Review : The Adoration of Jenna Fox
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
Pages : 265
Genre : Young Adults, Science Fiction
My Rating : 
Who is Jenna Fox? Seventeen-year-old Jenna has been told that is her name. She has just awoken from a coma, they tell her, and she is still recovering from a terrible accident in which she was involved a year ago.
But what happened before that? Jenna doesn’t remember her life. Or does she? And are the memories really hers? Set in a near future America, it takes readers on an unforgettable journey through questions of bio-medical ethics and the nature of humanity.
After reading this book, over a month ago, I wasn’t sure how I would rate it : mostly I loved it, but certain parts just didn’t work for me. I thought the pace was a little slow, and the plot little predictable. Now though, I realise that this book left, mostly, a good impression on me.
First, I liked Jenna and I was hooked to her story. There was an interesting cast of characters, too, and the writing was really nice, somewhat poetic. It was nice to get out of the usual romances and urban fantasy that are so popular right now in YA litterature (and I love those too, by the way, but it was a nice change). The book is not only the tale of Jenna’s quest for her identity, but also the occasion to ask some important questions : What makes you, you? What is it, really, to be human?
And this is why, in the end, I can give a good rating to this book : it really made me think. Whether I liked the story or not (and I did), I was wondering, long after I read it : what would I have done in Jenna’s place? In her parent’s place? Was it right, or wrong?
One thing I would really have loved is a more developped ending. It is a small three pages loaded with information, which is a huge contrast to the rest of the book. In the end, the book suggests an answer, but as a reader, you are allowed to question this answer. The Adoration of Jenna Fox is the perfect book to create interesting discussions with other readers and non-readers.
Sometimes it helps me to put a book down after finishing it, think about it for a while and then settle down to write my review! Often I wind up liking books more as time goes on… when I wasn’t totally sold on them in the beginning! It’s strange. An Abundance of Katherines is definitely one of those books for me.
I’ve looked at this one in Borders before, and it always appeals to me… but then I don’t wind up getting it! 🙂 Maybe now is the right time! I’ve been reading more “alternate reality” and “not-so-distant future” books and liking them. Good review!
Sounds like a mystery that I might like! What did her parents do? I mean, the title is “The Adoration of Jenna Fox”. Man, I can’t wait to find out.
just stumbled on your review from my own review of The Adoration and figured i’d say hello, rather than just lurk.
i felt the same way about the rushed and unfulfilled ending, but it was still an excellent book.