Love Letters

by Jane Larry

Lisa was never the type of girl who cared. John never seemed like the type of guy she would get along with, but love letters from the past sought to it that their paths would eventually cross and intertwine. As they further explored the possibilities, one of them began to realize that nothing was what it seemed. Witness a budding love just in time for spring with this story about hope, renewal and self-discovery.

Genres: Short Stories, Young Adult

40 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 13, 2013

About the author

Jane Larry was born in Montreal, Canada in 1982. She started writing at a very young age and quickly developed a love for it. She loves to write romance and young adult books.

Reviews

[Ciclochick · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a YA short story. Unfortunately, the immaturity of the writing, the poor editing (it couldn’t seem to make up its mind whether it was third-person or first-person POV, or if was in the past or present tense) were a bit of stumbling block to the enjoyment.

The concept was reasonable enough; whilst her school friends are off enjoying their spring break, Lisa knuckles down to complete her English assignment: to compose a short story. She gets her inspiration from some love letters she finds in a library book. They only provide her with half a story, though, and not wanting to invent her own ending, with the help of John, she tries to find the author and subject of the letters for closure of the little romance and her own assignment. Her romantic notions, however, turn out to be very different from the actual outcome of the sweet love portrayed in the letters; and what’s more, her opinion of John, whom she thought to be a little shallow and cocky, undergoes quite a transformation.

There’s mileage in this short story, but it needs structure. The ending is rather rushed and garbled. The writing is a little disjointed and stilted (some not-quite-there phrases) and just a little juvenile. However, the main character(s) are quite convincing and likeable—I did like the fact that Lisa, perhaps not your normal run-of-the-mill teenager, was proud to be who and what she was— and the development of their relationship is touching.

The author’s style is just a little rough around the edges, but she shows great promise.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well written short story from the perspective of Lisa, a teenager who finds herself to be more comfortable alone than making any real connections. She has been reserved in her interactions with others since the horrible car accident in which she was the only survivor. Losing her parents at such a young age has changed her in ways she is still unable to understand herself.

A chance encounter with a fellow student opens her eyes to what she is missing in the way she views the world and helps her to realize that everything is not as it seems. My favorite quote in the book is "We love and hate strangers for what we think they are and what we want them to be instead of who they are and who they will be. We get attached to these ideals and blind ourselves so much that we end up looking like a fool."

The story alludes to a budding romance just in time for spring a time of hope and life renewal, and an encouragement to always see what is truly there in reality not what our minds think is there simply to make us happy. While we are left wondering whether things come to fruition, we are left with a contented feeling that things will work out for all involved.

Little in the way of grammatical mistakes which is a huge plus for a freebie found on Amazon. Pleasantly surprised by this and I enjoyed the story and the message it leaves with the reader.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I usually don't read short stories. Most I have read just have not been good so I usually stay away. I didn't realize this story was only 38 pages long until I got to the end and was just like what just happened? It is like most authors I have read take a story that would be a novel and just try and shove all of the parts of that novel into very few pages which just doesn't work, and this os no exception. I thought the love letters were actually kind of creepy stalker which is not what the author was going for I don't think....and then the girl finds out what is going on with them and storms off. Then suddenly it skips ahead till the end of break and doesn't really let you know what happened in the interim and just kind of ends. If this had been a full length book I might have enjoyed it, but as a short story I thought it was horrible (though the main character was getting on my nerves by the end of the 38 pages so maybe I would have hated a full book as well).

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

This really wasn't what I expected, and I think the blurb is pretty misleading. It's not really a story of teenage love, but instead centers around the love letters. It's EXTREMELY short (38 pages) so I felt like there wasn't much of a story, if it were longer it probably could have had a lot of potential to be pretty good. I'm not satisfied by what I read, but since it was a freebie, I can't complain :)

[Jen Wylie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love short stories, but this one had too much telling and not enough showing. Very little dialogue. The story moved along and then suddenly- jumps ahead and is over, leaving me confused and wondering if there were a lot of missing pages. The ending did not really resolve anything either. The characters were annoying and harsh and there was little true interaction between them. Interesting idea just not well carried out.

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the description of the short story I was actually looking for a "love story." It really didn't have much to do with the two teenagers but the actual love letters found in a book. Overall it is a decent story just not specifically what I was expecting from the description.

[Tyf · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really bummed with this story for a couple of reasons. I had high hopes for a love or a relationship to unfold, but in the end I was just disappointed....with the letters, the characters, and the story about Lisa's past.

[Shahanara · Rating 1 out of 5]

the cover- MIND BLOWING!

The synopsis looked so interesting. Even its a short story, i'm really disappointed with this one. Nothing special...bleh

[Samhy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I took this book on a whim (free on Amazon) and it turned out to be a nice surprise. I really liked the message conveyed by this cute story, though not a romance per se.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

quick little read, interesting short little novella

[Mercedes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have loved for this book to be longer.