Themes

The Importance of Friendship- Friendship is an important part of life and helps you to deal with difficult situations you may face.

* When Mandy is struggling with problems at home with her violent brother, Steve, she turns to Tracey and decides to open up about her fear of her brother. "See, Trace, the trouble is, I'm scared of Steve. Scared of my own brother - it's not meant to be like that is it?" It's important not to keep things like this bottled up and to know that you have a friend to talk to when things get difficult.

* We find out that Tracey is in Garrett, a youth prison, and deals with a fair few heavy situations while in Garrett. It's not the kind of place where you can have a heart-to-heart session, so writing to Mandy helps Tracey to vent her frustrations. Tracey knows that she can turn to Mandy as she knows that Mandy will listen to her. But when Mandy stops writing, Tracey realises how much she needed that friendship with Mandy. "The hardest thing is not knowing. And being in here, I'm totally cut off. There's no way I can find out if you're OK. That's what's driving me crazy."




Loneliness- To feel or be alone with no one to talk to.

* Mandy feels alone in her war against Steve. She feels as if she has no one to talk to about it. Her parents avoid the subject and her older sister is never around. "And when I've tried to talk to my parents they brush it off."

* When Mandy stops writing to Tracey, the latter feels alone as she has lost a very close friend (or the closest thing she had to a friend) and her connection to the outside world. "Please God, if you're there, let there be a letter tomorrow. And if there is , I'll be the best damn girl guide in this whole dump. Please write, Manna."