The Adoration of Jenna Fox explores the ethics of biomedical engineering in a way that is rarely seen in YA fiction. Told from Jenna's point of view, the narrative follows her as she wakes in a world with few memories of her life before. As they come trickling back, so do the circumstances surrounding the family move to California, her parents' secrecy, her grandmother's inexplicable dislike for her, and a bevy of question surrounding the why and wherefore of what makes a person human, where the line between legality and illegality lies in the biomedical and healthcare communities, and how people can define themselves when all they thought they knew about their identity has been torn away.
There are a few other things to note. Though the book is well written it has some serious flaws. Drilling in the co-learner / co-teacher as the ideal future classroom environment is bad enough. Only a person who doesn't teach but pushes politics into the classroom would applaud for the idea that ignorant students paying to learn are teachers and teachers with diplomas paid to share knowledge are students.
Then there is the whole end of the world in environmental disasters and the evils of bio engineering killing of native species of most animals and plants is just an over kill. Old story. We will all be dead in 4 years. We are told every 4 years. Strangely every prediction coincides with election year....
The whole idea about overused antibiotics is sound and very viable subject but the hammering of the idea that an oversight by the likes of THE most corrupt paper pushing organization like the World Health Organization is needed to stop the Antibiotics abuse is just laughable.
The story is well done though in a very simplistic sort of way. It touched deep ethical issues but didn't explore them in depth in any meaningful way. There was no real conclusion to the story. A happy ever after, after debating the morals of ethics is not satisfactory. There is no twist to the story, no dramatic ending, no struggle to fight for Jenna to survive the ethic malestorm.
It is interesting read that has slow start but does draw you in. But is predictable at every turn and totally lacks meaningful end. I recommend it with a caution. Worthy read but not a keeper.
I have been wanting to read this book forever and finally got it from the library. It was an intriguing book that brings up a ton of questions about the morality of genetic engineering and tries to answer the question of how far a parent would or should go to save their child.
Jenna wakes up from a one year coma not knowing who she is or what happened. She is told by the people who say they are her parents that she got in a terrible car accident and has been in a coma for a year. Her only link to the past is a box of videos from when she grew up. Now she has a grandmother who hates her, and parents who are afraid to let her leave the house. She needs answers to some questions. Who is she really? What really happened last year?
This book is written from Jenna's viewpoint. She is a fascinating character and it was wonderful to follow her as she started to regain her memories and piece together her story. Some of the revelatoions she makes throughout the story are seriously earth-shattering. I was absolutely enthralled by this book from the first sentence to the end of the book.
The side characters are just as engaging. All of them have secrets and are fighting their own struggles. Reading and watching all the mysteries unwind was a totally engaging experience.
The plot and topic matter are complex and make you think. This book brooches some seriously deep topics. For example how far would you go to save your child? How far should you go? How much of a person can be genetically re-engineered before they aren't human? How much of an original person needs to be left for that person to still be themselves? Should these things be regulated by individuals, the government, a separate entity?
I loved the epilogue and how it tied up all of the loose ends of the story. I just got the book The Fox Inheritance through the Amazon Vine program so I look forward to reading that book as well.
Overall just an excellent and mind-blowing story. It gives you so much to think about and was such a great read. I loved this story and think everyone should read it. It is appropriate for young adult and older. Hopefully The Fox Inheritance will be just as awesome.
The Adoration of Jenna Fox explores the ethics of biomedical engineering in a way that is rarely seen in YA fiction. Told from Jenna's point of view, the narrative follows her as she wakes in a world with few memories of her life before. As they come trickling back, so do the circumstances surrounding the family move to California, her parents' secrecy, her grandmother's inexplicable dislike for her, and a bevy of question surrounding the why and wherefore of what makes a person human, where the line between legality and illegality lies in the biomedical and healthcare communities, and how people can define themselves when all they thought they knew about their identity has been torn away.
This is most appropriate for readers 10th grade and up. Advanced readers as young as 8th grade may enjoy the book, but much of the narrative's power lies in the subtext and questions of ethics, which may go over younger readers' heads. This would be particularly good as an in-class novel for group discussion or for exploration in an essay, owing to the controversial subject matter and Jenna's individual struggle with identity, with which most teens should be able to identify.
I most definitely enjoyed this book! Mary E. Pearson has yet to fail me!
SUSAN S. (susieqmillsacoustics) - 
Rhonda (pinkcypress) reviewed The Adoration of Jenna Fox (Jenna Fox Chronicles, Bk 1) on + 86 more book reviews 
Hannah H. (Apollyn) - 
