Excellent, Creepy, but over the top?

One of the editors who turned down my book said that their publisher already has my type of writing covered with Andrew Smith. So naturally, I have been reading Andrew Smith. I take that editor's comment as a real compliment.

I found The Marbury Lens almost impossible to put down. I had to know what happened next to Jack, whether he'd put the glasses on again, whether things would work out with Nickie, whether Jack will stay friends with Conner, and so on. Additionally, the novel had a number of subplots that all came together at the end in quite a skilled way: Seth's story, Jack's kidnapping, Jack's relationship with Nickie, Jack's life in Marbury, Jack's trip to London, Jack's relationship with Henry. Furthermore, the writing itself was quite advanced. So many YA books are written in a rudimentary way as if the story is the only thing that matters, not the telling of it. Smith seems to have both of these components well under control.

So thank to the unnamed editor who compared me to him. That is quite an honor. I hope one day to write a book as marvelously complex as The Marbury Lens.

I have to admit, though, when Jack first went to Marbury, I was a bit put off by the massive graphics with severed limbs and heads all nailed to a wall, and massive black bugs chowing down on these and other remains. It was shocking. After I became accustomed to Smith's style, though, it wasn't upsetting to me at all. I watch all sorts of crime shows that contain dismembering and inhumane violence.

I read a review on line that questions the content of the book, and says perhaps a new YA category should be made for the new books like this that are intended for mature audiences. I don't disagree with that, but I think this book is the type of thing that teens are looking for. In the world we live today, violence has to be extreme to get the reader's attention. We've all been desensitized by the thousands of acts of violence we see on the news, in the paper, on cable, and more so on line and increasingly on "regular" TV.

I do have to admit that I was a bit disappointed in the end. There was no real answer about why Marbury exists to begin with or about whether Marbury is all in Jack's mind and he's still trapped with the doctor who kidnapped him. A more solid conclusion would have been more satisfying.