Zorn’s characters are teenagers on the cusp of adulthood, struggling to define their own identities. Hannah is awkward, protected by the pity and grief that has shrouded her since the death of her more popular sister, Katie. Her loss liberates her from the bullying that she endured at school and allows her to explore a different side of herself, one that is more daring and confident. The grief in The Protected is persistent and unforgiving. The characters are isolated from each other by their guilt, their anger, and their confusion. Hannah especially is challenged by her own emotions and memories. She feels guilty that she is finding happiness, guilty that she doesn’t remember the accident in which Katie died, guilty that she is moving on.

As in her first novel, Zorn explores the failings of adults. Hannah’s father was disabled in the accident, while her once vibrant mother hasn’t left the house since Katie died. Zorn avoids the trend of the ‘absent parent’ and instead presents adults who are gloriously imperfect.They are adults who are crippled by grief, can’t quit smoking, and won’t let go. The dynamic of the relationships between parents and children is under-developed in a lot of current Young Adult fiction, but Zorn explores it skilfully here.

The Protected is complicated, fragile, and beautifully authentic.