Wasteland
Grade 9 Up-Block once again tackles the theme of love and its many variations. This time, she zeroes in on the ultimate taboo: incestuous love. Though Marina and her brother, Lex, struggle against their powerful love and attendant sexual attraction, the force is too strong to be denied. Readers will fear for them as their situation slowly but inexorably propels them toward their ultimate union, and, by extension, to Lex's suicide. It is a double tragedy, because Marina later learns that her brother was adopted. While Block's prose is as poetic and lush as always, her narrative shifts may confuse less sophisticated readers. It's not immediately clear that the italicized portions are from Lex's journal, and chapters switch abruptly from Marina's voice to third person. Also, while parental flakes aren't unusual in Block's fiction, readers may have a difficult time buying into the mother's reason for not telling her children about the adoption. Still, Block might reach a larger audience with this book; it does not stray too far from her characteristic terrain, but is set in a more realistic neighborhood than her otherworldly Shangri-L.A.Catherine Ensley, Latah County Free Library District, Moscow, IDCopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.