This book offers a unique perspective on the war in Afghanistan. Ellie, the main character, is a young, British medic who is partnered with a group of Navy SEALs.

Interesting to have a female soldier as the lead character. Ellie is a medic in the British army fighting in Afghanistan who learns the hard way to be on the lookout on her first day when she has a shower in an enclosed courtyard and looks up to see 3 male soldiers on the roof watching her! She has to not only cope with the war and the injuries people suffer ( as a medic) but also a very aggressive bunk mate in her patrol leader Heidi who thinks she is useless. As well there is the prospect as she patrols the desert streets that the wary people she sees around her might actually be out to kill her (not just the obvious rebels and enemy.)
It turns out the 3 men watching are all in her patrol and they soon come to rely on each other in a crisis and the first day's events are forgotten. I thought the part where she helps one who steps on a mine a little unrealistic. There is also the supernatural/strangely unexplained phenomenon of a girl who keeps reappearing and disappearing in Ellie's vision - is she an omen of death to come? As well as that there is a budding romance between her and a US superior officer. Different and fairly engaging story - has suspense and action in it and from memory, swearing is censored. ( )

Ellie is a young British medic sent to Afghanistan as part of the British forces there. While there she sees the effects of this military action on herself, her fellow soldiers and the people of that country. She also sees a mysterious young girl who appears before tragedy strikes. In an effort to learn more about this girl, she and members of her team, accompanied by U.S. Navy Seals, delve into a mystery that surrounds the missing daughter of the U.S. general in charge of the war effort in that country who married a man from Afghanistan, her children, missing arms and children banded together to fight all evil. It is also a love story between Ellie and one of the Seals, but the emphasis is on the mysteries that they must solve, making it an excellent story. ( )

I couldn't get into this one, despite a strong female character. I plan to try and revisit, as it is point of view I've not read much: that of young soldiers in the middle east. ( )

A seemingly realistic portrait of war further complicated by a group called The Young Martyrs, The Taliban, a secret cache of weapons, and a mysterious young girl with haunting green eyes and jet black hair that appears at curious moments and disappears when her demise appears certain. Ellie Nielsen, a British Medic and her group join American Navy Seals to solve a mystery of sorts during wartime in Afghanistan. The haunting young girl in the blue dress is the daughter of an American journalist and Afghani father...moreover, she is the granddaughter of a high-ranking American military man, General McCollum.

As the military group nears a decimated village that destroyed civilians, buildings, and the life as they knew it...the Navy Seals and British armed troop realize that other factors must be at work to consciously destroy an unarmed village. That's when the body of the American journalist is found with incriminating evidence that solves the tactical and international mystery. In all of this chaos, a budding romance is brewing between the young British medic, Ellie, and the handsome Navy Seal, Ben. Can there love survive this?

Torn is full of intrigue and suspense...yet lulls us into complicated mess of international tension. Saskia Maarieveld is great at reading the text and giving us different voices for the characters. ( )