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28 June 2011

Book Review: The Marbury Lens by Andrew Smith

The Marbury Lens
The Marbury Lens by
Andrew Smith
Publisher: Feiwel&Friends
Pages: 368,Hardback
Young Adult
Date Published:
November 9th 2010
Source: Library
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Sixteen-year-old Jack gets drunk and is in the wrong place at the wrong time. He is kidnapped. He escapes, narrowly. The only person he tells is his best friend, Conner. When they arrive in London as planned for summer break, a stranger hands Jack a pair of glasses. Through the lenses, he sees another world called Marbury.
There is war in Marbury. It is a desolate and murderous place where Jack is responsible for the survival of two younger boys. Conner is there, too. But he’s trying to kill them.
Meanwhile, Jack is falling in love with an English girl, and afraid he’s losing his mind.
Conner tells Jack it’s going to be okay.
But, it’s not.
Andrew Smith has written his most beautiful and personal novel yet, as he explores the nightmarish outer limits of what trauma can do to our bodies and our minds.
REVIEW:
     I started reading Marbury Lens because I have read numerous reviews that mentioned the darkness and the profanity of it. The reviews were right the language was strong and the content was dark but I loved every minute of it. I would read it over and over again if I could. Andrew Smith did an excellent job writing it. First I'm going to tell you about the characters.
     The main character Jack by far might be my favorite protagonist in any book I have read. Jack is far from perfect which makes his life much closer to real life than I have seen before.  This is one reason I liked the character of Jack so much because it was easier to relate to. So after being kidnapped at a party and almost being raped by a doctor Jack is never the same. He starts hearing things and it only gets worse when he gets a weird pair of glasses from a man at a bar. These glasses take him to an alternate world filled with war. Sounds awesome right. Jack must go between these two worlds living in them while also figuring out what he did in one world while he was away in the other. Along the way Jack faces many difficulties with living this double life which includes best friend drama and a first girlfriend.
     Andrew Smith's writing is excellent. He gives Jack a great, strong male voice and has a distinct difference than the voice of his best friend's. Andrew Smith described the world of Marbury with excellent details. I could actually see the things described in Marbury from the desolate Earth to the terrible creatures. Although some of the language is strong including what might have been about 40 F-bombs it did not subtract from the actual story.
     In all Marbury Lens would be on my Top Ten List of Books Read in 2011. It contained both action, gut-wrenching horror, and romance. I loved every single minute of the book. If you are looking for a unique read with a male protagonist I would definitely recommend this to you. Months after you finish this you will think about it everyday.

Purchase on Amazon: The Marbury Lens

1 comment:

  1. Wait, just 40 f-bombs? Haha.

    I really enjoyed this one as well. I'm pretty sure it took me over a month to get over this book. It was just such a crazy and epic ride!

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