Letters from the Inside: Amazon.ca: John Marsden: Books

Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

A chilling psychological drama plays out in the correspondence between two teenage girls. "The heart-wrenching conclusion will exert its power long after this book is read," said PW in a starred review. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up-A powerful book, set in Australia. Mandy answers Tracey's ad in a magazine and the girls, both going on 16, become pen pals. The fluff of their early letters depicts two teens who are almost indistinguishable from one another. Soon, before these lively yet innocuous exchanges become tedious, there are hints that Tracey is hiding something. She reveals that in truth, she is in a maximum security unit of a correctional institution for an unspeakable, unnamed crime. She is big, she is tough, and she is scared. The universal, brutal truths of young women living together behind bars is made perfectly clear by her blunt descriptions. Mandy's life, compared to her friend's, is almost idyllic. Her timid complaints about her brother's violent outbursts are easy to ignore. His poor academics, hot temper, and collections of weapons and Rambo posters are rationalized away by Mandy's loving but overworked parents, as are her fears of being in the house alone with him. Then, mysteriously, Mandy's letters stop. The story is over. The tragedy of this novel is that these bright young people are not hopeless. Their lives are salvageable, if only someone with the power to help would listen. Perhaps Marsden intends, through shock, to sensitize his readers to the real-life tragedies hidden behind white-picket fences and masks of toughness; perhaps therein lies the hope. Consisting entirely of the correspondence of the two girls for exactly one year, this book is also an anatomy of a friendship. It will draw its readers in completely and cut them off with a jolt. Purchase it, read it, recommend it to mature teens and to adults.
Margaret Cole, Oceanside Library,
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Product Description

Tag this product

(What's this?)

Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.

Customer Reviews

57 Reviews

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

4.4 out of 5 stars (57 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most helpful customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow...just wow, Jun 15 2003

By	Willow (Michigan) - See all my reviews

I picked this up the other day at the library, not expecting much. But, I couldn't put it down! It is one of the best books I have ever read!

Mandy and Tracey form a strange friendship ~ they've never actually met, they just write letters back and forth (pen-pals, I guess you could call it...though in the book Mandy clearly states she hates that phrase). Mandy tells Tracey all about her family, her friends, and her boyfriends. Tracey writes all about her rich family, her horses, her glorious vacations, etc. But - one of the girls isn't telling the truth. When Mandy and Tracey start getting into more serious, darker discussions, the book really, really gets interesting.

One day, the letters from one of the girls (I won't say which one) stop, and are sent back to the other girl, marked "Return to Sender." What happens to Tracey and Mandy's friendship?

I love this book, I've read it twice since I got it and its just amazing! The cliffhangre ending is a little annoying, but it's been said at least twice, read about Tracey's dreams and Mandy's last letter, I bet you can figure it out.

Overall grade: A++

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome - I still think about it 7 years later, Jan 29 2003

By	"aliceinwonderland22" (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Letters from the Inside (School & Library Binding)

This book is deceptively amazing. I first read it when I was in year 5 or 6 and it has stayed with me ever since. John Marsden is such a talented writer, no teenager in Australia should grow up without reading one of his books. Originally i read it as an 11 year old, laughinhg at the superficial jokes but when i got to the ending i realised how powerful it was. There are so many things going on in this book, i think you have to be a little older to apprecaite all the little sub-themes and the hints. I read so much trash when i was younger and it has all been wiped from my brain except for this book. Keep at it - at first the characters appear to be your stereotypical, cliched teenagers but as you read on you see what amazing characters Marsden has evoked.
I love this book! I have wanted to ask John Marsden about the ending for so long...i want to see if my theory is right!
Americans, don't be put off by this Aussie writer - he is fantastic. I would also highly recommend the "Tomorrow When the War Began" series, they are also frightengly amazing.

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

4.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely marvelous..., Jan 25 2002

By	Sofia Hasbun (El Salvador) - See all my reviews

Have you ever had a pen pal? Well if you have you will enjoy this book called Letter from the inside. This book happens in present day, it's about two young girls who were completely strangers, and suddenly turn into wonderful close friends. They share their secrets, fears and moments of happiness.
The characters of this book are Mandy and Tracey. Mandy is a girl whose family doesn't care about her and has a weird scary brother. Tracey, on the other hand, is completely different than Mandy; she has a great boyfriend and family. Mandy and Tracey share an incredible time sending letters to each other. This all started as a joke when Mandy, one day decided to joke around and put an ad in a magazine. She didn't expect to receive a response, but she did from Tracey. It started as a joke but ended with a great friendship of two. They tell each other about their love life, of how they hate school, they talk about boys and tell each other about something that happened to them.
I really enjoyed this book, except it's ending, because this book ends from no where, I was reading when suddenly it was over, it has a sudden ending. I hope there is a second book, because it left me with a lot of questions.
The author, John Marsden has a really good way of interpretating the girls feeling, actions and beliefs. I also think he has a good creativity.
This is what the book Letters from inside, written by John Marsden is about. I really enjoyed reading this book, and recommend it to girls age 12 - 15, because it's a more juvenile book.

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 57 customer reviews...

Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The one that started it all.
Ten years ago I discovered a copy of John Marsden's Letters from the Inside at my Library. I took it out because I was big into writing pen pals at that time in my life and... Read more

Published on Nov 25 2001 by Traci D. Haley

4.0 out of 5 stars interesting, but juvinile.
This book is good, but probably for a younger target age than advertised.

Published on Nov 4 2001 by Lindsey Brage

5.0 out of 5 stars Letters From the Inside
This story is about to girls named Mandy and Tara. TAra puts an ad in the paper as a joke to see if any one will respond to her. Read more

Published on Oct 30 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars The BEST book Iv'e EVER read!
This is a great book about two young girls who keep in touch through letters for a long period of time. Read more

Published on Oct 29 2001 by Lindsey Lee