I used to be someone.
Someone named Jenna Fox.
That's what they tell me. But I am more than a name. More than they tell me. More than the fact and statistics they fill me with. More than the video clips they make me watch.
More. But I'm not sure what.

I won The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson from Dewey, and I'm very glad I did. Thank you, Dewey, for sending this book to me!

In fact, I had been coveting this book for some time. The first thing I noticed was the beautiful book cover. What about the butterfly, I wondered, in abook that deals with a girl awakening froma coma? Of course, the butterfly has a meaning, but I'm not going to tell you what it is... too spoilery.

After a terrible car accident, Jenna Fox, a seventeen-year-old girl, awakens from a year-long coma to find out that she doesn't remeber anything of heself or her accident. Jenna doesn't recognize the world she lives in: a new house in a new state, with parents who seem to adore her but control her every movement. Slowly, Jenna starts to leanr things again, and discovers truths her parents want to keep hidden from her--truths that involve her own identity.

This is a science-fiction book set in a not-so-distant future.. I used to dislike science fiction, but after reading this book, I think I might give this genre another chance. Here is how Jenna describes her world in the first pages of the book:

The accident was over a year ago. I've been awake for two weeks. Over a year has vanished. I've gone from sixteen to seventeen. A second woman has been elected president. A twelfth planet has been named in the solar system. The last wild polar bear has died, Headline news that could not stir me. I slept through it all.

Besides Jenna's search for identity, the main theme is science and the bioethical oimplications of human manipulation of DNA. How far will you go to save someone you love? How far is it ethically acceptable to go, to save a human life? This book, most of all, raises a lot of questions.

Moreover, it is a beautifully written book, almost poetic in its word choice. As Jenna looks up new words in the dictionary to register their meaning, the reader is also drawn to analyze words more closely and to discover new meanings of these words. Through Jenna's eyes, we learn of a different world, one that could reasonably exist in a not-so-distant future, if scientifical developments go on at today's pace.

I adored (haha) this book so much. I think the main thing that made the whole story work was that it covered an extremely interesting topic and dealt with the difficult subject of mortality in a manner that didn't force an opinion and yet still kept the book intriguing and semi-light. When you write about a heavy subject, it has a tendency to bring the book down and sometimes that's a good thing, but in The Adoration of Jenna Fox, the story was written in such a way that it forced you to think and still kept the story moving. And it wasn't just the topic of the book that made it so good, it was also the whole style of it; writing and otherwise. I liked how there were little poems and dictionary excerpts dispersed throughout the book. It helped to keep everything interesting and fresh which is always good. The writing style of the book was perfect too. It was flowing, smooth, and fit the whole book perfectly. It's not often that you find a writing style that compliments and enhances a book rather than just tell the story. I also loved, loved, loved the cover. You're never going to see a book cover much more beautiful than this one. Don't you think? And that's really a huge factor in a book because that's the first thing you see. I think the whole "don't judge a book by its cover" thing is actually rather misguided because the cover is a big part of how people are going to perceive a book. If it has a cheesy or bad cover, that's what people are going to expect of the story and that's probably actually a good assumption because if the publishing people haven't spent a bunch of time on the visual aspect of the book, why would they pay attention to the writing? I'm rambling though. For me, the whole entire book was marvelous and couldn't be improved any more. It was addicting, interesting, valuable, and pretty much just fabulous. I'm sad that I waited this long to read it! I highly recommend that you go out and pick up a copy soon; I'm sure it'll be worth it.

Set circa 2020, Jenna Fox has woken up in a new home, a new life, and new thoughts. She is told that she has woken from a year long coma, surviving an accident that should have taken her life. She is shown videos of her life, her parents hoping that she will remember who she was. Slowly, piece by piece, she begins to understand who she was, and how drastically different she is now...after that fateful accident.

Though this books writing style is extremely intricate and interesting, I sometimes found the plot lagging and boring at points. However, the science is very interesting. Also, you see how Jenna changes and grows the way she interacts and the way the writing style changes.

A good, quick read. It makes you think a lot about humanity and about a future that isn't as far away as we might think.

What makes us human? How far would you go to save your child? What is ethically and morally right and wrong? These are heavy questions that the author will make the reader ponder long after the last page has been turned.

Jenna Fox has just woken up from over a year-long coma. She doesn't remember anything, but has fragments of memory that she is slowly trying to piece together. There are people there that say they are her parents, and another woman that is her grandmother. Left with the video disks of her life, she starts to watch and ponder "Who is Jenna Fox?"

There has been an accident, but no one will talk to her about the details. As she slowly heals, Jenna questions everything and starts to fill in gaps. After a little while of recovery, she pushes to go to school and begins to attend a local charter school. There she meets an odd assortment of classmates.

Alice has medical issues of her own, and starts to explain the federal ethics board to Jenna. Each person is allotted 100 lifetime points to be used for medical reasons. Alice has prosthetic limbs and explains that limb replacement is relatively low on the point scale. Other procedures would be worth much more. Dane is a neighbor but something seems off with him. When Jenna looks in his eyes, he seems empty. And then there is Ethan. He's hiding a dark secret of his own.

As Jenna discovers the world around her, the secrets and mysteries that are her life slowly start to be revealed. Remembering what Alice has explained about the lifetime points, Jenna comes to realize that there are even deeper secrets about her that she must uncover. Her parents have moved her from Boston to California. Is it to protect her from those that were involved with the accident? Or does it have more far-reaching medical and ethical implications?

Without wanting to give away the plot twists and hidden mysteries of the story, I will tell you that the issues Ms. Pearson raises will cause you to ponder how far science should be allowed to explore. As Jenna tries to discover, the reader will also be forced to wonder how much of us do we need to keep us truly human? Ms. Pearson makes the reader question if it's truly the flesh and blood that makes us human, or if there is something further inside that gives us our identity. Comparing the
lack of emotion that Dane has with Jenna's unwavering questioning of everything, it shows the reader that things are not always black and white. The majority of us live in the gray area that is between the two extremes.

Read THE ADORATION OF JENNA FOX to find out what it means to sacrifice everything for love and how to really be human.

Reviewed by: Jaglvr

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! It's one of the best books I've read in a long time!

To Adore: to worship or admire as divine or as a deity; to be very fond of

Mary E. Pearson's The Adoration of Jenna Fox begins with a teenager who wakes up from a coma to discover she has no memory of her life or her "accident." But the story is much more than Jenna's struggle to find her identity and reclaim her past. The novel examines how one person's struggle with identity can impact a family, friends, and even people s/he doesn't know.

***Spoiler Alert***

Jenna Fox is a teenager severely injured in an accident, and many medical professionals presumed she would die. However, through significant risk and determination, Jenna survives and awakens from a coma. She doesn't understand the world she awakens in; a new home in a new state and a place where her grandmother doesn't look at her in the same way. Jenna grows uneasy with the life she now leads, seeking greater freedom for herself. She makes friends again, returns to school, and learns the biggest secret of her life.

It is clear from the videos Jenna watches to regain her memories that her parents adored her, but they seem to have adored her to the point that she was perfection in their eyes, rather than their daughter--an imperfect teenager. She felt adored; she felt like she had to be perfect. I wondered if this is why the accident occurred--she wanted to break free from the perfect mold she had become. She feels guilt over her decision, and she even expresses her desire to break free before the accident. Jenna seems to ask the same question of herself; did the accident happen because her parents adored her too much and she merely wanted to be normal?

***End Spoiler Alert***

I will not go into the secret or any of the pertinent details leading up to the secret, but I will mention that I uncovered it long before it was revealed. However, I don't think that this detracts from the overall examination of human identity and acceptance within society for those things that are not easily understood or explained.

I read this book fervently over the last week. There are so many nuances in this society that Pearson created, and each of those nuances could be discussed numerous times over.

But the one question that sticks in my mind is how far would you go to save your child when all hope is lost? I know many parents would say they would do anything to save their child, but it makes me wonder whether those decisions are made for the right reasons or for selfish ones...at least partially.

I wonder if the parents in this book thought about how their decisions would impact Jenna and her life, or if they merely wanted to save their child because she was their only child and their miracle child. However, no parent wishes to die before their child, nor to witness the death of their child. The dichotomy of this point is likely to haunt me for some time. I don't have an answer to my own question.

THE ADORATION OF JENNA FOX
MARY E. PEARSON

Rating: 5 Enchantments

Seventeen-year-old Jenna Fox has just woken from a year-long coma without any recollection of who she is. Her parents let her watch videos of her life to help her remember.

Slowly, bits of her life come back to her. She feels different and strange in her new Southern Californian home. Also with each piece of memory, new questions arise. Questions no one will answer. Where are her friends? Why is she living far from her Boston home? And what happened that caused the accident that left her in a coma?

Her grandmother, Lily, avoids her. Her own parents treat her as if she's a child.

Who is Jenna Fox? Later, her discovery will bring up yet more questions. Ones that involve bio-medical ethics and humanity. How far can a parent go when faced with the possibility of losing a child? And when do scientific advances cross the line?

THE ADORATION OF JENNA FOX is a haunting tale that will leave the reader with many questions on the consequences of the actions that involve science. Engaging characters kept me glued to this chilling but fascinating look into a Twilight Zone world that might not be far from our own. I really enjoyed this story. Jenna's struggles and horror at finding out the truth will resonate with readers long after the last page.

A must read for those who wonder about the consequences of latest scientific technology from a human point of view. A discussion guide is available that lists where to find more information about bioethical issues raised in this tale.

Mary E. Pearson is the author of A ROOM OF LORELEI STREET, winner of the 2005 Golden Kite award. She's also written two other award winning YA books. She lives in Carlsbad, California with her husband and two dogs. Check out her website at www.marypearson.com Also check out www.WhoIsJennaFox.com for the teaser trailer.



Kim Rapier
Enchanting Reviews

How far would you go to save your child? Is there a limit as to how much science and medicine should intervene when it comes to saving lives? These are questions that are still spinning around in my head three days after I finished The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson.

Set in a dystopian future where there have been enormous medical advances, 17-year-old Jenna Fox wakes up from a coma after a horrific car accident. As her memory gradually returns, she can't help but think that something is not quite right. How is possible that she can remember events from her infancy? How can she quote Thoreau's Walden word for word? Why does her grandmother seem to hate her? And why is her mother so secretive?

As Jenna struggles to find her identity and fit in with her peers, she discovers the terrible truth about the accident and her recovery that leaves her and her entire family in danger.

Mary E. Pearson's powerful writing and unique plot kept me up reading until 3:00 in the morning because I simply had to know what would happen to Jenna.

However, despite the seriousness of the book, Mary E. Pearson never lets you forget that Jenna is a teenager and adds some lighthearted moments.

This is one of those books that I feel crosses over into the "adult" realm, and teenagers shouldn't be the only ones to read it. Every person (adult or teenager) who has questioned the role of science and the possibilities it can play in medicine should read this book.

How far would YOU go? How far should science go? As a mother myself, I think I know what MY answer would be.

Who is Jenna Fox? And why can't she remember her life? Where are her friends? Why can't she taste food?

The Adoration of Jenna Fox takes place in the future. A future that is striving to make advances in all areas of life, but those advances are regulated by an organization that intends to preserve life by their definition. It's also a future that is closer than we might think. You just have to read the newspapers, magazines or blogs.

Seventeen-year-old Jenna was injured in an accident and has been in a coma for a year. When she wakes, she doesn't remember her life, any of it. Her parents encourage her to watch the numerous home movies taken of her from the time she was a baby to just before her accident.

Slowly, memories return. But those memories include times she should not remember, such has her baptism as an infant. Jenna's mother lives with her and her grandmother in California and her father is living back east where he works. No one will give her a solid answer about why that is.

Jenna's mother is like a prison guard, never allowing her too much freedom-and her grandmother avoids her. She remembers her grandmother fondly but now she can't be bothered with her. There are whispers, arguments and disagreements between the adults and Jenna knows they are all about her. But why? The answers may not be what Jenna wants to hear.

Mary E. Pearson's The Adoration of Jenna Fox is a pageturner. It's fairly easy to figure out what happened, but that's only a portion of the book-and for me, it wasn't the most important part. The story is wonderfully eerie, the characters are fascinating and the ending is positively unexpected and very satisfying. It made me want more of Jenna Fox.

Armchair Interviews says: A fascinating book for Young Adult girls and boys and a lot of adults also.

"I hear Lily humming. My feet fumble like they have a will of their own, but I try to control them so she won't hear me. I lean close to the wall and peek into the kitchen. Her back is to me. She spends most of her time in the kitchen preparing elaborate dishes, She used to be chief of internal medicine at Boston University Hospital. Father was a resident under her. That is how he met Mother. Lily gave it up. I don't know why. Now her passion is gardening and cooking. It seems that everyone in this house is reinventing themselves and no one is who they once were.
"When she is not in the kitchen cooking, she is out in the greenhouse getting it in order. I can't eat her foods, and I wonder if that is part of the reason she doesn't like me. She clanks pots and then turns on the faucet. I make my move for the front door.
"The hinges on the heavy wooden door squeak when I exit, but she doesn't follow. The sound blends with the clanking pots and rushing water. I have been no farther than the front steps of the house, except for once when it was dark and Mother took me for a short walk to Lily's greenhouse. Mother told me from the start that I must stay close. She is afraid I will get lost.

"Lost adj. 1. No longer known. 2. Unable to find the way. 3. Ruined or destroyed.

"I'm afraid I already am."

From the very beginning of THE ADORATION OF JENNA FOX, the story of a girl who has arisen from some sort of comatose state after nearly a year and a half, we can tell that there is something seriously askew, some sort of intense mystery about Jenna Fox to puzzle out.

Are the physical challenges (such as it being necessary for Jenna to consume only tasteless "nutriments") an important clue?

"One day I couldn't walk. The next day I could. One day my right eyelid drooped. The next it didn't. One day my tongue lay like a lump of meat in my mouth, the next day it was articulating words that hadn't been spoken in over a year.
"On the fifth day, when I walked out onto the veranda without stumbling, Mother cried and said, 'It's a miracle. An absolute miracle.' "

Are the memory gaps an important clue?

Jenna recognizes from the beginning that her memory is not normal. She can remember details of the French Revolution but cannot remember if she has ever had a best friend. In fact, she does not even remember her parents or her grandmother Lily. She does not remember her former life across the country in Boston. She is frequently looking up seemingly everyday words she doesn't know the meaning of.

Are the historical facts an important clue?

In the year since the accident, while Jenna has slept dreamlessly through her sixteenth year, "A second woman has been elected president. A twelfth planet has been named in the solar system. The last wild polar bear has died. Headline news that couldn't stir me. I slept through it all." There is also the information about the nine-point quake and its aftermath -- apparently it took place before she was born -- that devastated southern California, where Jenna is now living, and led to unimaginable global consequences.

Are the neighbor and what he reveals important clues?

On the first morning that Mother is away, when Jenna sneaks past Lily and out the door, she encounters the next door neighbor.

" 'Lost?' he says.
"I look back at my house. I look at my hands. I turn them over and examine both sides. My name is Jenna Fox. 'No,' I answer. I step forward.
"He holds out his hand. 'I'm Clayton Bender. You the new neighbor?' He nods toward our house.
"New? What is new to him? Is a year new? 'I'm Jenna Fox. Yes, I live over there.' I reach my hand out to him and we shake.
" 'Your hands are like ice, young lady. You still acclimating?'
"I don't know what that means, but I nod and say yes. 'I saw you from my room. I saw you squatting. You're curious.'
"He laughs and says, 'You mean you're curious.'
" 'My grandmother thinks so.'
"He laughs again and shakes his head. I wonder if laughing is another curious thing about him."

Things get curiouser and curiouser, beginning with Clayton Bender's continuing on to mention his seeing Jenna's family moving in just "a couple of weeks ago," but then immediately drops the subject when Jenna hastily responds that they've been there a lot longer than that.

Who or what is Jenna Fox?

That adolescence is universally a time of reinvention and fear, of feeling lost and feeling alone makes THE ADORATION OF JENNA FOX an ultimate futuristic nightmare of a coming of age story.

" 'Pause," I blurt out. 'Back. Pause.' The disc player follows my commands. I look closer at the still picture. 'Zoom.' The thin red line becomes what I suspected. A scar.
"I walk to my bathroom mirror and tilt my face back. I run my fingertips up the length of my throat. I feel. I search.
"There is no scar.
"It's been seven years since that video was filmed. Do scars disappear in seven years?"

Jenna awakes from an eighteen-month comma unable to remember who she is or those who are the closest to her. All that she knows is that is told is that she was in an accident. When her memories do start to come back, they are only in bits and pieces but something isn't right. Jenna has memories of herself as an infant, and although she can't remember anything about herself, she knows an unprecedented amount about world history. It doesn't take Jenna long to figure out that a huge secret is being kept from her.

Here is an excerpt from the book. I don't usually go this, but this passage just really got me.

Pieces

Isn't that what all of life is anyway?
Shards. Bits. Moments
Am I less because I have fewer, or do the few I have mean more?
Am I just as fell as anyone else? Enough?
Pieces.
Allys saying "I like you."
Gabriel snorting out bread, freeing me to laugh.
And Ethan reminding me how much I do know.
Pieces
I hold them like thy are life itself.
They nearly are.

Such a short summary, I know, but I hate to give anything away! The entire time your reading from Jenna's perspective and you know that something isn't right. You know there is something that your missing! What really happened after the accident?

This novel is part mystery and part science fiction. The story is told beautifully and it fully captivated me. It unfolds slowly, but it is necessary to understand everything that Jenna is going through. I was also fascinated by the topic of medical ethics, how far should we let science go? Is this the kind of world we'll be living, in the not so distant future? If you haven't read this novel yet, I highly suggest that you do. I know that I will be looking forward to reading more from Pearson!

Holy wow, this was one killer read!

There isn't a whole lot I can say without spoiling the plot, so I'm just going to send you here to watch the book trailer: [...]

Creeped out yet? You should be. This book oozes that yummy something's-not-quite-right flavor of suspense. Don't let the futuristic sci-fi feeling steer you away. I don't like sci-fi either, but I'm downright crazy about Jenna Fox. THIS is the kind of story I was hoping for and didn't get in Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac -- loaded with questions about memory, identity, and...lots of other interesting stuff I can't tell you about yet. Just read it. If it doesn't wow you, then let's just say I'm glad I'm me and not you, ok?

ps: The cover? Perfect.

"The dictionary says my identity should be all about being separate or distinct, and yet it feel like it is so wrapped up in others."

Jenna was left comatose after a tragic accident. One year later, she awakens to a life she can't recall, a body she doesn't recognize, two parents and a grandmother doesn't really know, and a house she can't leave. Her parents want her to stay at home for a while in order to make full recovery and avoid a relapse. Their smiles are cautious, wary; her grandmother's smile is sad, almost bitter.

When Jenna watches old home movies, she can't help but think of herself as two people. (Since she narrates the story in first person, it's easy to follow this train of thought: there's "Jenna," dancing and smiling away on the recordings, and there's "I" or "me" watching them in the present day. Also, there are shaded pages, passages in which Jenna has mental confessions about the past, present, and future.) She knows she was a dancer, a daughter, a student, a friend, and that she was happy, but the most of this knowledge comes from outside sources rather than her own memories. She does not want to rely on what the videos show and what her family tells her - she wants to know herself, herself.

Bits and pieces of her past begin tug at the edges of her mind, but they are not always happy and rarely are they clear. If anything, these blurry scenes and feelings only make her more confused about what happened to her, with her, around her. With the help of others - some forthcoming and some reluctant - things begin to clear up. The edges of her mind are still jagged and raw. Tidbits scraping there only serve to open up old wounds and leave new scars.

Wanting to know who she was, why she is the way she is, and what happened the night of the accident, Jenna pushes her parents' buttons as well as her own physical and mental limits. Her arms, hands, legs and feet, which once were "perfect," don't look, feel, or move the way they used to, her physical changes being as obvious and frustrating to her as her mental blocks. Though she is at first scared and tentative, Jenna keeps trying to get to the bottom of things until she gets through to others and dares to walk on a new path.

"Are the details of our lives who we are, or is it owning those details that makes the difference?"

This book brings up many questions, not only physiological and psychological but also philosophical:

How much can you really trust your memories - and if you lose them, can you get them back? Can you get yourself back?

"Maybe that is all any life is composed of, trivia that eventually adds up to a person, and maybe I just don't have enough of it yet to be a whole one."

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson is a stunning, fascinating novel. This eye-opening story which openly explores the concept of identity will stay on your mind for a long, long time.