Customer Reviews

So Much to Tell You

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

So much to tell you tells the story of a girl named Marina who since some tragic event has not been able to talk. She's spent a while in a hospital but even that wouldn't help her. SO in hope that she might find a voice and interact with others her mother sends her to a boarding school. In this school she recieves a journal she has to write in for school. As she starts pouring out her emotions, and even reaching out to students, she starts to admit what really happen. Will she ever have the chance to speak again? Read the book and find out.

I really enjoyed this book. It tells the emotional story of one girls stuggle to get over her past and growing up. Though it's short it's definatly a powerful read. If you like stories such as "Don't you Dare read this Mrs. Dumphery" or other diary stories I reccomend this book to you. It's really a great read.

Did you ever wonder about the importance of knowing how to communicate is? Well, language is a powerful symbol of emotions flowing between people. John Marsden wrote this book in order to help people progress and communicate as much as you can.
All began that day when Marina realized she couldn't speak anymore, and was sent to a hospital because of a horrible accident she had. Since she was not showing any progression she was sent to this strange boarding school, but at least it was better than being in the hospital all day surrounded by four scary walls. She didn't want to think or talk about it until the day she was forced by her English teacher to write on a plain notebook every day. At first she didn't want to, but as she felt more confident on herself she began writing about what she saw, what she felt and what she had gone through. Slowly she was able to call her notebook her personal best friend. It was the only place were she could let go her anger and fears. She was afraid someone would someday open it and get to know all about her. By writing in her journal, Marina was able to unfold all her life and let the trauma out. She felt miserable, but something strange was going on, even though she was timid, mute and had a big ugly scar on her face, most of the girls were being nice with her. Marina had to share her room with other eight girls. Cathy, was the thin one, tall a great writer of poems, and kind. She helped her to start incorporating with the others, but not bye speaking. As Marina got to know everybody well her face started to show expressions: Happiness, sadness and gratitude. Sophie was the boyish, pretty girl who found Marina very irritating. Lisa was the strong and silent one, and Kate was the loudest one and who's sort of crude. All of these girls may seem perfect, but they also had problems going on through their lives, which they didn't show. Girls were not judging her on what she looked, but on who she was. Will Marina ever speak again? Will she have more confidence on herself? Will she be able to unite her family?
This book is fast paced and actually is a page-turner because you want to know what's going to happen next. I recommend it mostly for girls all ages who are mature enough and don't know themselves, but are seeking to, and want to know about the importance of communication. Throughout this book you learn to cherish yourself and that by writing you can get your feelings, fears and problems. Without having to think it twice, I can easily say I loved the book. You may be wondering why. I liked the book, because through the way I was reading it, I got understand not every person in the world is happy, everypody has his or her pains and shames. A great deal of communication got opened in my heart. What would it be like, if people wouldn't communicate? This tremendous book written by John Marsden deserves five stars. It was the winner of the 1990 Christopher award.

I found so much to tell you an extremely moving story; it presents a highly original story in an interesting format (journal layout). This is a book which is set as compulsory reading material at our school, and I think that this is a really good piece of reading material; its short direct style is new and refreshing. Mariana (the main character) though not speaking, is very perspective and insightful, through her journal we get detailed descriptions of the people around her, family and friends and how people interact with her, for the duration of the novel, Marina gradually becomes more open about he life and we can understand her feelings of isolation and depression, even though we may not be able to relate to them. The main themes in this book are Adolescence, Child abuse, domestic violence,depression,family,relationships,councelling,self image and trust, all these combined ensure a truly emotional read.

I found the book moving and compelling. Given that it is short and that I could not put it down, it was over far too quickly. I think it would be an excellent book to read and discuss with teenagers. One thing, unlike other reviewers, I am sure that the main character does not talk, not out of willfulness, but because she truly is unable to.

This book was John Marsden's first novel, and it's a great read. The story is entirely from the point of view of Marina through her diary entries. She doesn't speak anymore and in boarding school her only outlet is the journal that she has to keep for English.

As the story progresses, Marsden gives us tantalising hints of what is going on in her life, what happened to make her this way, which is nicely resolved by the end of the story.

If the story ends too soon for you, the sequel "Take my word for it," does the same sort of thing with another girl living in the same dorm. She sees the events of "So Much to Tell You" from a different viewpoint, and the story goes on past the ending of the first book.

This is a great read for teens. John Marsden was a teacher for many years, and really understands how young people think. It is mainly a girls book, however, unlike the Tomorrow series which has a more general appeal due to its action orientation.

John Marsden is an award winning international writer of young adult fiction.

This is an important piece of writing as the tale connects to young adults, particularly young girls, because the central theme of this work is "fitting in", having experienced a horrific trauma, (which the author never specifies) learns to speak again as her only form of communication is through a diary which she is forced to write in the boarding school she is cruelly placed.

The reader does not discover the narrator's name until the end of the tale.

We are only permitted to see her past through her pain, the trauma, and it is vague at best.

The story wanders, spinning off on many tangents that are irrelevant to the plot. Teenagers, though, do the same thing: talking about their parents, their close calls with the opposite sex and the obligatory rebelliousness which most Middle School girls' experience. So Much to Tell You is about the thoughts, feelings, fears and hopes of a little girl whose face has been terribly disfigured; we do not know how her face has been damaged and through the entire diary, only catch glimpses of the past.

The text rambles as a young person does. The text is an effort to connect to young people and, from the classes that I've run on the text with these young people, captures their naive and evolving minds.

My only criticism is the major issues in the novel, that is to say, her relationship with her father and mother, as she hates her mother but loves her father though he is in jail; the reason being something connected to her "accident", and her mother disconnecting, opens the door to a task of creative writing for the class.

Interestingly, the young women whose task it was to "fill in the blanks" as it were; in other terms answer the questions the novel fails to do, the young women in my class actually seemed to at least, write `better' than Marsden.

Why?

Because a middle-aged man, no-matter how taletent he is will never write like a 13 year old girl. He did a marvellous job, exceptional in fact, but when I read the actual, he came close but did not hit the mark.

So Much to Tell You is a good piece of young adult fiction that captures a 13 or 14 mind of a teenager on the brink of adulthood.

Marsden upon request wrote a play based on the novel and high schools across Australia have preformed to a successful outcome.

One of the better young adult novels.

John Marsden has yet to let me down. His writing is always thoughtful, poignant, realistic and adventurous.

"So Much to Tell You" is definitely up to par. I've always found it unfair that his writing is considered at the teenage level, so many people in other age brackets can benefit from the perspective his characters experience.

The story is one people have heard before; a story of a young girl hurt by her family. However, the way Marsden puts you inside of her head is amazing and unique. It's almost to the point you can't tell if he's an author writing about a girl... or an author who has discovered a notebook lying by the side of the road.

This novel is a great exploration of coping with issues, and a highly recommended read for adults as well as teens.

This is the only book by John Marsden that I've read yet, and I think that this book will be hard to beat. It's a really touching story about a 14-year-old girl named Marina who, as you find out later in the book, got her face scarred with acid. She stopped talking completely after the incident, not even communicating with nods or shaking her head (signifiying 'yes' or 'no'), and since she wasn't making any progress at the hospital, she got sent to a boarding school. Although she is distant and unresponsive at first, she finds herself reaching out to people in her dorm, teachers, and other people. This book made me cry in some parts, but not in a bad way. It ends in a good way too. I'm not even in high school yet, but I was able to understand all of it, so it's not confusing like some people say (or maybe I'm just different). Although it's a bit short, it's better than a lot of books two or three times its length. I think it's a really good buy and a great book.

I read So Much To Tell You in english class this year. It is anO.K book. It is a little strange because this girl, Marina, did notspeak because something had happened with her and her father a year back...It is kind of interesting to see how she communicates with other people, you actually get excited when she does because it does not happen to often. When Marina does finally talk, it is for a good cause and that is what makes that ending pretty good.

Ugh. This book could have been so much better. I was gripped from the beginning, couldn't wait to get to the end to see whether the conclusions I'd drawn from all the hints were correct. BUT the end is so disappointing I couldn't believe it. I hate books that leave the reader hanging and forced to draw their own conclusions, I prefer things spelt out. In places the story was so moving I was almost in tears, but unfortunately the ending spoiled what could have been a true hard-hitting masterpiece.