THE ADVENTURES OF MERCURY LANE

In his first novel for young people, Hayhurst (Netblue, 2003) debuts Jack “Mercury” Lane, a good kid whose struggles in the year after his father’s death culminate when he’s sucked into an internet wormhole and faces life-or-death struggles to get home.

Mercury Lane is easy to love. Not only was his pilot father killed in Iraq, but he has a disabled younger sister with whom he is quite close and a mother he clearly adores (even though he tries not to show it). His fall from “good boy” to struggling loner makes a lot of sense, following his father’s death as it does. He is so likable that even the implausible plotline is not too difficult to embrace, since it derives from Mercury’s interests and character. The novel is more-or-less Christian (more in some places and less in others), and that, too, makes sense in light of Mercury’s parents’ faith and his Catholic-school upbringing. Still, the novel can be difficult for the reader. Mercury’s voice is sometimes mature beyond his years, or even those of an older teenager looking back on his slightly younger self. Some plot twists are not only implausible but seem to appear out of nowhere, tied to earlier events by only the barest of threads. While readers familiar with the classics will realize the novel’s parallels to Dante’s famous journey, they may find themselves frustrated that it only follows that journey in some places and in others detours entirely. But in the end Mercury redeems these flaws. In his tale, readers will find a story about an engaging young man whose struggles with himself and external adversity lead him to a place of personal peace. How much more can a caring reader ask?

All heart, with the action and adventure that children crave.