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crystalstarrlight's review against another edition
4.0
"I think that maybe forgiveness is like change--it comes in small steps."
Eighteen months after a horrible accident, Jenna Fox wakes up. But something isn't quite right. She no longer lives in her home in Boston, her mother acts funny, and she can't remember anything. As the questions build, Jenna starts to figure out something isn't quite right and the answers to her question could be more than she bargained for.
Just when you think all YA scifi is going to be dressed up tepid romances, a book like this comes along and smacks you in the head. That's what this book did to me. This book was simple and intelligent and dared to focus on something other than what boyfriend the main character will kiss.
Jenna Fox is our main character and protagonist. She awakes from a coma and can remember nothing. Her journey is one of relearning who she is and how the accident has changed Jenna. Not to mention, the questions that crop up during Jenna's rediscovery are fascinating. How do the events in our lives change us? Who has the right to choose where we end up, what happens to us? How far should we allow genetic mutation and other scientific advancements? When is enough enough? Where do we draw the line? What makes a person a person? Is a parent's love justification enough for a radical change? When should people draw the line between being nice for other people and doing things for him or herself?
One of my absolute favorite quotes in this book is one of the greyed sections where Jenna seems to be in intense thought:
WOW! When I first read that, I stopped and really thought about that. How often have I given and given and given and then realize that I am empty, that I am exhausted, that I have nothing left for ME and me alone? Much too often for my liking!
The cast of characters is small, but it keeps the focus tight on Jenna and her struggles. Her parents, Matthew and Claire, are dynamic and rich characters. They desperately love their only child and want the best for her, making decisions that might not be what Jenna would want. Does that mean they care less? No, but it does mean they are like any parent: they struggle in letting their daughter go. Lily, Jenna's grandmother, is a woman of faith, one who thought her granddaughter would die and is struggling with Jenna being alive. Her reactions are understandable, her encouragement to her granddaughter heartening, and her own love for her only daughter, Claire, resonates with the love Claire has for Jenna. Mr. Bender proves to be a great friend, despite the age difference, looking out for Jenna and letting Jenna come to him with questions about her life. And then her friends, Ethan and Allys, give a new dynamic on humanity, how far is too far.
The events in this novel could easily have taken place in the near future, with a few moderate exceptions. However, even with these advancements, the story is timeless, just like a good scifi novel should be. I've already stated many of the questions that passed through my mind while reading, but what I do love most is how this novel is for every teenager and every parent. At its heart, it's not about secret science and technology; it's about family and love, it's about growing up and growing into your own person. And no matter what year it is, that is a struggle that will go on as long as the human race.
I really enjoyed this novel, found myself easily absorbed in it. While this is technically a scifi novel, I would recommend to anyone. The message transcends time and space; the characters are endearing; the story addictive. Definitely did not regret the hours I spent reading this!
Dialogue/Sexual Situations/Violence:
Moderate. I think there were a few f-bombs, but most of the rest was mild.
At one point, a man tries to force himself on a woman (she defends herself). A debate occurs on whether a woman would be able to have biological children (not graphic).
A young man was arrested for acts of violence. Nothing graphic is shown.
Eighteen months after a horrible accident, Jenna Fox wakes up. But something isn't quite right. She no longer lives in her home in Boston, her mother acts funny, and she can't remember anything. As the questions build, Jenna starts to figure out something isn't quite right and the answers to her question could be more than she bargained for.
Just when you think all YA scifi is going to be dressed up tepid romances, a book like this comes along and smacks you in the head. That's what this book did to me. This book was simple and intelligent and dared to focus on something other than what boyfriend the main character will kiss.
Jenna Fox is our main character and protagonist. She awakes from a coma and can remember nothing. Her journey is one of relearning who she is and how the accident has changed Jenna. Not to mention, the questions that crop up during Jenna's rediscovery are fascinating. How do the events in our lives change us? Who has the right to choose where we end up, what happens to us? How far should we allow genetic mutation and other scientific advancements? When is enough enough? Where do we draw the line? What makes a person a person? Is a parent's love justification enough for a radical change? When should people draw the line between being nice for other people and doing things for him or herself?
One of my absolute favorite quotes in this book is one of the greyed sections where Jenna seems to be in intense thought:
A bit for someone here.
A bit there.
And sometimes they don't add up to anything whole.
But you are so busy dancing.
Delivering.
You don't have time to notice.
Or are afraid to notice.
And then one day you have to look.
And it's true.
All of your pieces fill up other people's holes.
But they don't fill
your own.
WOW! When I first read that, I stopped and really thought about that. How often have I given and given and given and then realize that I am empty, that I am exhausted, that I have nothing left for ME and me alone? Much too often for my liking!
The cast of characters is small, but it keeps the focus tight on Jenna and her struggles. Her parents, Matthew and Claire, are dynamic and rich characters. They desperately love their only child and want the best for her, making decisions that might not be what Jenna would want. Does that mean they care less? No, but it does mean they are like any parent: they struggle in letting their daughter go. Lily, Jenna's grandmother, is a woman of faith, one who thought her granddaughter would die and is struggling with Jenna being alive. Her reactions are understandable, her encouragement to her granddaughter heartening, and her own love for her only daughter, Claire, resonates with the love Claire has for Jenna. Mr. Bender proves to be a great friend, despite the age difference, looking out for Jenna and letting Jenna come to him with questions about her life. And then her friends, Ethan and Allys, give a new dynamic on humanity, how far is too far.
The events in this novel could easily have taken place in the near future, with a few moderate exceptions. However, even with these advancements, the story is timeless, just like a good scifi novel should be. I've already stated many of the questions that passed through my mind while reading, but what I do love most is how this novel is for every teenager and every parent. At its heart, it's not about secret science and technology; it's about family and love, it's about growing up and growing into your own person. And no matter what year it is, that is a struggle that will go on as long as the human race.
I really enjoyed this novel, found myself easily absorbed in it. While this is technically a scifi novel, I would recommend to anyone. The message transcends time and space; the characters are endearing; the story addictive. Definitely did not regret the hours I spent reading this!
Dialogue/Sexual Situations/Violence:
Moderate. I think there were a few f-bombs, but most of the rest was mild.
At one point, a man tries to force himself on a woman (she defends herself). A debate occurs on whether a woman would be able to have biological children (not graphic).
A young man was arrested for acts of violence. Nothing graphic is shown.
jenmangler's review against another edition
4.0
This book was fascinating! It made me think about what it means to be human. I mean, really...what makes us us? How much control can we really exert over our world? What impact, both intended and unintended, will our manipulation of our environment and ourselves have on us? How do our values shift based on our experiences? I really like that a YA book challenged the reader to think about questions like these while also making the book an enjoyable one to read. I deeply cared for Jenna, her parents, and her grandmother Lily and was invested in their lives from the get-go.
This is the first book in a trilogy and, while I very much enjoyed reading it, I'm not sure I'll continue with the final two books.
This is the first book in a trilogy and, while I very much enjoyed reading it, I'm not sure I'll continue with the final two books.
breezy610's review against another edition
I didn't finished this ecause i couldn't get into it. maybe at a later date i will pick it up again.
lilia123's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
thewaywardchild's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
trin's review against another edition
2.0
Teenage Jenna wakes up after an accident with no memory of who she is—though she knows all of [a: Thoreau|10264|Henry David Thoreau|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1392432620p2/10264.jpg]’s [b: Walden|16902|Walden|Henry David Thoreau|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1465675526s/16902.jpg|2361393] 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 surprise me. It doesn’t help that the first person POV was entirely affectless; I understand that this may have been partially intentional and dictated by the plot, but I found it very dull to read. Jenna might have amnesia, but I felt like I had déjà vu: I’ve just read too many other similar stories. This one needed to have something to distinguish itself, to make it stand out, but aside from some mildly interesting ideas about future issues with science and technology, there just wasn’t anything new here. I appreciate that Pearson was trying to convey some real ideas about what it means to be human, but her characters were too two-dimensional for her message to have any effect on me. And I really, really hated the trite epilogue—it seemed very fake, and cheapened the sense of realism that the rest of the narrative was at least striving for.
[Insert painfully obvious joke about not adoring Jenna Fox at all here]
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 surprise me. It doesn’t help that the first person POV was entirely affectless; I understand that this may have been partially intentional and dictated by the plot, but I found it very dull to read. Jenna might have amnesia, but I felt like I had déjà vu: I’ve just read too many other similar stories. This one needed to have something to distinguish itself, to make it stand out, but aside from some mildly interesting ideas about future issues with science and technology, there just wasn’t anything new here. I appreciate that Pearson was trying to convey some real ideas about what it means to be human, but her characters were too two-dimensional for her message to have any effect on me. And I really, really hated the trite epilogue—it seemed very fake, and cheapened the sense of realism that the rest of the narrative was at least striving for.
[Insert painfully obvious joke about not adoring Jenna Fox at all here]
smateer73's review against another edition
4.0
This book was so good. It is very thought provoking, and the language is beautiful and poetic. The plot is excellently done, and the characters and their development are amazing.
outoftheblue14's review against another edition
5.0
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.
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.
bookwyrm76's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. It was really good at making you think about how far you would go to save/keep someone you love. It also made you think about what makes a person themselves.
If your looking for doing it in a book group, it would pair fantastically well with Skinned by Wasserman. When stripped to the basics the books are a lot alike, but the two authors took the story in two totally different directions.
If your looking for doing it in a book group, it would pair fantastically well with Skinned by Wasserman. When stripped to the basics the books are a lot alike, but the two authors took the story in two totally different directions.