When you were a baby I sat very still to hold you. I could see the veins through your skin like a map to inside you. I stopped breathing so you wouldn't...You were just a boy on a bed in a room, like a kaleidoscope is a tube full of bits of broken glass. But the way I saw you was pieces refracting the light, shifting into an infinite universe of flowers and rainbows and insects and planets, magical dividing cells, pictures no one else knew . . . .Your whole life you can be told something is wrong and so you believe it.

This story of incest takes readers outside of their comfort zone and introduces them to a world of taboo. Marina feels something for her brother Lex that she can't explain. When Lex and Marina take it too far one night, Lex ends up commiting suicide. Marina is left alone to cope with the guilt and the grief from Lex's death. Marina turns to West, a former friend of Lex's for support. West falls in love with Marina, but knows deep down about Marina's feelings for Lex.

The surprising, dramatic ending makes the story worth the read. If you're ready to find out about the ending, click here.

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The Note I Found
You, I'm sorry.
I want you to know what happened.
Now maybe you can have some kind of life.
I tried being with Michelle Rogers but I couldn't. Maybe someday you and Michelle will be friends again. I know she never would have hurt you if she knew. It was my fault. If you ever talk to her again please tell her I said I was sorry. But mostly I am apologizing to you. I had to find a way to sever myself from you and I didn't know how to do it.
I slept with this one other girl for the same reason. It dind't do what it was supposed to do. She seemed to know what was going on with us although I never told her. She said pain can give you sight or it can make you blind.
The reason I am telling you about these things, is so you won't hold on to an unreal memory of me. I want you to be free.
The main thing, You, is that I'm sorry.
Lex

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WHO IS MARINA?

MARINA is one of the main characters. At the beginning of the novel, narration is split between Lex and Marina, but after Lex's suicide, Marina is the main narrator of the story. Her heartfelt, meaningful portions of the story are gutwrenching and sad.

WHO IS LEX?

LEX is the other main character in Wasteland. He provides a more insightful, less emotional side of the story when he narrates. The love for his sister is shown, but you are also able to see that he thinks more rationally about the situation than Marina does. Lex tries to be with other girls to take his mind off of Marina.

WHAT IS THE SURPRISE ENDING?

Please...proceed reading this with caution because if you haven't read the book, it will pretty much be ruined after reading this. And we don't want that.

At the end of the book, Marina's mom informs her that Lex was actually...adopted! Lex was not Marina's "real" brother. Although they were still raised together, there was no blood relation between them. What a bummer that they find out after Lex commits suicide.

Excerpts taken from Wasteland by Francesca Lia Block. © Joanna Cotler Books.
This page created by Erica Strauss. December 19, 2004.