Locked Inside Paperback – February 19, 2009

Let me start by saying that I thought "Impossible" was much better than this, but overall it was ok. I found Marnie to be quite annoying at times and thought often that she was an unrealistic character. The fact that her inner thoughts took on the persona of her online character was weird. The basic idea of gaming for hours was fine but the fact that she took her characcter into her real life was a little immature and a little crazy too. her relationship with the "elf" was unbelievable. I hated how she resisted him in any type of relationship even when they were trapped and thought they would die. You would think that an event like that would force you to change your outlook. But with that said, I guess that was also the point of the story, that Marnie was unable to engage anyone no matter what and how she eventually allowed herself to open up to people.Overall The beginning and the end of the book made up for the middle, which lacked realism, and for the most part it held my attention.

I enjoyed it.It was well written, as were her other books.

I had recently gotten into stories about wealthy teenagers and kids who have superstar parents, especially the stories that have morals. I thought about giving Locked Inside a try. It wasn't quite like the other stories that I had read, and was more focuesd on Marnie's mother and the past, rather than trying to find yourself.Marnie Skyedottir is the orphan of Skye, a gospel singer-turned-self-help book author who kept her entire life hidden. Her guardian Max was her mother's friend and some sort of businessperson for the singer (I think he was a lawyer). Marnie attends an all-girls' boarding school, where she is flunking out of every class except for math. Instead of studying, Marnie plays an online video game, where she is ranked Number 1. Coming up through the ranks is Elf, who banters with Marnie online. But when Marnie's chemistry teacher, Mrs. Slaight, kidnaps Marnie after some tutoring, she must accept things about herself and her mother that she never thought of before.Some parts of the story were a little strange. First of all is Jenna, who seems to be the queen bee at the school. When she is introduced, Jenna is said to not be very mean, especially to other people's faces, but not only does she act mean to Marnie (where she just may not like Marnie and Marnie may not like her), but she seems to be like that to many other students. A couple other parts of the story were also at odds in that way.It was hard to understand Marnie and get to know her. Her mother's fame is incredibly strange, unlike the politicians, rock stars, models, or actors whose children fill up other stories. It was hard to relate to that or even really understand Skye's fame. Skye was also incredibly secretive, and not even Marnie knows her mother's true name. It was a little hard to believe and, combined with Skye's reason for fame, it seemed too distant. Skye barely seemed like a real person.Marnie was hard to get to know. She knows very little about anyone else and keeps to herself so that nobody else can learn anything about her. The few things that Marnie seems to be willing to tell the reader are that she likes video games, she doesn't like people, and that she's bad at school. The fact that the main character is so secretive makes the book a little unenjoyable. Marnie's video game character, Sorceress, is her alter ego, as well, and having conversations with the Sorceress is strange.The storyline was unexpected. Most kidnappings are not from your crazy chemistry teacher (and I do mean, delusional, stark raving mad crazy). Elf, who Marnie has never met in real life, is willing to go save her (and is the only person to actually find her). Marnie did have to undergo some change and wonder about her mother's real life while inprisoned, but most of the questions are actually answered after she gets out. I also didn't enjoy the ending with Elf. The entire book was a little too murky and unclear for me, with too much confusion and internal struggle, and not enough action.

Marnie doesn't let people get close to her. She probably inherited that from her mother, a famous singer who died when Marnie was eleven. Now that she is sixteen, Marnie is left with an incomplete sense of who her mother really was, especially before she became famous and changed her name. Marnie has no real family and can't seem to form a relationship with her legal guardian, Max, who she usually only sees as the one keeping her from her money, millions of dollars that will be hers when she turns twenty-one. She chooses to attend boarding school, where she has no friends and spends all of her free time, plus much time that should be spent on schoolwork, playing an online computer game. She is incredibly good at the game, number one in the rankings, and is intrigued by another player who goes by the name of Elf.Although she was prepared as a child to watch for potential kidnappers, Marnie thought she was too old to be a target. She is proven wrong when she wakes up in a locked room in someone's basement. Marnie is shocked to find out that her captor is her chemistry teacher. She is even more shocked to find that the woman doesn't want ransom; what she wants is recognition that she is Marnie's half-sister, another daughter of the famous singer. The woman is clearly deranged, but she plants a seed of doubt in Marnie's mind. She's never known much about her mother's life. Could she have had another daughter before Marnie was born?Elf's character was a bit far-fetched; it was too easy a romance for my taste. However, I liked Marnie's evolution throughout this book and the way she learned to trust others more. I also liked the parallels between Marnie's situation and the online game she played. It was refreshing to read about a computer game enhancing a teenager's thought process instead of rotting out her brains.