http://teensniper.tumblr.com/post/39884071727/150-books-in-2013-01 ( )

I'm not incredibly certain what I was expecting to get when I first picked up The Marbury Lens. There are certain expectations that come with YA fiction, yes, but after reading Barry Lyga's Boy Toy I think that most of those were shattered for me. Still. The Marbury Lens took my expectations of YA literature and broke them further, and still further, and quite possibly traumatized me in the process.

A good book makes a lasting impression. I'm not entirely certain that I will ever fully escape The Marbury Lens.

To say that the book is sci-fi, horror, psychological thriller, or any of those sort of genres is doing a disservice to the book. To say that the book is traumatizing or revolutionary or any such thing is doing a disservice to the book. In recommending it to a friend I compared it to Shutter Island and House of Leaves in terms of what reading it is like.. but those, too, are doing a disservice to the book.

The Marbury Lens takes reality and fractures it, and then fractures it still further. It's like a bug rattling around in your skull, digging deeper and deeper until the thoughts somewhat consume you. It makes you wonder, question, and then flips everything right back on its head. The book has a strange ethereal quality to it. it's something that I found I had to put down time and again just to take another look around, take a deep breath, and calm down. The book isn't horrifying in a jump-out-of-your-seat way, it's disquieting in a whole different, and much deeper, manner.

Lovecraft turned horror into a cosmic experience of maddening grandeur; I feel The Marbury Lens is equally revolutionary in what it has done to the genre.

Read it. Learn. ( )

Let's just start this review off with: wow. I've always been interested in fantasies that dabble in the idea that, "Hey, this might not be as real as we think it is." Part fantasy, part psychological thriller, Andrew Smith takes the reader through three stories: the story of Jack, the story of Seth, and the story of Marbury. Because of this, sometimes it feels like the pace is lacking. Just as it picks up in one storyline, we move to another and we lose most of the dramatic tension. I didn't mind this while reading and it was only about 3/4 of the way through the book that I was beginning to grow a little frustrated. I wanted to shake Jack and tell him to get over his moping and get back to Marbury, but that is probably just my interpretation.

Smith's characters have a quiet way of coming alive. I think the greatest thing about this book is the relationship between Jack and Conner, and to a lesser degree, Jack and Ben and Griffin. Even though Jack is a cynical character, he gains a lot of sympathy through his relationship with Conner. Their contrasting personalities really complement each other, and my favorite parts of the book were when they were interacting in some way.

Smith's writing style is blunt, to say the least. If you're a big fan of description and flowery writing, this may not be your cup of tea. Though since Jack appears to be more of an unobservant character, this is possibly a reflection of how he views the world. The repetition of phrases that Jack uses doesn't become stale, but in fact really shows how Jack copes with all the things that are happening to him. You'd think after four hundred pages of "Freddie Horvath did something to my brain and I need to get help" it would be obnoxious, but somehow he managed to make it tolerable.

I think the only thing I had a huge problem with was his resolution. I promise I will be as spoiler-free as possible while I'm talking about this. Seth's story came to a close that I really enjoyed. The Marbury storyline did come to a close, but not in a way that really felt finished to me. And Jack's storyline was completely unfinished. Throughout most of the book, he struggled with the differences between Marbury and the real world and the fact that he really couldn't have both. Despite this, at the end of the story he doesn't seem to have any answers. It felt like his story could have gone on forever as it was, with his struggling, going back and forth and getting sicker and sicker, alienating more and more people in the process. I felt like, since his entire story was chaotic, he needed a more definitive end to put things back into balance.

Regardless, the Marbury Lens was a fascinating read, and I recommend it to anyone who has a bit of a tougher stomach. It's definitely a "boy book" so if there are any guy readers who have a hard time with YA, introduce them to Jack's world of chaos and mystic. They won't be disappointed.

Overall: 4/5 stars. ( )

Narrated by Mark Boyett. Absolutely creepy and absorbing, a psychological horror story. Boyett lures us into Jack's torment and holds us there, wanting to see what happens next. There are many shudder-worthy moments, and at book's end you will want to scream "No-o-o-o!" Lib notes: Profanity, sex scenes, beer drinking, attempted sexual assault. ( )

I wanted to like this book, but I didn't. I gave the book three stars because I thought it was well written, but overall I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. The very beginning of the book when Jack is abducted is sick, yet riveting. There are parts I thoroughly enjoy (like the backstory of Seth) and other parts I didn't like (like most of the scenes in Marbury), but I especially disliked how the author chose to end the book. Without spoiling the book, I guess I can say that the author tried to hard to write a unique and thought-provoking book that just went in to many different directions, ultimatly leaving the reader unsatisfied. ( )