Letters from the Inside

Epistolary novella: two teenage girls become penpals, and slowly discover that neither has the perfect life the other first thought. A quick read full of teenage angst (not in a derogatory way, just... that's the age where it seems people come up against how much the world sucks, before gaining the skills and resources to deal with it and/or the emotional calluses to ignore it), ending with a not-quite-conclusion that's as heart-rending as it is inevitable on one side, while satisfyingly hopeful on the other.

Stunning. Although I agree with many of the reviews that it was hard to tell the voices of the girls at times (wait, was that Mandy...oh no, Tracey) I didn't identify with either girl. I haven't committed any crimes (and don't have that rage) but I wouldn't have continued the pen pal friend ship after the secret was revealed.

And yet, the book just sucked me in. And then, it was done.

An ending that leaves you wondering what could have been. I think, like many reviews, you can guess what happened. It just leaves you shaken.

A dark book that I would not give my 13 year old. It's not that I don't think she could handle it, it's just not her style. It's scary and real in a subtle but suddenly IN YOUR FACE kind of style. Because it was easy show more to forget the violence that was happening in the house (and just how off kilter everything was getting) because she didn't bring it up.

A good reminder ~ we never really know what's going on no matter how honest we think someone is being! show less

Two teenagers develop a pen-pal friendship. Each girl believes the other has a “perfect” life until secrets start unraveling. This is a very powerfully written book, touching upon relevant themes for young adults: family life, friendships, acceptance, fears, threats, abuse and consequences. This is a great “hi-lo” book whose simple narrative is presented in short sentences written in a letter format. Teens might be initially put off by the plot because they don’t see the parallels between letter writing and today’s emailing/text messaging. Including Hi-Lo materials in libraries allows Teacher Librarians to help promote reading to reluctant readers.

Absolutely fascinating on so many levels. A nice introduction to ironic concepts for younger readers. A complete and compelling page turner. Warning: may leave a scar on your psyche!

A book that starts as a simple exchange of letters between two teenage girls and how they're coping with their lives, yet something seems odd, and suddenly everything is not as simple or as "usual" as it may have seemed at the beginning. A good plot that is not exactly what one first would expect, but still quite good.

Not sure what to say. It was a pretty good novel all the way through, but it did get a little boring at times. The hardest thing about reading it was understanding the Australian slang. If you get past that and stick with it, it ends up being quite a depressing book. Good, but depressing.

READ IN DUTCH

I bought Letters from the inside in Amsterdam, just before my train departed. I've spent the time in the train to read this little book. And I enjoyed reading it. It has been some time since I read this story, but I haven't forgotten it yet. I liked the story and Marsden's writing style. I'm interested in the other books by Marsden. Last week I went to the library and took the first four novels from the Tomorrow-series.