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

by Mary E Pearson

In the not-too-distant future, when biotechnological advances have made synthetic bodies and brains possible but illegal, a seventeen-year-old girl, recovering from a serious accident and suffering from memory lapses, learns a startling secret about her existence.

• ISBN10: 0805076689
• ISBN13: 9780805076684
• Publish Date: 29 April 2008
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Henry Holt & Company
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 272
• Language: English

Reviews

[clementine]

I only finished this book yesterday, but already I'm feeling that it's forgettable. Maybe I've just read things too similar to it before. I think that's part of it, but most of it is that I felt like this could have gone in a much creepier and more intense direction. I have read so much frickin' dystopian, and quite a few thrillers, and even quite a few medical thrillers, that I am now quite desensitized to a lot of it. Maybe if I'd read this book when I was twelve or thirteen it would have been a lot more shocking, but reading it at age eighteen was disappointing.

It was better than I'd been expecting, though; the writing was solid, much more so than I thought it would be. The plot was decent - predictable in certain places, but equally surprising in others. The romance, surprisingly, didn't irritate me the way these things tend to do, as it didn't seem to be the focus, and Jenna wasn't an annoying YA heroine who depends on her generic boyfriend with anger issues (of course; it's the way they always are) to survive. It wasn't melodramatic, but then, the lack of drama is one of my issues with the book.

So, well, hmm. That's how I sum this book up: hmm. For such an intriguing, compelling premise, it was surprisingly slow and boring. It could have been SO MUCH more engaging, and it definitely fell short for me. I mean, not much really happened. Jenna was never directly threatened; the stakes were pretty low; there wasn't a lot of suspense. The entire book was just a buildup to Jenna finding out she was living in an artificial body. This is interesting, but something much more exciting needs to come of it, I think.

Still deciding if I should read the next in the series are not; I feel like there may be room for Pearson to explore and expand upon her excellent premise in a sequel, but on the other hand things seemed to be wrapped up neatly (too neatly, probably) in the epilogue, which makes me think this was meant as a standalone book but was then turned into a series so Pearson and her publisher could milk it until it went dry. We'll see how many other books I want to read, I suppose; I'll get around to it if I have a chance.

[Amber]

Review here: http://www.booksofamber.com/2012/04/adoration-of-jenna-fox-by-mary-e.html

The plot of Jenna Fox was pretty predictable. I think I worked out what was happening in the first few chapters, however I still really enjoyed the book. There was some science-y stuff, but it wasn't complicated and didn't confuse me at all.

The plot raises a lot of questions on humanity and morals, which I really enjoyed. It had me asking myself certain questions, and I liked being able to do that.

I liked Jenna, the main character, and I also really liked her grandmother. The two didn't start out on the best note, but I loved reading about their relationship because it was the most complex one in the entire book.

I thought that the secondary characters were less developed than I had hoped they would be when we were introduced to them. I was looking forward to getting to know several characters more, but we didn't really get the chance to and that was disappointing.

There was an epilogue to this book that I didn't mind at all, however it was really strange to read after having spent so much time somewhere else previously. I doubt I will be reading the sequel, because I feel that this plot wrapped up nicely and the sequel isn't really needed to get the full enjoyment out of it.

[lizarodz]

I have been thinking about this novel from the moment I started reading it, until the moment I finished it. It's one of those books that stays with you for a while. In the spirit of not giving all the mystery away, I'll attempt to do a spoil free review. The novel is a mix of a medical thriller, a view of a not to far future with a bit of mystery for good measure. It is told from Jenna's perspective. She is told by her parents that she has been in a coma for 18 months, after an accident. Upon awakening Jenna doesn't remember anything and we are taken into a ride, as Jenna not only remembers, but pieces together the mystery that now surrounds her life.

The characterization of the story is wonderful, and the plot is magnificent. It makes you ask yourself the same question over and over "How far would you go to save someone you love?" I understood Jenna and the internal and external conflict she was going though, but I was not able to really identify myself with her (and frankly I wouldn't want to be in her shoes!) The other characters were also likable and felt 'real'. Even though you think you have some of the mystery figured out, in the end the twists and turns are somewhat unpredictable.

After finishing the novel, I was surprised to find out that there is part of a series. 'The Fox Inheritance' that will be published on August of this year. I hope you give this amazing book a try.

About the cover: The cover is a little off-putting for me. After reading the book you get the significance of the hand, the butterfly and the color blue.