Marbury Lens

High School Fiction

G/M Smith, Andrew. The Marbury Lens. Feiwel and Friends, 2010. 358p. 978-0-312-61342-6. $17.99.

Leaving a party alone and drunk, sixteen-year-old Jack is kidnapped by a seemingly trustworthy doctor offering a ride. He wakes up alone, tied up, wearing nothing but his boxer briefs. Jack barely manages to escape. He tells no one except his best friend, Connor of the traumatic event that happened to him. This is just the beginning point of where Jack’s life is turned upside down. Connor and Jack then travel to England for a summer trip. Someone claiming to know Jack approaches him, and the stranger leaves Jack a pair of purple glasses. The glasses allow Jack to see and travel to a world called Marbury. Marbury is a terrifying world torn apart by disease and war, where his best friend is his enemy and where two young boys are counting on Jack to survive. Jack cannot seem to stop visiting Marbury even though he can no longer remember what is happening in the present. Is Jack losing his grip on reality or does this desolate and horrific world actually exist? Smith’s novel is violent and dark and not for the faint of heart. While the story is compelling the ambiguous ending may leave some readers unsatisfied.
C. Campos, LAPL, Angeles Mesa