The Adoration of Jenna Fox (Jenna Fox Chronicles #1)

Reader reviewed by Julie M. Prince

Getting to know characters in a book is always exciting. The funny, the smart, the sarcastic, the stubbornall those qualities we recognize from life, except magnified and without boundaries. Getting to know Jenna Fox was more intoxicating for me than exciting. I was drunk on her words and actions. She was&unusualdifferent in a way that was hard to put my finger on.

The unfolding of Jennas story is stunted at first, intentionally so. The author takes readers through the journey of a teenage girl who has recently awoken from a lengthy coma after a severe accident. As Jenna grasps at snippets of memory of her life, and as she regains words lost to her, Jenna notices that shes not the same person she was before the accident. As in, shes missing parts of herself that definitely should be in place and shes gained things that shouldnt belong.

The mystery surrounding Jenna Fox isnt too difficult for the astute reader to figure out, although the details are amazing and fascinating. But the journey of this character isnt in the events of her lifeor lives. The journey and the heart of the story is in the discovery of Jenna Fox by Jenna Fox.

Mary E. Pearson uses wordsevery wordfor impact and punch. Short, one-word sentences are prevalent and well-placed. Dark, poetic chapter headings lend to the emotional journey of the protagonist. The themes of life and love play throughout the book, and theyre turned over for examination from every angle. What is true life? What is true love? Can both be pushed too far?

Off to turn another page&.

Although The Adoration of Jenna Fox is technically a dystopia, its main focus is more on Jenna's personal struggle with identity than on the society's problems. The futuristic society presented is a terrifyingly realistic one where medical advances have made terrible and amazing things possible. It questions what medicine may be able to do and how much we should do.

The plot advances in longer chapters of dialogue and paragraphs of description. These chapters are enjoyable and capture the reader's attention, despite Jenna's somewhat distant narration. The short chapters, generally of less than a page in duration, interspersed with the other, struck me as largely (ironic) pretentious, overdramatic and unnecessary. While the story overall does a good job of bringing ethical questions to the fore and making the reader think, these chapters hit the reader over the head with the issues. Pearson should have more faith in the reader's ability to figure some of the issues and questions out themselves.

Despite this weakness, I really did enjoy reading the book. It is quite short and likely exciting enough to hold the attention of reluctant readers. Dystopia readers will want to check this out, as will folks with an interest in ethical questions.

Reader reviewed by Sara G

This book comes out in April, but I got an ARC. It came in the mail and the next day when I went to find it to read and review it, I found it missing. Turns out, my sister had found it and started reading it because it sounded so good. She finished right away (and she isn't even really a big reader) and then I started it. I couldn't put it down! It is about a girl named Jenna who wakes up from a year long coma and cannot remember anything about herself or her past. As she starts to remember things though, she ends up with more and more questions about what happened before the crash.. and more importantly, after.

Reader reviewed by jocelyn

Id previously enjoyed Mary Pearsons Scribbler of Dreams, but it didnt totally blow me away or anything. THE ADORATION OF JENNA FOX, however, did totally blow me away. It was also so amazing that I blew off reading for English, stressing me out now, but it was entirely worth it. This is an amazingly powerful, thought-provoking, just brilliant novel.

Jenna Fox has been told that she has had an accident and was in a coma for a year. Now, shes awake, but she doesnt remember her old life at all. In fact, she had to re-learn a lot; she had to learn to smile, to walk. Shes seen home videos of her life, but shes not even around anything to trigger it. She doesnt have any of her old belongings. Her family moved from Boston to California, and she is not in contact with anyone except her parents and grandmother.

There are some holes in the story shes been told, and Jenna really starts to wonder. Not just about her life before the accident, but about the accident and what happened after. Nothing is really as it seems, but I cant give too much away. Just, trust me, this is an unbelievably fantastic book.

The writing is so captivating, lyrical prose, telling the story in just the perfect way, capturing it all, capturing the characters perfectly. The story itself unfolds slowly, full of suspense, the questions about Jenna and her life before and her life now, and the time in between the two. Mary Pearson captures humanity and human emotions so marvelously.

Aside from the beauty of how the story is told, there is the story itself. Its so very thought-provoking, raising questions about humanity, identity, and ethics. It takes place in a not-too-distant future; its certainly recognizable and familiar to us, but there have been some advances in technology and some other things that let us know its certainly the future. Its probably a within-my-lifetime future, though, and a very possible one.

At the end of this book, I cried. Not because its one of those awful depressing stories that ends with someone killing their dog and best friend and then dying in a war or something, but because there are so many emotions captured in this story, because its so terribly sad but also hopeful, for so many reasons. Its so powerful that I cant possibly capture it in this review but, trust me, read this book. I adored this novel, and I know that you will, too! It comes out in April. Pre-order your copy now! Ill also definitely be reading more of this incredibly brilliant authors backlist.

Reposted from http://teenbookreview.wordpress.com

Reader reviewed by EmilyRuth

Who is Jenna Fox?

It's the question Jenna asks herself every day, since waking from the coma. She doesn't remember anything about her life before the accident, but she sure isn't the same perfect Jenna on the home videos. As the memories slowly come back, more is revealed about who she is. But Jenna isn't sure she can stand living how she is--what she is. 

I loved The Adoration of Jenna Fox. Absolutely adored it. Everyone that has read it has put up a good review, but I didn't expect it to be thisgood. Jenna's story is unique. While the prose doesn't have the flair of Beth Kephart or Alison Croggon's writing, it still capture's Jenna's spirit and delivers effective and moving dialogue. 

The main thing that hooked me was how real it all seemed. Like it could happen in real life. Like there could be a Jenna. And I guess there are, maybe not exactly like her, but many have woken up from coma's without recollection of anything. Pearson lets readers look at what that might feel like, and she does it excellently.

Reprinted from My Blog: http://ayecaptain.blogspot.com

Reader reviewed by Natalie

Jenna fox is a girl who survived a brutal acident.Doctors don't know why and neither does Jenna.The doctors say she should of died and Jenna knows it too.Trying to find out who the real Jenna fox is. With the help of her new friends and the people who love her Jenna Fox is about to fid out who she is and who she wants to be.
 The adoration of Jenna Fox was one of the best books i'ev ever read i would recomend this to anbody. this book has romance,sci fi,and finding ones true self.

Reader reviewed by Amanda D

I really don't enjoy reading at all, but I LOVED this book. I finished it in a few hours, only stopping to use the restroom. This story starts off with Jenna waking up from a year-long coma caused by an accident. You get to go on a journey with Jenna as she discovers her past, present, and more importantly, her future. She learns that she can't take back what's already happened and that she can only compromise with her situation. And if you think waking up from a coma and learning about a year that has passed you by, then read The Adoration of Jenna Fox and find out the biggest shock of all that kept Jenna alive through her traumatic experience.

Reader reviewed by Amy Ward

Terrifying yet intriguing.  Those are my first thoughts after reading The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson.  The basic premise:  Jenna Fox, age 17, wakes up after being in a coma for one year.  She has to relearn everything, walking, talking, thinking, etc.  But something is off.  What secret are her parents hiding from her? 

And that secret is HUGE!  As I read, I got glimpses of the truth.  And that's how the book reads, teasing and tormenting each moment.  I felt Jenna's pain, confusion, and finally horror as she realized what happened to her.  Pearson is an excellent storyteller, revealing all things in her own time.  I know this review is secretive but I don't want to give too much away!  It's better going into it not knowing much!  It makes the reveal that much more exciting and revolting!  Definitely pick up this book and read it! 

Reader reviewed by mearley

Set in a not too distant future, The Adoration of Jenna Fox examines issues of medical ethics, identity, family dynamics, and the existence of a soul. Jenna Fox is severely injured in a car accident. It looks as if she will not survive until her father, founder of Fox BioSystems, illegally downloads her mind into a computer and reconstructs her body with BioGel and other artificial materials. Jenna awakes from her "coma" in an apparent state of amnesia.

The brilliance of this book is how the reader gradually realizes what happened to Jenna, just as Jenna is figuring it out for herself. As the pieces fall into place, the shocking picture becomes clear, and we agonize with Jenna and her family as they need to make crucial decisions.

For such a deep book, this was surprisingly quick read. The future created by Mary E. Pearson is frighteningly believable. This book makes readers think without telling them what to think.

Thanks to yabookscentral.com for the book. I was not disappointed!

Reprinted here with author's permission.

Reader reviewed by stephanie

Okay, when I first read about this book, I was like, ok, this sounds interesting, I'll go get it. At first I thought that Jenna-after-the-accident wasn't really Jenna but someone else. That her "parents" replaced her with someone else so they could keep their beloved and perfect Jenna. In a way, that was true. They did replace her with something. Something that was only 10% human. When Jenna first woke up from the coma, that lasted over a year, she couldn't remember anything. As time passed, she realized what happened and she started to recall things that normal humans wouldn't recall. Specific things that had happened when she was only a baby. Things that surprised her parents, her grandmother, and most of all, herself. She didn't know why she was supposed to be alive. The accident that happened was supposed to kill her along with her two best friends. So how did she live? Why is her family keeping her a secret? What exactly happened to her two best friends? What exactly happened to her and what did her parents give to have her back? The book is written beautifully and I highly recommend this book to those who liked Double Helix by Nancy Werlin.