As the orphaned daughter of a wildly successful inspirational singer/author, Marnie Skyedottir stands to inherit great wealth. But until then, Marnie has to survive a dreary life in private school. She endures by escaping into an online role-playing game as much as possible and steering clear of the other students. So when Marnie is kidnapped by someone who also claims to be Skye's daughter, she is worried. With her reclusive tendencies, will anyone even know she's gone? And will her online gaming skills be of any help to her in this real-life drama?
Locked Inside
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Sixteen-year-old Marnie Skyedottir is totally addicted to the computer game Paliopolis, where in the guise of the Sorceress Llewellyne she competes avidly with the clever but pesky Elf to escape from labyrinths and dungeons and evade the blind Rubble-Eater. Paliopolis feels safe to Marnie--not like real life, where she is flunking out at her exclusive boarding school, her famous mother Skye is dead, and her guardian Max stubbornly refuses to let her have the millions she will inherit at 21.
Skye, a mysterious former gospel singer who came from nowhere to become the beloved founder of a near-religion, has taught her daughter to fear intimacy. When the Elf, who turns out to be a senior at a nearby school, manages to figure out who Marnie really is and where she lives, she recoils. But later, when a crazed chemistry teacher acts on her delusion that she, too, is Skye's daughter and imprisons Marnie in a cellar room, the Elf's concern for her brings him crashing into the situation in a bungled rescue attempt. Now, locked securely away in a windowless basement, they face a very different problem from the virtual dungeons of Paliopolis. There the Sorceress and the Elf had a cloak of invisibility, truth glasses, and a spellbook to help them outwit their enemy, but here they have only a blanket, a half-empty bottle of seltzer, and a sand bucket... and the Elf has a gunshot wound in his leg.
Nancy Werlin, winner of the Edgar Award for The Killer's Cousin, has here given her eager fans another fresh and engrossing thriller with psychological depth underlying its clever plot twists. (Ages 12 and older) --Patty Campbell --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Less taut than Werlin's The Killer's Cousin, this novel nevertheless offers enough cliffhangers to keep readers hooked. Marnie hasn't been able to reach out to anyone since the death of her wealthy superstar mother, Skye ("an ex-gospel singer who'd started her own well, some said it was practically a religion"). Not knowing even her father's identity, her doings supervised by a guardian, Marnie alienates the other girls at her boarding school. Instead of studying, she immerses herself in an Internet strategy game and her one friend, the Elf, remains at a comfortable distance in cyberspace. But when Leah Slaight, a new teacher, kidnaps her in a misguided attempt to prove that she is also Skye's daughter, Marnie must depend on the skills she has learned in her game to save herself. Even beyond this unlikely premise, there is plenty to strain credibility, such as the Elf showing up single-handed to free Marnie (Leah captures him, too), and Marnie emerging a more together person after being locked in a basement for a week. For all the implausibility, the book is entertaining. Marnie's outsiderishness is of the kind that appeals to readers ("At least you match," she thinks, when she realizes the black eye Leah gave her is the same shade as her dress) and her personality is spirited enough to live up to the creative problem-solving Werlin assigns her. Ages 14-up.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
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By A Customer
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Locked Inside is a companion of sorts to Nancy Werlin's The Killer's Cousin, which I liked better, at least initially. Locked Inside is the story of Marnie Skyedottir, a wealthy sixteen-year-old orphan at a private school in northern Massachusetts. Her singer/songwriter/author mother died five years ago, leaving her in the guardianship of Max and the care of boarding schools. When Marnie is kidnapped, she has to confront the influence her mother left on her life.
Marnie is hard to warm up to at first, and not because she's unlikable; readers will identify with her stubbornness and the way she hates adults prying into her life. I assumed that Nancy Werlin didn't want readers getting close to Marnie, because Marnie doesn't really let anyone get close to her. It was a good device on Werlin's part, but it makes the book hard to get into.
There are also several lengthy descriptions of Paliopolis, the online role-playing game that Marnie is involved with. Werlin does a pretty good job of relationg these to what's going on with Marnie, but they're a little hard to get into and identify with if you're not a gamer.
The book cover is misleading because it gives the impression that Marnie does all her contemplation while she's kidnapped. I thought the book was going to be set mostly during the time she was "locked inside," but the major revelations about her mother come after she's been set free. It's fine, but it's not what I expected.
Frank Delgado, the sole friend of David Yaffe from The Killer's Cousin, makes an appearance in Locked Inside as the "Elf," one of Marnie's fellow gamers on Paliopolis, who comes to her rescue in real life when she's kidnapped. Honestly, realizing that the Elf was Frank was the highlight of the read for me. I enjoy it when characters make "guest appearances" in authors' other books, at least sometimes. Locked Inside gave some more insight into Frank's character, which simply doesn't come in The Killer's Cousin.
Marnie's change from the beginning of the book to the end is not as well-evoked as David's, in The Killer's Cousin, but it is still a strong read that features a resourceful, if shortsighted, heroine. Nancy Werlin writes Marnie as well as she did David, which is a nice accomplishment, to be able to evoke both boys and girls successfully.
By A Customer
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Werlin always puts a twist in her stories - just when you think you might have figured it out, she blows you away with the cleverness of the plot. In Locked Inside, a wealthy girl with few authority figures or lessons in trust has to learn some major life. Brainy Marnie has become a loner, finding a niche for herself in the world of Internet gaming, where she can be both anonymous and well known, powerful, and in control.
When she is kidnapped (her mother was famous and left her a lot of money) someone from her gaming community sets out to rescue her. This remains far from a damsel in distress type book. Fast paced with complex issues and detailed characterization, this is a not to miss pyschological thriller. I have to admit, it took second reading to warm up to the character (unlike Werlin's Edgar Award winning masterpiece the Killer's Cousin) but it was a worthwhile read.
When she is kidnapped (her mother was famous and left her a lot of money) someone from her gaming community sets out to rescue her. This remains far from a damsel in distress type book. Fast paced with complex issues and detailed characterization, this is a not to miss pyschological thriller. I have to admit, it took second reading to warm up to the character (unlike Werlin's Edgar Award winning masterpiece the Killer's Cousin) but it was a worthwhile read.
By A Customer
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Ok, you guys. As I have stated, this book let me down! It practically ends on page 195, and there's still 65 pages to go! My advice-Don't even start it. Also, I tried The Killer's Cousin. I wasn't pleased with that, either. So, my conclusion: If you're looking for a good read, don't expect Nanxy Werlin to fulfill your needs. If you need good, suspenseful stories, try Lois Duncan or Caroline B. Cooney! One great, outstanding, wonderful book: Swimmer-Graham Masterton.
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3.8 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Overall pleased with the book
I think that Locked Inside by Nancy Werlin was an overall good book. I feel that it kept my attention pretty good. Read more
Published on Feb 25 2002 by Ashley
3.0 out of 5 stars
Pleased with the book
I thought that Locked Inside by Nancy Werlin was a overall good book. I found that it kept my attention good. I do have to say that it is at sometimes a little boring. Read more
Published on Feb 24 2002 by Ashley
4.0 out of 5 stars
NANCY WELRIN IS JUST WONDERFUL !!!!!
Of all of Nancy Werlin's books, this one is my favorite one. Marnie and Elf make a really good pair,and Elf teaches Marnie a big lesson, even if that is not what the book is based... Read more
Published on Feb 22 2002 by "laura_star"
4.0 out of 5 stars
NANCY WELRIN IS JUST WONDERFUL !!!!!
Of all of Nancy Werlin's books, this one is my favorite one. Marnie and Elf make a really good pair,and Elf teaches Marnie a big lesson, even if that is not what the book is based... Read more
Published on Feb 22 2002 by "laura_star"
5.0 out of 5 stars
Werlin just keeps getting better
Nancy Werlin has surpassed her effort in "The Killers Cousin" with this gripping novel. The character of Marnie is both powerful and fragile - she is strong within her... Read more
Published on Jan 16 2002 by Erika Soeterik
4.0 out of 5 stars
Locked Inside
Locked Inside was an awesome book I would say. If I had to compare it to another book which I read over the summer, Catcher In the Rye I'd say "Catcher" and Locked Inside... Read more
Published on May 3 2001 by kat
4.0 out of 5 stars
Locked Inside (review)
I read Locked inside and would say it is a great read. The reading is not difficult and I would have enjoyed somthing more indepth but overall it was pretty good. Read more
Published on May 3 2001 by kat
4.0 out of 5 stars
Timely and Exciting
Internet Addition is a timely topic and Werlin treats it with both seriousness and mystery in Locked Inside. The characters are well developed as is the plot! Read more
Published on Mar 22 2001 by "libraryjessica"
4.0 out of 5 stars
Intriguing
Marnie Skyedottir (it's ironically funny when you sound it out, which was Ms. Werlin's intent) has problems. Read more
Published on Oct 31 2000 by "luz_nocturnal"
5.0 out of 5 stars
Always unexpected and gripping to the end.
Nancy Werlin's Locked Inside (0-385-32700-5, $15.95) is one of the most original tales to appear in some time: a wealthy but spoiled girl is sent to live in an oppressive boarding... Read more
Published on April 7 2000 by Midwest Book Review
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