Love Letters

by Anne Cassidy

BRAND NEW, Exactly same ISBN as listed, Please double check ISBN carefully before ordering.

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Chick Lit, Contemporary, Crime

185 pages, Paperback

First published September 4, 2006

Reviews

[K. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Content warnings: stalking, incest, assault, shitty policing, adult seeking a relationship with a minor, disordered eating, calorie counting, teacher/student relationship

Good LORD, what a clusterfuck this was.

So essentially, teenage girl starts getting slightly creepy anonymous letters in the mail being all "Victoria, I love you". She assumes it's her best friend's brother. It's not. It's her adult boss at the supermarket she works at, who's married with a baby. She reports it. The police are all "Yeah but he says you're lying and we're going to believe him. Soz, hon". He also assaults her best friend's brother (because he thinks that's Victoria's boyfriend), breaks into her house, physically assaults her, and GOES TO HER SCHOOL DISCO TO CHECK UP ON HER????

And, like, all of that is wild enough and problematic enough. But then in the background, you've got the fact that her best friend is IN A ROMANTICISED ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP *WITH HER COUSIN*. And it seems like her parents don't know? And because they're cousins, they can go and stay at each other's houses all the time without their parents batting an eyelid.

Anyway, the best friend also has endless body image issues and literally carries a copy of a calorie counting book around with her at all times, which was just wildly unnecessary, even for 2003.

Basically, this was deeply problematic from start to finish, and I think the worst part for me was that the cops in the end are like "Yeah, we believe you but we also think there's no point in charging him with anything because they'll throw out the break and enter, there's no evidence for the assault or the stalking, and it's your word against his. The best we can do is ask for an injunction but we can't really do anything until he breaks it". And so when he and his family ultimately leave town, Victoria ends the book still living in fear that he's going to come back.

And honestly? Fuck that noise.

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Poor Victoria had a right time of it in this book.
* How bloody typical that a bloke can harass a young girl, deny it, and have everyone believe him and start thinking that she made it all up!!! So unfair!
* Considering Jen and Vicky didn't really start to think about boys until they were older, Jen really really got involved! How many boys did she go after? And whilst she had a boyfriend!
* Not sure how Jen could blame Vicky for her boyfriend catching her kissing somebody else either. If she hadn't been kissing him, he definitely wouldn't have caught her 🙄
* And typical once again, that even after he's caught chasing her into traffic, he still isn't going to be charged with anything 🙄

[Ugnė Lukošienė · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tema įdomi, gal dėl to ėmiausi šios jaunatviškos knygos. Visgi... per daug paaugliško popso, o pabaiga suvaryta per du skyrelius. Nieko ypatingo. Bet turbūt įtraukė, jei ją užbaigiau. Už tai ir duosiu dvi **.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick read - it was only, what, 200 pages? But still, it was so exciting and a bit creepy.
It took the lead character forever to figure out who the sender of the love letters was, which did get a bit irritating, aswell as her lack of evidence and occasional slip-up :/
But still, it hold a valuable lesson: Be careful, and only trust those you really know, not the ones that put on a fake smile.
I've always liked Anne Cassidy's books, the way she uses realistic problems in THIS world, and adds suspense.
Negative - the lead girl was pretty annoying.
Positive - it was an insightful, exciting short read. :)

[alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice and easy read. I would say between 3.5 & 4 stars. This book was great at making the reader feel the emotions of the scenes. I enjoyed going through the process with the main character, Victoria. I also enjoyed the plot, it kept me eager to carry on reading. I found myself frustrated at times with the things she did and the way her character was written, however I found the writing and mannerisms somewhat relatable. Nothing groundbreaking but my ADHD brain loves a simple read. Overall quite enjoyed.

[Karen Barber · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not particularly believable. Sadly, the characters were rather weak and the plot needed some fleshing out. A chilling tale of obsession and betrayal? Hardly!
Thankfully this was a very quick read. I am sure there will be some who'll enjoy it, but I'm not even sure how relevant it is in this time.

[Molly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sorry, but there were several problems I had with this book =/ Firstly, the ending was completely anticlimactic and unsatisfying. When people FINALLY believe her, (which takes for damn near ever) he doesn’t really get into trouble, he simply “gets help”, and she moves on? What the hell is that?. I would be out for blood. Secondly, to me the reaction to her being *physically assaulted* when walking home was completely unrealistic. Her, and her friend, don’t seem to care much or see any danger in it. "Just ignore him" when they see him at the party. What??? Lastly, and my biggest issue of all—the “friendship”. I don’t know what is going on with authors, but for some reason, many times I read about abusive friendships in books. Jenn (the “best friend” of our protagonist, Victoria) is a horrible excuse for a friend. She doesn’t care when her brother (whom she knows Vicky fully has feelings for) plays Vicky because he’s a rotten scumbag (we later get a sob story about him getting jumped, which is never revisited. I was glad that happened to him). Jenn constantly puts Vicky down about her body and looks, about what she’s wearing, makes her wear something she’s uncomfortable with, doesn’t care when Vicky is uncomfortable and nervous at the party after she sees Mr. Messenger (AFTER they both know he attacked her in the park), etc. She’s just a selfish, bad person, period. Also, Jenn is a proud…slut. That is not an insult, that is factually what she is. She unapologetically cheats on guys left and right, then has the almighty nerve to act the victim when she gets—briefly—called out on it. But it’s treated as though it’s undeserved, and then the guy gets straight back together with her 🙄 Guaranteed if it were a male doing this, it'd be handled in a different way. The book completely glosses over how horrible her and her brother are. To me, they are just as bad, if not worse, as Mr. Messenger himself.

[Jai · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 out of 5 stars.

Victoria deserves more. Messenger must be put behind the bars! It isn't enough that that fucking bastard was put into a restraining order. The trauma, assault, and harrassment he has had given to the girl is beyond crime. To consider that there are “girls” he had victimized.

What the fucking hell book is this?! There's no redemption and proper justice for the victims. Either way this was supposedly a star only, but I considered another half on how the author have plotted the narration and Victoria's character. It was consistent with her thought patterns, and the awareness it has for speaking and standing with yourself up when you're harrassed, assaulted, and taken advantage of. Such a brave and feisty character is she.

Overall, not satisfied enough how it ended. Abusers must be in jail; not wandering around after what they have cause to a person. Considering the fact that this story promoted and tolerated incest. No one called them out for doing such a thing. Yikes!

[bri · Rating 1 out of 5]

this was eughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhHUhuHuhuUUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

let's get to the bad stuff about this book. it, first of all, normalises incest, sexism, eating disorders, calorie counting and toxic friends. let's talk about the sexism first. go to the 35th page, first paragraph. let me type it all down and have its own paragraph to itself:

"chris telling her to stick to cooking and have babies and leave the important stuff to men."

like, GIRL. HELLO??? THIS IS WHO VICKY HAS A CRUSH ON??? pardon my language, but bitch, please. THE WHOLE BIT WAS IN ITALICS TOO. CRAZY. also, spoiler alert, chris plays the main character by getting back with his girlfriend, leaving vicky to just wonder whether he really loved her and gets mugged by paul messenger; which the plot honestly should've explored more. i mean, it's karma i guess, but vicky bae, here's a tip: DON'T TELL AN ADULT MAN WHO'S GETTING IN YOUR BUSINESS THAT A GUY, WHO YOU AREN'T EVEN DATING AND IS IN LOVE WITH SOMEONE ELSE, IS YOUR BOYFRIEND. THAT WILL END IN BULLSHIT. i am not victim-blaming, if anything, i'm a proud vicky stan and she deserved WAYYYYYY better. but seriously vicky, sometimes you need to get your act together and stop being so delusional.

now, let's look at vicky's 'best friend' jen, who basically covers the topics of incest, eating disorders, calorie counting and toxic friends. a few people, those before me who read this book and wrote a one-star review, have mentioned jen's toxicity and overall HORRIBLE influence on the protagonist. like MK said, "she doesn’t care when her brother (whom she knows vicky fully has feelings for) plays vicky because he’s a rotten scumbag". i would like to extend this too. she doesn't care when chris plays vicky by getting back with his girlfriend, yet she cares when vicky accidentally let sam (jen's COUSIN, BY THE WAY, WHOM JEN IS DATING) into her room and finds jen having sex with gerry? jen, sweetheart, i read the opening of the book; stating how instead of finding boys you and vicky wrote calculations down and acted all 'rory gilmore'. but, even in those school textbooks, jen, you must have already known that CHEATING IS BAD????? NOT ONLY THAT, BUT INSTEAD OF TAKING ACCOUNTABILITY FOR YOUR ACTIONS YOU PROCEEDED TO GHOST YOUR 'BEST FRIEND' AND TAKE IT ALL OUT ON HER???? that is not a good friend for you, vick. YOU GUYS ARE IN COLLEGE TOO. COME ON. then, all of a sudden, jen is happy and starts talking to vicky again because her good-for-nothing cousin came back to her? this girl is out of her mind. not to mention the calorie counting, eating disorders, shaming your 'best friend' for her body and looks and for her eating. sweetheart, you're in college. you're, like what, 17? 18? im younger than you and even i can tell that's, pardon me again, fucked up.

paul messenger needs to be locked up. he stalked a girl, mugged her 'boyfriend' and broke into her house. AND THE POLICE IS LIKE "nahhhh hehehehehhehehehehhe he'll just get help lol". some reviews go into this deeply than others, so i'll just leave it at that.

on the brighter side, pretty cover! love the newspaper thing and the subtle hint in the cover! easy read too! but horrible.

[Eloise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book randomly came into my mind one evening and had to re-read it again.

I remember reading this book years ago when I was younger and bought back a lot of memories. At the time, I remember thinking wow this is insane and so much happened. Now Ive read it as an adult, I have a lot deeper mindset on it.

The book is quite easy writing. It’s not poetic or floral, it’s a bit like a screenplay writing. Super simple. It’s only a short story as well less than 200 pages. The conversations and descriptions in the book aren’t long and no sense really takes time to sink before the story moves onto something else.

I do like the actual story. I like the 2000s vibe from it. I love reading 2000s vibe, maybe it’s a childhood thing and you can remember what it’s like. Comparing to a time before you are born, you don’t know whats it’s like when reading a book. I like the story I felt bad for Vicky. Her friend, parents and police were pretty rubbish at support and didn’t do a lot to protect her. The police side of things felt realistic as to day how they don’t take stalking cases seriously, until something bad happens. She did but Chris in a bad situation however I understand why she did it.

The very ending on how Vicky feels felt pretty real, about her stalker always in her head. The writer did a good job on that.

I give this book a 3/5. Its very simple story, a bit creepy and good nostalgic time. It’s not a descriptive book and would have loved more to the story.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This young adult thriller has some elements I enjoyed and unfortunately a few I didn't.

The writing and build up of tension throughout the story were really good. I did have an idea of which character was sending Vicky letters before the reveal, but I don't feel it was predicatable, it's just I happened to guess right from the potential choices.

Without giving spoilers there were elements of the story that seemed to be just brushed over. I know the book was written in 2003, so that's a big part of why having someone being stalked doesn't come over as serious as it would today.

As I said the writing is solid throughout and the characters are introduced well.

For me it was an OK read, but I'm sure many readers will like this much more than I did.

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth reading. Read this book over 10 years ago and was an old favorite of mine, So i thought I'd give it another read and gotta say its another great book written by Anne Cassidy. I enjoyed reading it so much that I read the whole book within a day or two. If you read this and are looking for another book by Anne Cassidy I'd definitely recommend reading (Looking for jj) and then (Finding Jennifer Jones) as in my opinion they are the best out of all the Anne Cassidy books I've read so far

[Vincenzo Blaschi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no expectations from the book as I had never read anything from this author before, but was pleasantly surprised. I read a lot of YA books, and this was one that I really enjoyed. The antagonist was really well written and thoroughly creepy--a great character. I look forward to reading more novels by this author.

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fact I remembered this book and Anne like 10 years after reading it says a lot. I definitely want to re-read this! And maybe some others and let's see if I find it as gripping and scandalous as when I was 15

[RocksaIt · Rating 5 out of 5]

twisty

[Yas D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read as a teenager, Anne Cassidy was one of my favourite authors, as a YA, along with Harlan Coben and Martina Cole.

[Ophelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

After a fairly long phase of being obsessed with Jacqueline Wilson, I stumbled across this book in the dark, quiet corner of my local bookstore many years ago. Back then, the cover had a red 'T' rating on the back, which was something I had certainly never seen on a book, films of course, but only then numbers obviously, not letters - I was a young teenager and the fact that this was a 'specially written' book for me nearly sent me into hysterical excitement, and eagerly began reading. I was not disappointed; I would highly recommend it to young adults and thriller-seekers alike. Although not very long and not really really scary/thrilling, it was enough to get me hooked on another phase - the phase of Anne Cassidy - for a good while. Perfect for young adults wanting to branch out a bit, who, like me, wanted something a bit different and older to get stuck into.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great Cassidy book, that although very short, was a great, thrilling and gripping read.

I could completely understand Vicky thinking that it was the boy who fancied her that was sending the letters, and I too understood that the letters must have been flattering in times when self-esteem was very low. I loved the party scene where she changes he mind on him, and the ending was decent.

I just felt that she should have realised it was her boss after telling him Chris was her boyfriend and Chris gets beaten up, I found that a little annoying, and I also felt the book could have been a lot longer, making the read more enjoyable.

[Jacki · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a really good book about a girl called Vicky. She starts to get love letters and she thinks they're from the boy she fancies but they aren't. It turns out they are from her 33 year old work boss Paul Messenger. She is really worried but another girl tells her that it is OK because he is a real peedo and he's done it to alot of girls. She has to wait until the night of the school dance before she is really free.

[G · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very creepy, intriguing story. I honestly did love it but it was quite haunting. I read this quite a long time before I joined goodreads, so I can't remember little details of the book, but it did have a big impact on me. It was moving and I seriously suggest it for a short, capturing read.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's not much to say about this one. It was a very quick read(less than 200 pages long). The story was too fast to have an effect on me.

It was okay. I've read worse. "Looking for J.J" was a more interesting book by Anne Cassidy.

[Jade Slee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned from this book that no matter how good something seems, I should keep it a secret... and keep it because you need evidence for the police to believe you.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG such an awesome book.

[Alice Doherty]

Read this ages ago.

[Madi]

Very crepy book but great

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

brilliant, brilliant and fantastic !!!!!

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good thriller kept you guessing until the very last page, unfortunately main character was a bit annoying :(

[Lynette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its always lovely to find that you have got a love letter... isn't it ? Well it was at the start but then it got weird and creepy. Very creepy. I recomend this book to read.

[codi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written and I enjoyed the unexpected twist at the end.

[Kirsty John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book, great storyline, love Anne cassidys books