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So Much To Tell You - John Marsden

So Much to Tell You - John Marsden

I first read Marina's story when I was in year 7 and it has never left me. I have never forgotten her, as promised on the blurb. My second read, years later, was just as moving as the first.

Due to a horrific accident that changed her life, Marina does not speak. Exasperated, her mother ships her between therapists and hospitals and finally to boarding school, where Marina shares a dorm with eight other girls. She is deeply guarded and self conscious and spends her days cowering and scurrying around the school, trying not to be noticed by others.

If this book had been written from another point of view, my feelings about Marina may have been completely different. But written as it was, in her journal, put me inside her head. I felt what she felt. I was scared for her when she was, even if to someone else it may not make sense. I wept for her and felt those small buds of hope and happiness when she did. I wanted her to get well, but I also wanted her to do it in her own time. I felt time was important. And it was. When she finally spoke again, I cried and cried. It was beautifully executed. So simple but so necessary. The courage she showed was enormous.

A beautiful book. A forever favourite by one of Australia's most loved authors.