Locked Inside

by Nancy Werlin

As the daughter of the wildly successful inspirational singer-author Skye, who died in a plane crash when Marnie was young, Marnie Skyedottir stands to inherit great wealth. But until she is old enough, she must survive a dreary life in private boarding school. She endures by escaping into an online role-playing game as much as possible, and steering well clear of the other girls. So when Marnie is kidnapped by someone who also claims to be Skye's daughter, she is terrified. With her reclusive tendencies, will anyone even notice that she's gone? And will her online gaming skills be of any help to her in this real-life drama?

"As she did in The Killer's Cousin, Werlin offers a compelling thriller that will have readers turning pages." —Booklist

"The pacing is fast and the author successfully explores the layers of the theme to build interest and suspense." —SLJ

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Suspense, Crime

237 pages, Paperback

First published February 8, 2000

About the author

Nancy Werlin writes young adult fiction: New York Times–bestselling fantasy, Edgar-award winning suspense, and National Book Award-honored realistic novels.

Nancy's newest book is the comedy ZOE ROSENTHAL IS NOT LAWFUL GOOD.

Reviews

[♠ TABI⁷ ♠ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. After reading all of this author’s other books, I was kinda cringing as to what this book might have in store, but I was happily surprised.
The plot at first was a little confusing, but it still made sense. Sounds confusing right? That’s pretty much an idea of what the book is like: confusing and yet makes sense. It’s also pretty quirky, which I enjoy those quirky books that no one really hasn’t told.
And as I’ve mentioned in other reviews of this author’s books, I appreciate the way she takes on real life issues in her stories. I like reading about different worlds, yes, but I also like stories that tell life as it is, no gloss over the content.
Speaking of content, this book was completely clean, which also surprised me given that only two of her other books were close to the level of this one. There wasn’t any of my personal nemesis the ‘f’ bomb, or any “scenes”. In fact, there wasn’t even kissing. (Which maybe I was kinda hoping for one kiss maybe in the end, but oh well. The romance was still super cute.)
Bit of randomness now…
Paliopolis sounded pretty cool.
The Elf was awesome. Like, really amazing, and surprisingly very sweet. He was just so nice!
Marnie was sweet and hilarious. Her daydreams about things and her sarcasm and wit made her totally my kind of girl. But she was also sweet in the way that she was hurting, but really didn’t realize it until later, but yeah. Have to read the book, I guess, to get what I’m trying to say. Her character was superbly developed.
Max I thought at first was a bit of a jerk, but in the end he turned out to be super nice.
Ms. Slaight was just…she was something all right. A mess of something. I really didn’t feel bad at all when she shot herself. I mean, yeah, she was sad and looking for love or whatever, but she went about it totally the wrong way. And to top it all off, she was physco, so there’s the end of the story right there.
Jenna, I guess maybe she was supposed to be Marnie’s friend or something in the end? I don’t know. She just seemed kinda thrown randomly into the story, but hey, she was still a part of everything.
Skye…she was interesting and funny that she was such a big character even though she was dead. But even after hearing everything about her, I liked her. She seemed nice and not afraid to stand up for herself, and even after everything she’d been through, she still had Marnie and loved her. I thought that whole thing was just really touching.
So, I do need a bit of a spoiler for some things… Ok so to find out that Ms. Slaight kidnapped Marnie, that was kinda strange. I mean I maybe suspected her, but it was still a bit of an “Oh, she’s the bad guy” moment.
The Elf’s whole chat with Marnie was super cute, the whole story about how he ended up falling in love her…just so cute.
Skye’s whole background with her foster dad….just….wow. Sad. I’d have probably shot him too.
So anyway, yes. A nice read that I thoroughly enjoyed. It’s just one of those stories that you know you really won’t ever forget because it’s one of those quirky, intriguing, and surprisingly sweet books that just grab at you and really never let go.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marnie is the only child of the now deceased Skye. One of the most famous recording artists of her time. Today Marnie Skyedottir is worth $235.27 million, but she has to get by on $50 a week thanks to her guardian Max. Marnie attends a boarding school and doesn't get real good grade because she is up all night long playing her fantasy role playing game on her computer till all hours of the night being taunted by "the Elf," another player like herself who becomes her friend. But Marnie is not safe. When Marnie is kidnapped she is locked in a room with nothing but her thoughts and the lack of knowledge about her mothers life before she was famous. Her kidnapper wants something from her dealing with her mother, but what is it if not money?

This is a really good story about a famous teen just being normal and playing games and not studying until the day she is kidnapped. It just goes to show you how crazy some people can be about the famous people we idolize and how great the normal guys can be when we really need them. After reading this book my senior year I remember thinking to myself, "parents need to write things down for the kids about everything."

[EAL · Rating 3 out of 5]

A taut and suspenseful book, to be sure. But some characters were better written/more realistic than others. I felt that it was trying to be a psychological thriller, but I was not thrilled; the main character failed to engage me. Even though it's clear that she has some issues in her life, she just reads like a whiny brat - which she is - and the elegance with which her character development was written only barely made up for it. Skye's backstory and Elf seemed set to outdo each other in contrived dysfunctionality. The antagonist, though crazy, was, however, believable. Pacing was good, thankfully. In a word, this book was about insecurity.

[Susie Carson · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading The Impossible I decided to check out some of Werlin's other work, and I must say I enjoyed this one. The main character is somewhat closed off and kind of rude to others but somehow sympathetic anyway. I did enjoy getting to know her and finding out what made her tick. The account of the kidnapping was scary without being truly disturbing, which I appreciate, since I don't want nightmares. All in all, very enjoyable read. I finished it in about a day, so it's a quick read, also.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Locked Inside isn’t a fantasy novel at all, which I probably would have realized sooner if I hadn’t read it two seconds after I set down Heir Apparent. Instead of Giannine, we have Marnie, daughter to the famous ex-gospel singer and founder of an almost-religion, Skye. Instead of virtual reality, we have what appears to be an MMORPG called Paliopolis. Instead of adventure and life or death situations, we have an all-too-real kidnapping and life or death situations. Marnie is, like Giannine, a character full of opinions, but she struggles more with her own identity and fitting in with others. Marnie uses Paliopolis as an escape and it’s only through reading the book that we truly understand why. I don’t want to give too much away, because this book is best when read without knowing too much about it.
The strongest points of the book were Marnie’s inner thoughts, her struggle to be someone she wants to be, and her (developing) relationships with other characters in the book**. I’m not describing her well, because I’m trying to avoid actually talking about her. Just rest assured that Marnie is complex and unusual in the best way. By the end of the book, she still isn’t who she wants to be, but she’s closer and, hey, who is who they want to be?
The weakest point was, unfortunately, the strangeness bordering on complete implausibility of some of the situations. There are big implausibles that I don’t want to mention, but there are smaller, non-spoilery ones, too. Mainly, for me, the vagueness of Paliopolis. For something so important to Marnie, it isn’t described very much and, to be quite honest, it doesn’t sound like a real game.

I know I should give some leeway to Werlin, because she probably isn’t a gamer, and she was just trying to write a book about this girl, but I would like to repeat that Paliopolis is a significant part of Marnie’s life. Surely some more research or something could have been done? Heir Apparent falls into this trap, too, but I’m more willing to give Vende a bye since she’s assuming a future technology (and she defines some gameplay mechanics, such as the dying-and-sent-back-to-the-start thing, which Werlin doesn’t really do at all). I mean, I love that both of these books are about girl gamers, because most young girls nowadays do game and it’s always nice to have that represented. But if it rings false to me, I can’t help but think that it might turn off younger girls, who have a lot to potentially gain from these books.

[Autumn]

Marnie Skyedottir is filthy rich. Well she's going to be rich once she turns twenty-one and if she graduates high school. It's money that was left to her after her inspiring, rockstar mother died, not exactly the way that any young girl wants to get rich. Almost as horrible as that is where she finds herself now, at a snobby boarding school. It's filed with pretentious know-it-alls, annoying teachers, and peering eyes. Marnie would much rather be locked in her room playing in the virtual world with "the elf". She just wants things to be simpler, much simpler than being kidnapped by a psychopath and stored in a basement.

For a book that was written some time ago the characters feel just as relatable today. Marnie, while she has some attachment issues, is a relatable main character. She has a good heart, but a natural sarcasm that makes it hard for some people to get along with her. The character of Frank is a fun romantic interest that would do a lot for her, but is still pretty realistic. The coolest thing for me about this book was the mystery behind it. When I started reading I thought that the person who kidnapped her would be a stranger, "elf", or someone else from the video game world. That maybe she had gotten herself into something and they took her because of that. It was an interesting turn to find out who had kidnapped her and why. I think that is a symbol of good writing when, even after all these years, you can surprise the reader.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Marnie's extremely successful mother dies. Marnie inherits millions but cannot get it in full until she is 18. Her guardian allows her $50 a week and she is obnoxious about it not being enough even that that is twice as much as I use a week, maybe more. Anyway, she is at boarding school and is stuck there over spring break so she wastes her time playing online video games. She makes a friend. She is kidnapped. She is kept in a basement. The online friend gets the kidnapper drunk. They escape. They kiss. The end.

I was bored out of my mind with this book. I am a huge character person so when I read that Marnie was Nancy Werlin's absolute pride and joy, I was excited for some decent character development. Nope. Marnie was your typical trust fund baby that pushed people away and then cried about not having friends. She was whiny and obnoxious the entire book. I think there was one or two sentences throughout the entire "thriller" novel that actually stirred a slight feeling of suspense. This is the third book that I have read by Nancy Werlin and will definitely be my last. I was very unimpressed and felt that her novels were a complete waste of energy. I would not recommend any of her work unless you want a basic plot line with a low climax and no character development.

[Rivkasilver · Rating 2 out of 5]

My patience can only last so long. The first half of this book is the complaints of a teenage girl worth something-babillion dollars about how pissed she is at the people who are trying to help her and how everyone else are just losers who sell out to the world in order to be cool. Except for her, of course. She has spiky blonde hair and raccoon eyes to prove to the world that she is Different, with a capitol D.

The second half of the book is where the girl, Marnie, gets kidnapped by a psycho and falls in love with a guy who shaves his hair and wears camouflage clothing, caz, you know, he's also Different.

This book is dumb.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Marnie Skyedottir is the sole inheritor of her dead mother's vast amount of money. Her mother, Skye, was an inspirational writer and gospel-singer who died in a plane crash when Marnie was 11 years old. Now, Marnie is at a boarding school, hating every moment of it. She seeks relief from playing games on her laptop. One day, Marnie is kidnapped and now she must fight for her life. Has she shut everyone out of her life too much to have any hope of being saved?

I think I would have liked this book more if it wasn't about gamers. I am not much of a gamer, so I would probably recommend this book to someone who was. However, despite that, it was a well-written book with lots of twists to the plot. It was a pretty good read, but I don't think I'll be putting it in my library collection. It was definitely a young adult book though because of the emotions Marnie goes through and how she reacts to the people around her as she is still trying to get over her anger and grief and mourning over her mother's death.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Locked inside is about a girl named Marnie who is kidnapped by her chemistry teacher. Marnie is 16 years old and is addicted to a computer game where she is a sorcoress and there is an elf, who she becomes friends with throughout the book. Her teacher claims to also be the daughter of Marnie's mother, Skye who was a famous Gospel singer. Then later on a boy who she learns goes to a near by school comes to her rescue but he gets shot in the leg by the teacher, and is being held hostage just like Marnie. At the end, Marnie and the boy finally get out of the teacher's basement, by shaking the half drunken seltzer bottle and spray it in her face, and then they run up the stairs or limp in the elf's case, run away from the teacher's house and they go to the police.
This book wasn't the bet one that I have ever read, but it has intrigued me to want to read more books by this author, she writes pretty intense books and I like that kind of stuff.

[Kristyn]

This was a great book! It's about a girl named Marnie, who is the daughter of a superstar. Her mother died when she was very young. She has had to live in the world by herself(she doesn't really like her guardian) but her mother left behind a lot of money. She also attend a boarding school that she doesn't seem to like. I thought that the main character was very interesting because we see how her personality changes as she goes through danger. At first she is anti-social and spends most of her time playing an online game. While playing se encounters a player named "elf" whom believes is her rival. It was very ironic how in the end the "elf" saves her life and they fell in love. The end was like a romantic love story and I thought it was so sweet how the "elf" (aka Frank) was worried when he hadn't heard from Marnie in a while and went to look for her. I think people would enjoy this book because it contains mystery, adventure, and romance!

[Kenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever since I read The Rules of Survival, I was interested in another of Nancy Werlin’s books, Locked Inside. This book is about a girl named Marnie who lived in a world without her mother, because the mother died. Marnie is a depressing character because she spends her time online on the internet playing her games, where her life online meets a player named “elf”. It was interesting to read about how Marnie was kidnapped, because I have read a story about kidnapped before. It was amazing at the end where the “elf” had saved Marnie’s life. I think this was a terrific book, in which the author did another amazing job in her books. My favorite part was where the “elf” saves Marnie, and I dislike the part where Marnie gets kidnapped though. When I was reading this I thought Marnie and “elf” were in love.

[Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a girl who is the daughter a famous and wealthy singer. Her mother dies and leaves her a fortune. She goes to private school but her grades suffer because she spends too much time playing video games online. She struggles socially with the other girls and faculty. This story is about how one of her teachers kidnaps her because she thinks she is her sister and is entitled to some of the fortune. Many secrets about the past are uncovered and because of this experience the girl learns better who she is.

I thought the book was pretty good overall. It was interesting enough for me to finish it, but the plot seemed to move a little slow. There were a few parts where it seemed to drag on. My other complaint is that it seemed a little unrealistic to me. Her online friend finding her before the police seemed far-fetched. But it was entertaining and an easy read.

[Hannah Reed · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read two books by Nancy Werlin before (The Killer's Cousin and Impossible) and I loved them both, but this one unfortunately fell flat for me. It was a definite page turner, but the more I read it the more irritated I got. In the beginning of the book I loved Marnie because she was quite intelligent, but by the end she was beginning to irritate me, and I just absolutely hated how unrealistic the ending was. The thing that kept me reading until the end was the kidnapping storyline, because I wanted to find out what was going on with the teacher, but the fact that I had given up on the other characters made even finishing this book difficult. I'm really hoping this is just Werlin's worst book, because the two I've read were really good, and I still have more to read.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marnie,the daughter of a superstar who had died. She has no interest in school.The only thing that keep her alive was every time when chat online with a mysterious guy named Elf. Her life seemed very boring until she was kidnapped. The kidnapper claims to be Marnie's sister. Later on, Elf finally reveals himself and stay in the cold basement with Marnie. I learned that life has to be cherished. There are many dangers in the world and anything can happen. SO it is best to do what you want but have an limit. This book is very intersting and the main character changed after the kidnap. I felt liek she is a better person, a more open and happier person.

[Libby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Locked Inside was a page turner, no doubt about it. It is the story of a rich teenager who becomes wrapped up in an online game, and spends way too much time on it. Of course, she is kept behind over Spring break at her rich girls boarding school and through these slightly confusing events she gets kidnapped and locked in a basement. Then, of course, Elf the guy whom she has been battling against on the online game comes along.

And guess what? They fall in love. Shocking, I know.

But the book was well-written, and interesting. Werlin managed to turn an over-used cliché into an intriguing book with depth. And it was really good.

[Clickety · Rating 3 out of 5]

HIGH larious. Norly. Intrigued me mostly because in some ways it reminded me a LOT of online RPGs and in others it completely contradicted them. Paliopolis seems MUCH more like a MUD than an MMO given the text-based interface, but the book was published in 2003. It makes me wonder how much the author actually knew about online gaming; it's definitely lolworthy, though not to the point of pain.

Also, the F kind of n00b names his character after his race?? That's like naming your dog Dog. I guess it just goes to further illustrate how antisocial the protagonist was that she didn't figure out he was a poser.

Fun, and cute.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marnie hasn't been able to trust anyone since her mother's death. Her mother, Skye, kept the mystery of her early life utterly secret and no one knows anything about her life before she became a gospel singer / self-help guru. At least, no one will share Skye's secrets with Marnie.

Marnie is all alone at her elite, all-girl boarding school. Her only "friend" is the Elf, a fellow gamer who chalenges her in an online game. When Marnie is kidnapped, she knows that she must save herself because there's no one who will know--or care--that she is missing.

[MariAnn Field · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marnie is an anti-social girl who goes to a boarding school only at the request of her guardian. After losing her mother, Marnie has no interest in being a part of a group. She is content to stay home and spend all her time in the on-line gaming world. This all changes when she gets kidnapped.

This book was such a page turner. I wanted to know what was going to happen to Marnie throughout the story. I found that there was a good balance between Marnie's actual life experiences and her on-line gaming adventures. There were many plot twists that I didn't expect and that kept me on my toes.

[Kim Benouski · Rating 3 out of 5]

The idea of a computer game addict needing to use her skills in the real world is a cool one, and gamers may enjoy it. I sort of wish that Werlin had used a male protagonist as I have far more male students stuck in World of Warcraft and the like than female. I had bought a few of these for the classroom, but I had little luck getting the boys to pick it up, and most of my girls weren't interested.

[Kayla Campbell · Rating 2 out of 5]

In my opinion, this is Nancy Werlin's worse novel. It's really slow. The style in which Nancy used to portray Marnie came off as very juvenile, therefore making it hard for me to even finish the book. Marnie tends to talk to herself a lot as well as a "voice" in her head, yet her character isn't portrayed as someone who may be mentally unstable. The novel as a whole just didn't have much depth to it. I was disappointed.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Werlin does not disappoint - this time with a heroine, Marnie, who is the daughter of a dead pop star/pop writer. Marnie is careening down a path filled with anger and ticking people off right, left, and center, her only reprieve an online fantasy game. There is a kidnapping in the book but the real story is what's going on in Marnie's head and who her mother really was. As psychologically thrilling as The Killer's Cousin but perhaps more forgiving? You won't want to put it down.

[Ives]

Taking online video games to the next level, Marnie meets an Elf online and decides to give him her e-mail address to help her on her school work, due to the slacking that she's been doing. She gets too addicted, and eventually what happens? She gets knocked out and trapped in this house? Who's house? You'll have to see it to believe it.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't like the title, and something about the book just didn't scream out to me like the other Werlin noves. I do adore how you incorporated Frank and David from The Killer's Cousin. And instead of having a retarded person or a zoned out person like in the other novels, she has the INSANE teacher. Which makes us all vow, never to trust our teachers.

[T.M. Carper · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick, suspenseful read. Teenage Marnie is at boardschooling following the death of her mother. She's a loner more interesting in online gaming than reality. When her classmates go on break, she's stuck on campus studying with actual teachers -- until she's kidnapped.

Witty and fast-paced, it's hard to put down until the end.

[Cherylann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I adore Nancy Werlin's books. My students adore her books, and I know I already have some takers for this one. I liked the suspense in this book. However, I felt like the ending dragged out a bit. This is a hard book to talk about without giving away too much. However, I was disappointed with the length of the ending, but not disappointed enough to give it less than 4 stars!

[Noah Westfall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won't give away any of the mysteries that lie within the pages of this book, but I will tell you this: if you want to know how a person feels, when they are taken out of the norm, and placed in a new situation that is as frightening as it is terrible - you should definitely read this book! Also, if you like other books by this author, you should read this.

[Angies · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a good book and at parts a bit confusing but it all makes sense at the end. It also has quite a few cliffhangers. Which to me makes the book more interesting. The book did not end the way most people would predict it to. I would recommend this book to anyone that wants a good book. It kept me turning the pages.

[Amanda Werlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

The whole premise of it felt absurd to me, but it was a pretty good book. Although I didn't like how the love interest looked, that was a personal preference. The main character likes him just fine, and his personality is rather catching. The video game playing and email options were impressively adorable.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marnie is the daughter of a famous singer who was killed in a plane crash. Marnie then goes to a boarding school where she kidnapped. She is afraid that no one will notice that she is missing or think that she is just a runaway.