''P.S. Longer Letter Later'' is an epistolary novel written by

Paula Danziger Paula Danziger (August 18, 1944 – July 8, 2004) was an American children's author. She wrote more than 30 books, including her 1974 debut '' The Cat Ate My Gymsuit'', for children's and young adult audiences. At the time of her death, all her ...

and

Ann M. Martin Ann Matthews Martin (born August 12, 1955) is an American children's fiction writer, known best for ''The Baby-Sitters Club'' series. Early life Ann Matthews Martin grew up in Princeton, NJ. Her mother, Eden Martin, was a preschool teacher and h ...

in 1998. It is a

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

in letters and is written as a year-long correspondence between two twelve-year-old girls, Tara (styled Tara*Starr) and Elizabeth. The novel was followed by a sequel, ''

Snail Mail No More ''Snail Mail No More'' is a book published in 2000 by Paula Danziger and Ann M. Martin Ann Matthews Martin (born August 12, 1955) is an American children's fiction writer, known best for ''The Baby-Sitters Club'' series. Early life Ann Matthews ...

''. The novel was developed with Danziger writing as Tara and Martin as Elizabeth. The writing styles of the authors' individual works are reflected in the styles for Tara (whose voice resembles Danzinger's Amber Brown books) and Elizabeth (whose writing is similar to Baby-sitters Club 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.

Plot

Tara is outgoing and impulsive and likes to write, while Elizabeth is shy, quiet and prefers writing poetry and also has to deal with an

emotionally abusive Psychological abuse, often called emotional abuse, is a form of abuse characterized by a person subjecting or exposing another person to a behavior that may result in psychological trauma, including anxiety, chronic depression, or post-traumatic ...

father. Even so, they are best friends. When Tara moves to

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, the girls continue their friendship through letters back and forth to each other. They have to do this by writing, because Elizabeth's father does not like Tara, and Tara's parents think it is expensive to talk on the phone. The letters detail the changes in their lives – Tara must cope with moving, making new friends and dealing with her mother's pregnancy, while Elizabeth's family begins to fall apart. Tara makes another best friend in Ohio, whose name is Hannah. Tara calls her Pal Indrome because her name is the same spelled backwards as forwards. It becomes her new nickname and everyone calls her "Pal". Tara also gets a boyfriend, Alex, who kisses her. Elizabeth's father starts 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. Meanwhile Tara is making new friends, joining clubs and getting involved in school activities. When Elizabeth's family has to move to an apartment because of money problems, her dad decides to leave, and separates from her mother. It is through their alternating letters that readers learn how Tara and Elizabeth grow and change – and how they keep their

friendship Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. In some cultures, the concept o ...

strong, even if it is long-distance. This book shows how hard a friendship can be when a person can't see her friend, but suggests that for someone who truly cares about something and works hard for it, anything can happen.

Reviews

The ''

Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 ...

'' called it a "classic example of an

Odd Couple Odd Couple may refer to: Neil Simon play and its adaptations * ''The Odd Couple'' (play), a 1965 stage play by Neil Simon ** ''The Odd Couple'' (film), a 1968 film based on the play *** ''The Odd Couple'' (1970 TV series), a 1970–1975 televisi ...

collaboration", given the mismatch of the characters and their writing styles. ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' assessed it as "strikingly insightful". ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' included it in a shortlist of books recommended to help children cope with the uncertainty of moving house.Smooth Moves Allow Your Kids Their Anxiety About Moving To A New Home
''Boston Globe'', September 2, 2001

References

{{Ann M. Martin Epistolary novels 1998 American novels American children's novels Novels about friendship Novels set in Ohio Novels about moving Collaborative novels 1998 children's books