PASSENGER by Andrew Smith

Jack, Connor, Griffin, and Ben break the Marbury lens, catapulting each of them into various versions of Marbury with various levels of chaos. The only problem? They can’t get out. Not only that, but Jack didn’t “mind the gap” and he’s somehow changed the course of their futures. Now, the boys have to find each other to figure out a way home, and to correct their tampering of the gap, before the hunters find them.

Smith recreates the high intensity, action-packed world of Marbury, but instead of giving the reader glimpses, he allows us to visit it for 400+ pages. PASSENGER fills in all of the gaps left from THE MARBURY LENS. As a result, readers really need to read book one before diving onto book two; otherwise, they will be lost. As a result, THE MARBURY LENS is more of an appetizer to prepare the reader for his journey into Marbury while PASSENGER is the main course. (In fact, I felt as though I was the passenger on Jack’s journey to make it home.)

This novel is so well written that the reader finds himself emotionally invested in the lives of the main characters. Through each suspenseful and thrilling scene, the reader tenses to find out if all of the boys will make it home. Unfortunately, among all of this greatness, I do have one pet peeve to express; then I’ll go back to how amazing it is.

I get very frustrated when novels incorporate romantic elements when they don’t need them. For instance, THE MARBURY LENS (Book 1) needed Nickie to move the plot along, so having that storyline made sense; however, the focus of PASSENGER had shifted so that Nickie wasn’t needed in PASSENGER (book 2). As a result, when she was referenced, it broke up the intensity and flow of the plot to the point that I was literally yelling at the book, “Oh, come on! Forget her. I want more hunters, harvesters, and worms!”

**SPOILER: DO NOT READ**

Having expressed my views of unnecessary romantic elements within strong plotlines, I can’t say that I didn’t see the love interest between Connor and Jack happening. In fact, it was alluded to so heavily throughout both books that I wondered if their friendship ran much deeper than “bromance.” However, I feel as though it was still unnecessary. For me, the focus of the novel was the survival of four boys in a savage world where they didn’t belong. They showed undying commitment, sacrifice, and bravery to make sure everyone made it out okay. For me, the book should have ended once all of the boys made it home because that was the focus of the book. When the romance between Jack and Connor took place, the entire focus of the novel shifted and it detracted from the focus of the main point. Some may argue that the author needed to include this information to tie up loose ends, but, “Hello?!” The entire novel is full of loose ends. There are still questions that I have that will probably never be answered.

**SPOILER COMPLETE: PLEASE RESUME READING*****

I loved the action and intensity of THE MARBURY LENS and PASSENGER.  I devoured these books, and I’m not a sci-fi fan. I fell in love with these books. I fell in love with the characters. I didn’t want the books to end. In fact, Mr. Smith, will you PLEASE write a third? I would like to have it from Henry Hewitt’s perspective.

Concerns: From an educator’s perspective, these books contain a lot of language, violence, and sexual references. As a result, be aware of these issues and possible concerns that parents may have, but don’t withhold them from your libraries. Some students will be mature enough to handle the content, and some may not. Basically, you need to read the novels yourself to decide how you will incorporate them into your classroom. 

ARC courtesy of ALA 2012

Publication Date: October 2012

The Marbury Lens by Andrew Smith

I have no idea how to summarize this novel, so I’m not even going to try. All I can say is that it’s kind of like Hannibal Lecter meets Vanilla Sky (2001). Andrew Smith described it to me as “acid on an acid trip.” I believe both references are adequate.

The Marbury Lens (2010) is one messed up, morbidly fascinating ride. Just like Jack was addicted to the glasses and his time in Marbury, I was addicted to this book and the interplay between both worlds. Smith’s unique twist on how people deal with trauma makes me wonder if we all have personal concepts of “reality” that are only known to us. For instance, there were several times that I wondered if Marbury was actually all in Jack’s head even though others could supposedly see it, too. Of course, Jack is an unreliable narrator, so I’m still not sure.

Although this was an intense read that I could not put down (I actually got irritated when people bothered me), this may not be for everyone. For instance, there is a significant amount of language, sexual acts, and violence throughout the entire novel. As a result, I would suggest this novel be reserved for mature readers who can place those elements in context. 

Double Helix by Nancy Werlin

Eli Samuels lives each day on autopilot. His life hasn’t been the  same since Huntington’s disease claimed his mother, and his father’s denial  wears their already strained relationship paper-thin. The only person who offers  him comfort is his girlfriend, but even she’s asking too many questions about  things that Eli would rather keep to himself. 

Part of being on autopilot is making no plans for the future,  which is fine with Eli because his future is too bleak anyway. Instead of  getting ready for college like the rest of his classmates, Eli seeks employment  with Dr. Quincy Wyatt, a world-famous molecular biologist, who used to be  friends with his mother. The first warning sign for Eli should have been Dr.  Wyatt’s immediate job offer to a high school student with no training. The   second warning sign should have been the unusual interest that Dr. Wyatt had in   playing God.

 For readers who are science-lovers, this will be a fun read  because it goes into bio-ethics, cloning, and many other DNA hot topics. For  people who want a quick-moving plot that is full of suspense, this will not be a  fun read. The plot takes too long to build the background information for the  mystery, and once it does, it uses the same cliffhanger of “How does he know my  mom?”for 200 pages, which gets old very quickly. Also, when the author finally  gets to the climax, she abruptly ends the story; it was  almost like the author got tired of writing in the middle of the climax and  threw in an epilogue. Such a poor ending made me feel cheated and like I  wasted my time investing in this book. 

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

Jenna Fox knows that something isn't right, but she just can't put her finger on it. The reason? Because she's lost her memory. But she notices that her family lives in secrecy, and the grandmother who once loved her, treats her with open hostility. When she starts asking questions that never get answered and realizes that she's a prisoner in her own home, she decides it's time to take matters into her own hands. What happened that night of the accident? Why can't she remember anything? And, why won't anyone tell her? What she discovers, however, is that, maybe, it was better if she left well-enough alone. 

This would be a great novel to teach in conjunction with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. It approaches the science versus nature debate from the perspective of the "monster," also known as Jenna Fox. When does science go too far? When should we let people die? When should the government step in? And, when do people stop being human?