The Adoration of Jenna Fox

by Mary E. Pearson

book data

1,414 ratings, 3.91 average rating, 526 reviews (more data...)

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5		28%
4		41%
3		24%
2		4%
1		0%

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published

April 29th 2008 by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)

binding

Hardcover, 272 pages

literary awards

Golden Kite Honor Recipient 2009 Fiction

isbn

0805076689 (isbn13: 9780805076684)

description

In the not-too-distant future, when biotechnological advances have made synthetic bodies and brains possible but illegal, a seventeen-year-old girl, r...more

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04/17/08

Susan rated it:

bookshelves: cafe-book, cap-choices, ya-fiction

Read in May, 2008

recommended to Susan by: Martha

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Set in the not too distant future, this is a story that deals with medical ethics and how far is too far to preserve human life. Jenna Fox, 17, has just awoken from an 18 month long "coma" following a horrific accident. At first, she has no memory of who she is or what happened, but she remembers details bit by bit. She gets the sense that there is more to the story than her parents lead her to believe, especially regarding the secrecy of her accident and the self-imposed isolation ...more Set in the not too distant future, this is a story that deals with medical ethics and how far is too far to preserve human life. Jenna Fox, 17, has just awoken from an 18 month long "coma" following a horrific accident. At first, she has no memory of who she is or what happened, but she remembers details bit by bit. She gets the sense that there is more to the story than her parents lead her to believe, especially regarding the secrecy of her accident and the self-imposed isolation of the family. Throughout much of the book, the reader is not quite sure who to trust. Although science fiction, there is a minor romance side-plot between Jenna and Ethan, a boy from school with a shady past. The conflict grows as additional characters are introduced - Alyss who is a victim of the future's regulation of antibiotics (and she has lost limbs due to bacterial infections) and Dane, another shady character, whose complete story and true nature are unfortunately never cleared up. Also, Mr. Bender. the "neighbor" who years ago had a change of identity - his story remains a bit fuzzy throughout. "chapters" are very brief and interspersed with well done poems relaying Jenna's emotions.

*real spoiler* Overall an interesting read about the length a parent will go to to save a child, as well as what makes a person real and were does the soul go in such a situation. Jenna has an identity crisis - is she the real Jenna, while only 10% - if she is real then what happened to the original Jenna...and her soul. Jenna cannot age, does not eat, breathe, etc. She, essentially, is a medical creation with the memories of her former life uploaded into her...she has gone from the computer box storage (her "hell" for 18 months where they kept her "mind" moving) into a man-made Blue-gel storage. There is also the suspense of her illegal status and whether or not she will be found out, and if so, what will happen to her? She is torn between resentment of her new state and gratitude of life. Her potential adversary, Alyss, who opposes artificial life as unethical, eventually becomes her peer when her body is dying and her parents plead with Jenna's despite Alyss's dying wish to turn Jenna in. The afterward is 260 years later, and we know that Alyss and Jenna live together and that Jenna and Ethan spent 70 years together, many years after which Jenna has his child (presumably through surrogate or the like). Apparently in the future the laws and perceptions have changed, and then people like her are not illegal, however 10% is the minimum, and then they are designed to age and die out after a normal life expectancy, unlike Jenna and Alyss, who do not age and whom Jenna's father listed as a 2-200 year life expectancy...260 years later Jenna is still around and has plans to move back to cold Boston, where the climate is inhospitable to her type...because no parent should outlive the child. interesting book, lots of discussion points. However I think it is too complex for the average Cafe Book reader.(less)

Like this review? yes (9 people liked it)

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12/24/08

Shannon rated it:

bookshelves: 2009, sci-fi, speculative-fiction, ya

Read in February, 2009

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Jenna is the miracle child, her parents' angel, the perfect child who excels while inside she silently protests, only to show minor rebellions at sixteen. After a horrific accident and a year in a coma, Jenna wakes in an old house in another state, with no memory of herself or what happened. She recovers quickly, but wonders endlessly about who she is. There is only her mother and her grandmother, Lily, in the big old house that they moved to from Boston, and Lily doesn't seem to like her at all...more Jenna is the miracle child, her parents' angel, the perfect child who excels while inside she silently protests, only to show minor rebellions at sixteen. After a horrific accident and a year in a coma, Jenna wakes in an old house in another state, with no memory of herself or what happened. She recovers quickly, but wonders endlessly about who she is. There is only her mother and her grandmother, Lily, in the big old house that they moved to from Boston, and Lily doesn't seem to like her at all. She speaks of Jenna like she's another person, somewhere else.

As Jenna navigates her way through the act of living, watching old movies of Jenna growing up while snippets of memory slowly surface, her questions only grow. Why can't she walk properly, why don't her hands interlace? Why is the scar under her chin missing? Why is her mother so frightened, so controlling? Why must she hide from the world?

The truth is staggering and frightening: her entire body is synthetic, and only ten per cent of her brain is from the pre-accident Jenna. She a lab project of her father's, a billionaire doctor who invented Bio Gel, in which organs can be housed indefinitely if kept at the right temperature. Too cold and Jenna will expire. Kept at a moderate temperature, and she could live hundreds of years, never visibly ageing. The implications are profound. Is she the real Jenna? Is ten per cent enough? Was she ever enough for her parents? Is it even ethical for her to be alive? And what makes Jenna dangerous is the fact that she's illegal, and shouldn't even exist.

The book is set sometime in the not-too-distant future. There are several important issues raised by this book, ethical issues that are worth debating and have no conclusive answer. Questions such as: if you have the means to prolong someone's life, should you? Is it right to live beyond what nature decreed? Should people have access to medical technology that will keep them alive simply because the technology exists and you can afford it? And, what makes us human? How much is enough?

Told in Jenna's voice, it is very interesting to see the world through her eyes as she learns to decipher people's expressions, to think beyond her own needs, to realise what's missing as much as what's there - things that make us human, perhaps. In the era of cloning debates, The Adoration of Jenna Fox is highly pertinent. Aside from the issues it explores and the questions it raises, though, is the simple way it is written. The evolution of Jenna from non-entity to an individual, unique being is a joy to read. Pearson has managed admirably a very ambitious task, and quite subtly too. Even all the questions didn't annoy me, because they were necessary questions and necessary to understand Jenna.

It's also perfect that this book is written for Young Adults, because it's very much the age where we ponder our subjectivity, wonder why we were born inside this body, with this mind and all that comes with it, what makes us unique and so on. Not that we necessarily stop, but perhaps after a while we take it for granted.

It also explores the problematic issue of parental love, of pleasing loving parents at the expense of yourself, of striving to be perfect for them, and living simply because they couldn't let you go. The title of the book speaks to this. Granted, it's an extreme case, but it certainly pervades society no matter how it is expressed. Jenna's parents couldn't let her go, their miracle child, and they made her more perfect than she was before. She's a more acceptable height now that she's two inches shorter. Her scar has gone. Her skin is flawless. It speaks to the ethical issue of Designer Babies, embryos that can be made to grow into more athletic people, or smarter or more beautiful. I remember it was big in the news a few years ago, mostly in the US.

After a slow start (where it helped that I knew more than Jenna did, though it's not the best way to read this book I think), the story gets really interesting. Although you could say the author has an agenda, but like in McNaughton's The Secret Under My Skin, it is smoothly integrated into the story, it gives structure and meaning to the story, and it doesn't necessarily tell you what to think.

Which brings me to my main complaint: the ending. I thought that, after setting up such an explosive premise, the ending was abrupt and disappointing. Pearson could have done so much more with it, and the epilogue does lean towards an answer to the ethical questions mentioned above, without properly examining it. It also didn't really make sense, and contradicted itself in what it was saying and how. It's hard to explain without giving it away, but it was as if Jenna got to a point where not just her body but her mind stopped changing and developing. The epilogue was badly written, sudden, and spoiled all the lovely speculation up to that point by presenting an easy resolution. A shame, after such a promising book, to end it that way.(less)

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03/11/08

Molly rated it:

bookshelves: ya

Read in February, 2008

I kept hearing about this book (it was just optioned for a moveie, I believe?) and everyone said "the less you know about it coming to it, the better." So I won't say much here. Except that I'm seriously impressed at Mary Pearson's ability to go from writing a contemporary first novel like A ROOM ON LORELEI STREET to writing something so very different as this is.

Did I love reading it? No. Did I find it compelling? Yes. The most accurate reading experience I can compa...more

Like this review? yes (6 people liked it)

4 comments

10/02/08

your neighborhood librarian rated it:

bookshelves: young-adult

Read in July, 2008

Interesting. The adoration of Jenna Fox is many things. It is:

* a young adult speculative fiction novel for girls who don't like science fiction

# a coming-of-age novel for people who eschew the touchy-feely (me!)

# a medical thriller, fully as suspenseful as early Robin Cook

# a meditation on choices nearly as profound as Walden, which it frequently quotes

And I think it is, very subtly, a pro-life statement.

Now, I, l...more

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09/14/08

Trin rated it:

bookshelves: american-lit, sci-fi, ya

Teenage Jenna wakes up after an accident with no memory of who she is—though she knows all of Thoreau’s Walden by heart. As quickly becomes apparent, what’s going on is far more complex than a case of simple old amnesia! Jenna’s slow investigation into what really happened to her ensues.

I was disappointed by this. I said “slow investigation” above because I found the pacing almost glacial: the narrative slinks along, gradually uncovering twists that utterly failed to su...more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

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04/12/08

Jamie rated it:

bookshelves: 14-16, medical-mysteries

Read in April, 2008

For some reason, I think this would appeal to teens who've already graduated to Jodi Picoult. (It's actually better than her, honestly.) I love that Mary Pearson writes so bravely for the older teen audience and I feel her books would still interest teens who've moved on to the Oprah style adult books.

I think she also does the medical mystery as metaphor for "who am i" teen angst better than Being by Brooks, or House of the Scorpion, but not quite as good as Kazuo Ishiguro...more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

2 comments

08/04/08

Jennifer Wardrip rated it:

bookshelves: gold-star-award, trt-reviews

Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

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, an...more Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

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.

(less)

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07/22/08

Serena rated it:

Read in July, 2008

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***
...more 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, but I would love to hear your answers.(less)

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

2 comments

05/07/08

Navah rated it:

bookshelves: sciencefiction, teen

Read in May, 2008

Jenna was sixteen when she was in the accident that sent her into a coma. Now she is seventeen. She has just awoken from her coma. She is missing a year of her life, but more importantly, she is missing herself. She has no memories of herself, of life before the accident--of life at all. Her parents show her pictures, home videos, tell her stories, and slowly, Jenna begins to remember. But with her memories come the questions--what really happened after the accident? Why did her family le...more

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04/07/08

Clay rated it:

bookshelves: young-adult

Read in April, 2008

recommended to Clay by: Karin

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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03/31/08

Chelsea rated it:

bookshelves: 2008, advance, own, recced, scifi, youngadult

Read in April, 2008

recommended to Chelsea by: oopswrongcookie

I read a raving, glowing review of this book on Oops Wrong Cookie on Wednesday, and walked into the bookstore on Thursday to be greeted by Hillary, who said, "oh, this came in today, if you have any interest." I jumped and clapped my hands and did the whole dorky BOOK YAY dance, because that, my friends, is timing.

And that's way more interesting than anything I have to say about the book itself. Which isn't to say that the book was bad, just that it didn't work for me.
...more

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01/08/09

Amber rated it:

Read in January, 2009

I was hesitant to read this because I'm not into science fiction, but it was great. And, it wasn't overly science fictioney, is that a word you ask? It is now. Anyways, I was hooked from the beginning, but I held off finishing it because I had a 6 hour plane ride which sucked, but it made it more bearable for a couple hours anyways. I just loved Jenna and her honesty though, one of my favorite characters I've read in awhile.

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12/08/08

Walter rated it:

Read in February, 2008

recommends it for: lovers of science and science fiction

Utterly absorbing, dealing with ethics and science and faith and family. One of my favorite themes for teens is "Just because we can do something, should we?" And this book, though not as good as Peter Dickinson's EVA, definitely has teen appeal.

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04/07/08

Abby rated it:

bookshelves: dystopia, sf, teen

Read in June, 2008

recommended to Abby by: Jennifer

After months of hearing great things about this book from pretty much everyone in Fiction, my expectations were HIGH. And for the most part, strangely enough, they were met. Some parts were a little bit unbelievable (Jenna's family is all incognito but they don't change her name when they enroll her in a new school?) or somewhat annoying (the quasi-poems that start off each chapter I could have done without), but I was willing to overlook these details because I was totally engrossed in this boo...more

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01/11/09

Lisa rated it:

bookshelves: high-school, middle-school, science-fiction

Possible discussion questions: 1)Which Jenna do you think you would get along better with - the before Jenna or the after Jenna? Why? 2) Why did Jenna's grandmother baptize her at the end? (Answer: It means she thinks Jenna is human and has a soul, possibly a new soul.) 3) Was it right for Jenna to destroy the backups? 4) Was is right for Jenna's parents to make a new Jenna? 5) When did Jenna start to feel like she was a real person? (Answer: After her confrontation with Dane, the sociopath.) ...more

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08/10/08

Mikki Knudsen rated it:

bookshelves: bioethics, death, first-person, present-tense, science-fiction, ya

Read in August, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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06/05/08

E. M. rated it:

bookshelves: 2008-06, sci-fi, ya-childrens_lit

Read in June, 2008

This book is... ummm... thought provoking.

Jenna Fox was in a debilitating accident. The story follows her recovery, discovery, & independence. This story takes place in the foreseeable future where medicine has its miracles and pitfalls. Through Jenna you believe this could/will happen.

The language is written to mimic a thought process. The reader discovers things as the as the narrator does. Consequently my main complaint is that some things remain undiscovered;...more

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02/11/09

Brandi Rae rated it:

bookshelves: 2009, january, ritba-nominee, young-adult-fiction

Read in January, 2009

Jenna Fox knows that she was in a terrible accident, one that put her in a coma for weeks. When she awakens, she finds that her family has moved from Boston, to a remote area across the county in order to “facilitate her recovery.” Despite watching countless DVD recordings of her life, the people she calls mother and father feel like complete strangers.

However, while Jenna finds that she can’t remember anything about the accident, her childhood, even her family and friends; she i...more

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01/29/09

Kimberly rated it:

bookshelves: 2009, dystopias, fantasy-sf, young-adult

Read in January, 2009

*I just realized the goodreads blurb gives away a huge section of the plot. Lame! Don't read it before you read the book!*

I started reading this book this evening and did not stop until I had finished it about five minutes ago. I haven't done that with a book since Harry Potter 7 (and even with HP 7 I had to put it down to get some sleep, I had started reading it at midnight).

I've read a lot of futuristic/dystopian books and many of them seem predictable. Most of th...more *I just realized the goodreads blurb gives away a huge section of the plot. Lame! Don't read it before you read the book!*

I started reading this book this evening and did not stop until I had finished it about five minutes ago. I haven't done that with a book since Harry Potter 7 (and even with HP 7 I had to put it down to get some sleep, I had started reading it at midnight).

I've read a lot of futuristic/dystopian books and many of them seem predictable. Most of those types of books is buildup and the quality of the book as a whole really depends on the payoff at or near the end. If the payoff is bad, it makes the book bad. The payoff with this one was great. Some parts I could predict, but not all, and the parts I didn't see coming were not unrealistic in the context of the novel. It's a futuristic novel concerning very advanced medical science, so suspension of belief is required, but I've never had a problem with that. Jenna's interactions with those around her are authentic. While the issues that the author raises have been addressed in other books, she makes them seem fresh.

I LOVED the author's writing style. I thought Jenna's development in the context of what had been done to her as well as the context of her just "growing up" was masterfully done. When I started reading I was disappointed that it was yet ANOTHER present-tense novel, but it could not have been done any other way. The change in Jenna's voice is done so gradually, but if I were to compare the final pages to the first few pages, the difference is remarkable. If I gave any specifics I'd give away the plot, but it is really well done.

The plot was fast-paced, everything came together at the end, I liked Jenna, I sympathized with her family, I was intrigued by her friends, I understood her struggles, I was surprised more than once, the book made me think about the nature of humanity, and I closed it feeling exhilarated and reminded of why I love to read. Totally my kind of book.(less)

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12/30/08

Sara rated it:

bookshelves: 2008, sci-fi-fantasy, young-adult

Read in December, 2008

recommended to Sara by: Gwen

A strange book, and pretty similar to Robin Wasserman's Skinned, which I also read recently. In the future world Jenna Fox lives in, medical advances have made it possible to transfer brains from a damaged body into a new one, but people are restricted to a certain number of modifications and brain transplantation is pretty much illegal. Jenna's been in an accident and, now that she's out of a coma and recovering, her family has moved all the way across the country to California to help her ac...more

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"I still cry on waking. I'm not sure why. I feel nothing. Nothing I can name, anyway. It's like breathing - something that happens over which I have no control. (6)" More quotes...