The Glass Box

Echoes of One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest reverberate through this cinematic tale from Straczynski (Together We Will Go), which transports readers to a near-future American dystopia. After second-generation activist Riley Diaz is picked up protesting a new law limiting public gatherings to 10 people, she’s transported to an “American Renewal Center,” a Department of Homeland Security–sponsored jail alternative in a converted wing of a psychiatric hospital, to be counseled out of her radicalism. From there, Straczynski hits the expected beats of psychological and pharmaceutical abuse and excruciating decisions about whom to trust; in these sections, the writing feels heavier on agenda than story. Fortunately, a subplot involving Riley’s secret friendship with a nonspeaking and sometimes violently dangerous patient, who finds comfort in hearing Riley’s sympathetic reading of Frankenstein and whose trust becomes critical to her survival, adds emotional realism and yields the least predictable pieces of the story. Though there are few surprises here, readers looking for an adrenaline-inducing resistance plot will find this worth their time. (Jan.)

Correction: An earlier version of this review mischaracterized a plot detail.