in a different way.
Rating:
Summary: A punk rock fairy tale
Review: I really enjoyed this book, and thought of Sara Shaw as a girl in a fairy tale. She is constantly coming up agianst these shadowy figures. Wolves. Witches. (only they're real people) who are dangerous. Like Alice in Wonderland, she goes down into a crazy land. The writer is very good at creating atmosphere. The Red Room. The Blue House. These places all seemed real. Surreal. Beautiful. I could see Sara in her white uniform, or with her red hair, like one of those drawings of a girl in a fairy tale forest. There were many images that stayed with me, and continue to do so. I did find that often the chapters were too short. I would have appreciated more time in these places. Sara seemed to hurtle through everything. Always running. Never really taking the time to settle down or get close to anyone. The other girls also seemed dreamlike. Enchanting. China in her white fur coat. A princess or a witch? I hope they do not turn this into a movie and ruin it. All around, a book that stays with you. Makes you think about the world in a different way.
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