So Much to Tell You (Walker paperbacks)

by John Marsden

Scarred, literally, by her past, Marina has withdrawn into silence. Then, at her new boarding school, she is set the task of writing a diary by her English teacher, and finds a way of expressing her thoughts and feelings and of exploring the traumatic events that have caused her distress. Through Marina's diary we gain an insight into life on her dormitory, and her difficult relationship with her father, who injured her in an angry moment. Eventually, Marina makes tentative friendships and, in a moving denouement, is reconciled with her father.

• ISBN10: 184428946X
• ISBN13: 9781844289462
• Publish Date: 6 September 2004 (first published 26 January 1989)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 5 September 2012
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Walker Books Ltd
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 160
• Language: English

Reviews

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

Life is very complicated for Marina. Shipped off to boarding school, in a world she doesn’t fit in with, trying to understand life. She sets out writing a journal for an assignment but she really takes to it and in the journal we find really what is going on within her head. She is socially awkward dealing with a tragic accident that has left her face scarred; and she hasn’t spoken a word since this incident.

I picked up this book on a couple of peoples recommendation; John Marsden really is a stand out Australian author and this is probably the best I’ve read of his works. I like realistic YA novels that features an angsty, socially awkward protagonist. I think it’s just that I relate well with them and ever since discovering John Green I’ve been looking for more books like this.

So Much to Tell You reminds me a lot of Perks of Being A Wallflower, with the way it’s written, slowly we discover these protagonists; all their anger and hurt and frustrations. But there is always a sense of mystery that doesn’t seem to be revealed. With this novel it is how she got these scars and why she hates her father so much. I know she has issues of abandonment but with the scars I know something bad happened; I thought it was a case of her father setting her on fire (but that’s just my disturbing mind).

This is a wonderful story of discovery and understanding. I loved Marina as a characters and finding more and more about her was what really drove this story home for me. But there was one major issue that I had with this novel, without spoiling anything; I had a WTF moment with the way this book ended.

So Much to Tell You is a perfect example of great realistic YA literature and proves that Australian YA authors have so much to offer. This is a very short book but well worth reading. I did feel like this was focused on a younger audience than other YA novels I’ve read. I would have liked it to be a little darker but still a wonderful read.