'Fourteen year old Marina does not speak, and has not done so for some time. As the story starts, we do not know the reasons why, or for how long. Only that on her release from hospital she was sent to Warrington Boarding School. Soon after term begins, her English teacher gives her class the task of keeping a journal. It is through Marina's entries in this journal, that we learn some of her history. During a fight between her parents, she was accidentally scarred by some acid thrown by her father but intended for her mother. It was this event that brought on her mutism and withdrawal into herself. Gradually, Marina starts to open up, both in her journal entries and in her interactions with others, slowly, slowly, slowly recovering from her traumas, and cultivating the beginnings of new friendships.' (Source: Bookshelf)