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211th out of 255 books
—
306 voters
Torched
by
April Henry (Goodreads Author)
When Ellie?s parents are busted for possession of marijuana, the FBI gives her a choice: infiltrate the Mother Earth Defenders (MED), a radical environmental group, or her parents will go to jail. At first Ellie is more than willing to entrap the MEDics, but the more time she spends undercover?particularly with Coyote, the green-eyed MEDic that she can?t stop thinking abou...more
Hardcover, 224 pages
Published
March 5th 2009
by Putnam Juvenile
(first published January 17th 2009)
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Ellie is used to her parents having groups of friends over to smoke marijuana and get stoned. She often feels more like the parent than the child, cooking for the people who drop in and cleaning up when they leave. Otherwise she spends her time trying to do well in school. But when the FBI raids her home and arrests her parents for growing marijuana in their basement, she can’t go back to living life as she knew it.
The FBI most wants to find out about the activities of the Mother Earth Defenders...more
The FBI most wants to find out about the activities of the Mother Earth Defenders...more
In “Torched” by April Henry, Ellie's aging hippie parents may be embarrassing at times, but she loves them and can't imagine life without them. When her parents are arrested for growing marijuana in their basement and threatened with lengthy jail time, Ellie is given a way to have the charges against her parents dropped. The FBI offers her a deal. They want her to spy on the Mother Earth Defenders or MEDics. The MEDics care about the earth and save animals that are becoming extinct. While these...more
Ellie's aging hippie parents may be embarrasing at times, but she loves them and can't imagine life without them. When they're arrested for marijuana posession and threatened with lengthy jailtime for the marijuana field in their basement, Ellie is given a way out. The FBI offer her a deal. They want her to infiltrate a group of eradical nvironmental activists--the Mother Earth Defenders--and get evidence that they've moved beyond peaceful protests to violence.
Ellie is scared, but willing to do...more
Ellie is scared, but willing to do...more
I'm disappointed that I bought multiple copies of this for the library based on reviews, and it just didn't do that much for me. The good: environmental issues are discussed in a way that might be palatable to teens. The bad: the environmental group featured in the book is becoming radical and potentially violent, so their causes seem marginalized. The mediocre: the suspense--will our heroine be able to get the goods on the Mother Earth Defenders for the FBI so her aging hippie parents won't go...more
"I thought this was a great YA novel. Possibly more for girls than guys, due to the romance that was a secondary plot, but a lot of interesting commentary on the current environmental issues, and the ethics of protesting and direct action against the government/business/people.[return][return]Ellie was a very sympathetic character, fairly well fleshed out, interesting but not perfect. Relatable. A lot of them book actually deals with Ellie facing her fears - for her father's health, for the envi...more
Raised by hippie parents, Ellie is used to strangers coming into her doors and hearing about all the ways her parents are out to change the world. When the FBI comes a knockin', Ellie's life gets completely flipped. The voice of Ellie, her fears and her eagerness to make sure her parents don't end up in prison was written well and kept up with the suspense of what exactly the environmental activist group, MEDic, was really up to.
This is the first time I've read a book by April Henry, and for sus...more
This is the first time I've read a book by April Henry, and for sus...more
Nov 12, 2012
Jennifer Wardrip
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Shelves:
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Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com
Ellie is the adopted daughter of a couple of old hippies. They love telling stories about their past as young rebels and spend their time looking out for new causes and smoking pot. It wasn't unusual, then, when members of MED, the Mother Earth Defenders, started hanging around in Ellie's living room. There were some fairly lively discussions and one pretty cute guy named Coyote.
When Ellie agreed to a couple of coffee shop dates wi...more
Ellie is the adopted daughter of a couple of old hippies. They love telling stories about their past as young rebels and spend their time looking out for new causes and smoking pot. It wasn't unusual, then, when members of MED, the Mother Earth Defenders, started hanging around in Ellie's living room. There were some fairly lively discussions and one pretty cute guy named Coyote.
When Ellie agreed to a couple of coffee shop dates wi...more
So I'm really glad that I read this book. I would have not had a reason before the Seasonal Reading Challenge to read this, or at least it wouldn't have become a priority. I picked it up at the library because it was on display as a book that was notable. I thought it was a good book for people who really care about the environment and want to make a difference. I also think it would be good for anyone who maybe doesn't think the environment is important. Although this is a fiction book, the eve...more
Great book! I loved it! This story starts off with the action but the back ground story comes along a you get further into the book and I absolutely loved it. One thing I love about April Henry's books is that the characters are really well developed. They seem like actual people and they way that the plot takes so many twists and turns, it always keeps me in the edge of my seat and I loved every page of the book!
New young adult thriller by Portland author.
Update: Although it's hard to imagine the FBI telling a teen that she has to infiltrate a borderline terrorist environmental group, this is a good suspense/thriller for a young teen. To avoid having her parents go to jail for growing pot, Ellie must join the MEDics to keep the FBI informed of their covert activities. She is immediately attracted to one of the members, Coyote, but isn't sure she can continue when the group starts thinking of murder as a...more
Update: Although it's hard to imagine the FBI telling a teen that she has to infiltrate a borderline terrorist environmental group, this is a good suspense/thriller for a young teen. To avoid having her parents go to jail for growing pot, Ellie must join the MEDics to keep the FBI informed of their covert activities. She is immediately attracted to one of the members, Coyote, but isn't sure she can continue when the group starts thinking of murder as a...more
Ellie is forced into being a spy for the FBI to save her parents from going to jail on drug charges. She needs to join the MEDics (Mother Earth Defenders). She is asked to gather information as to where and when they will be staging their protest and if violence will be involved.
This book was beter than I expected it to be. Elei is a girl who has been adopted by a Hippie couple. When her parents get caught with weed the FBI forces her to go undercover to protect against domestic violence. This book contains an interesting twist that will keep you reading
Good book overall. There some places where I think the author could have provided more details but this is also considered to be a young adult book so I can understand the focus. I did enjoy it. It was interesting quick read that still managed to be thought provoking.
Ellie is sixteen and has parents who like to support environmental causes. Only problem is, one day her parents are arrested on marijuana charges and Ellie is forced to spy for the FBI and become involved in ecoterrorism or else--- Ellie will go into foster care and her parents would go to jail forever unless she goes undercover to help them. Ellie begins meeting with Mother Earth Defenders (MED); she has convinced them of her earnestness. She also begins to fall for Coyote, another member who h...more
MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS.
Juvenile lit.
A teen of now middle-aged hippies gets involved with an activist (i.e., destructive) environmental group, to serve as an FBI informant and thus protect her parents from an arrest (for hosting social events where weed is used).
The teen has to deal simultaneously w. first love -- involving Coyote, a fellow member of the enviro group -- and hardened law enforcement people at the same time.
She ends up outsmarting the FBI (preserving evidence of the agents' lack of...more
Juvenile lit.
A teen of now middle-aged hippies gets involved with an activist (i.e., destructive) environmental group, to serve as an FBI informant and thus protect her parents from an arrest (for hosting social events where weed is used).
The teen has to deal simultaneously w. first love -- involving Coyote, a fellow member of the enviro group -- and hardened law enforcement people at the same time.
She ends up outsmarting the FBI (preserving evidence of the agents' lack of...more
This was a fun, quick paced book. I loved the hippy parents, I could totally relate!
i thought that this book was very good i would give this book a four star
Pretty good for teen readers, but if you think they are ready for a little Ed Abbey, give them "The Monkey Wrench Gang" instead.
Good story about a girl who gets involved with an environmental protection group in order to protect her foster parents from being in trouble. She "runs with this crowd", blowing up a car dealership, and other things. She realizes this group isn't so bad, until one member takes things too far.
Although, this is a shorter work, it deals with some interesting issues, and looks at them from both sides. For example, they torch a hummer dealership, but the pollution they caused from the fire and the sales the dealership got as a result of the media sort of nixed the work they did. Some interesting questions to ask, but in the end kind of 'eh'.
May 22, 2013
Mackenzie
marked it as to-read
May 19, 2013
Sue
marked it as to-read
Apr 14, 2013
Kim Trotter
marked it as to-read
Apr 14, 2013
Laural
marked it as to-read
Apr 02, 2013
Elisabeth
marked it as to-read
Mar 31, 2013
Lindsey Hillhouse
marked it as to-read
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I write mysteries and thrillers. I live in Portland, Oregon with my family.
If you've read one of my books, I would love to hear from you. Hearing from readers makes me eager to keep writing.
When I was 12, I sent a short story about a six-foot tall frog who loved peanut butter to Roald Dahl, the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He liked it so much he arranged to have it published in an...more
More about April Henry...
If you've read one of my books, I would love to hear from you. Hearing from readers makes me eager to keep writing.
When I was 12, I sent a short story about a six-foot tall frog who loved peanut butter to Roald Dahl, the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He liked it so much he arranged to have it published in an...more
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Dec 21, 2012 09:34am