P.S. Longer Letter Later
Encyclopedia
P.S. Longer Letter Later is an epistolary novel
written by Paula Danziger
and Ann M. Martin in 1998.
It is a novel
in letters and is written as a year-long correspondence between two twelve-year-old girls, Tara*Starr and Elizabeth.
When Tara*Starr moves to Ohio
, the girls continue their friendship. They have to do this by writing letters, because Elizabeth's father does not like Tara*Starr and Tara*Starr's "charents" think it is expensive to talk on the phone. The letters detail the changes in their lives - Tara*Starr must cope with moving, making new friends and dealing with her mother's pregnancy, while Elizabeth's family begins to fall apart. Tara*Starr makes another best friend in Ohio. Her name is Hannah. Tara calls her Pal Palindrome
because her name spelled backwards is the same as when it's spelled forward. It becomes her new nickname and everyone calls her "Pal". Tara also gets a boyfriend named Alex who abuses her.
Elizabeth's father is starting to scare her when he is coming home later than usual, drinking, and going overboard on his credit cards after he loses his job and has no money. Tara*Starr is making new friends, joining clubs and getting involved in the school activities. When Elizabeth's family has to move to an apartment because of the money problem, her dad decides to leave, and separate from their mother.
It is through their alternating letters that readers learn how Tara*Starr and Elizabeth grow and change - and how they keep their friendship
strong, even if it is long-distance. This book shows how hard a friendship can be when you can't see your friend, but suggests that if you truly care about something and work hard for it, anything can happen.
books.
In a radio interview, the authors said that as they developed the story together, their own friendship was tested like that of their characters.
assessed it as "strikingly insightful".
Boston Globe included it in a shortlist of books recommended to help children cope with the uncertainty of moving house.
Epistolary novel
An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of documents. The usual form is letters, although diary entries, newspaper clippings and other documents are sometimes used. Recently, electronic "documents" such as recordings and radio, blogs, and e-mails have also come into use...
written by Paula Danziger
Paula Danziger
Paula Danziger was a U.S. and e.u. children's author. She grew up in Metuchen, NJ. She lived in New York City and in Bearsville, NY...
and Ann M. Martin in 1998.
It is a novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
in letters and is written as a year-long correspondence between two twelve-year-old girls, Tara*Starr and Elizabeth.
Plot
Tara Starr is outgoing and impulsive and likes to write, while Elizabeth is shy, quiet and enjoys writing poetry. Even so, they are best friends.When Tara*Starr moves to Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, the girls continue their friendship. They have to do this by writing letters, because Elizabeth's father does not like Tara*Starr and Tara*Starr's "charents" think it is expensive to talk on the phone. The letters detail the changes in their lives - Tara*Starr must cope with moving, making new friends and dealing with her mother's pregnancy, while Elizabeth's family begins to fall apart. Tara*Starr makes another best friend in Ohio. Her name is Hannah. Tara calls her Pal Palindrome
Palindrome
A palindrome is a word, phrase, number, or other sequence of units that can be read the same way in either direction, with general allowances for adjustments to punctuation and word dividers....
because her name spelled backwards is the same as when it's spelled forward. It becomes her new nickname and everyone calls her "Pal". Tara also gets a boyfriend named Alex who abuses her.
Elizabeth's father is starting to scare her when he is coming home later than usual, drinking, and going overboard on his credit cards after he loses his job and has no money. Tara*Starr is making new friends, joining clubs and getting involved in the school activities. When Elizabeth's family has to move to an apartment because of the money problem, her dad decides to leave, and separate from their mother.
It is through their alternating letters that readers learn how Tara*Starr and Elizabeth grow and change - and how they keep their friendship
Friendship
Friendship is a form of interpersonal relationship generally considered to be closer than association, although there is a range of degrees of intimacy in both friendships and associations. Friendship and association are often thought of as spanning across the same continuum...
strong, even if it is long-distance. This book shows how hard a friendship can be when you can't see your friend, but suggests that if you truly care about something and work hard for it, anything can happen.
Analysis
Tara*Starr is most like Danziger, while Elizabeth is most like Martin. This is reflected in the writing styles of the authors' individual works. Tara*Starr's writing style is strikingly similar to Danziger's Amber Brown books, and Elizabeth's writing style is strikingly similar to Martin's Baby-sitters ClubThe Baby-Sitters Club
The Baby-sitters Club is a series of novels written by Ann M. Martin and published by Scholastic between 1986 and 2000, that sold 17 milllon copies. Many of the novels were ghostwritten, including 43 by Peter Lerangis. However, Ann Martin wrote the first 35 novels.The series is about a group of...
books.
In a radio interview, the authors said that as they developed the story together, their own friendship was tested like that of their characters.
Reviews
The Denver Post called it a "classic example of an Odd Couple collaboration", given the mismatch of the characters and their writing styles. Publishers WeeklyPublishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
assessed it as "strikingly insightful".
Boston Globe included it in a shortlist of books recommended to help children cope with the uncertainty of moving house.