Module 8 Review - The Adoration of Jenna Fox

The Adoration of Jenna Fox / by Mary E. Pearson.

Bibliographic Citation:

Pearson, M. E. (2008). The adoration of Jenna Fox. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company.

Summary:

Jenna Fox wakes up and a year has passed her by. Following an accident, Jenna was in a coma for a year and when she finally wakes up, she doesn’t remember herself, her family or anything about her past. Her mom and dad are adamant that with time, her memories will come back and Jenna will be Jenna again. Lily, the nana who was once Jenna’s confidant can hardly stand to be in the same room as her, makes Jenna wonder why she is hated.

Jenna has always been the center of her parent’s life and they would do anything for her. Her mom Claire gives Jenna 16 videos of her life to help her remember her past. As the days pass and Jenna watches the videos, she slowly starts remembering things from her past, including things that she shouldn’t, like her baptism at a very young age. Jenna starts to question her past, her injuries and her recovery. The more she learns, the more Jenna discovers about just how far her parents would go to save her.

Impressions:

Imagine waking up from a year-long coma and not remembering who you are, what you were like or who your family is. As a reader, I could feel the overwhelming sense of not knowing that Jenna felt. Having lost loved ones, I can relate to the pain and grief that Jenna’s parents would have felt at the prospect of losing her forever. I question to what extent I would go to save the person I love. Would I take the route of Jenna’s parents and save anything possible, even it if was only 10% of the brain and recreate the rest using whatever available technology, such as BioGel in the story. Would the desire to prevent my own grief and pain outweigh the complications that could come from employing uncertain scientific advances? The internal battle would be strong. I ultimately think that Jenna’s parents were doing what was best for them, thinking very little of their daughter’s future reality.

Library Use Suggestions:

Book Talk – how far in the future do you think this story takes place? How likely do you think it is that something like BioGel will someday be available to recreate a human body that can function as a normal human does? If something were to happen to you and BioGel was an option to save your life, would you take it or not?

Reviews:

Jenna can't remember her past after emerging from a coma, but pieces of her memory begin to return as she recuperates. The novel is set in a future with advanced biomedical technology, and characters wrestle with the attendant ethical implications. With faith and science woven throughout, this provocative thriller is heightened by its portrait of a family under enormous stress.

(2008, January 1). [Review of The Adoration of Jenna Fox]. The Horn Book Guide. Retrieved from http://bookverdict.com/details.xqy?uri=Product-85172449.xml Jenna can't remember her past after emerging from a coma, but pieces of her memory begin to return as she recuperates. The novel is set in a future with advanced biomedical technology, and characters wrestle with the attendant ethical implications. With faith and science woven throughout, this provocative thriller is heightened by its portrait of a family under enormous stress.