The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

Title: The Adoration of Jenna Fox

Author: Mary E. Pearson

Summary:

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?

This fascinating novel represents a stunning new direction for acclaimed author Mary Pearson. Set in a near future America, it takes readers on an unforgettable journey through questions of bio-medical ethics and the nature of humanity. Mary Pearson's vividly drawn characters and masterful writing soar to a new level of sophistication.

Rating: 3/5

Review:

Futuristic fiction is slowly but surely becoming one of my favorite genres, especially in ya literature. And while I can say that The Adoration of Jenna Fox didn't come close to the spectacular wonderful-ness of other books in this genre (Skinned, Uglies, The Hunger Games... just to name a few of my favorites) it still had it's good qualities.

One thing I loved about it was the characters. They were all entirely believable, and the best part- they each where their own. Everyone had different thoughts, beliefs, attitudes... it was such a wide range and the different characters really moved the story along nicely.

Another thing I'd like to address is the setting. I don't know what year this takes place in; it could be ten years or fifty. I love that this book is so obviously set in the future, but it is still so very close to present-day. It gives the story more of a sense of urgency, which makes it easier to take this book seriously. In the not so distant future, this could be a huge issue-- which is why there's more substance, and it's not just a book to entertain.

Now, onto my problem, and the reason this book didn't have as big an impact on me as it should have-- the language. I think the author wrote this book beautifully, but the problem is that it seems so overdone. Things were too far expanded when I believe the reader could have formed their own conclusions. At times it felt much too wordy and confusing, and that's what I believe made this novel somewhat less of what it could be.