BOOK REVIEW: THE ADORATION OF JENNA FOX

The Adoration of Jenna Fox

Author: Mary E. Pearson

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co., April 29, 2008

Pages: 272

"How much is me?"

Lily intervenes. "Ten percent. Ten percent of your brain. That's all they could save. They should have let you die."

I try to understand what she is saying. I watch her mouth move. I hear words. Ten percent. Ten percent.

And then Mother is suddenly fierce. A lion. Within inches of my face. "But it is the most important ten percent. Do you hear me? The most important."

Seventeen-year-old Jenna Fox is recovering from an accident that she cannot remember. She has been in a coma for a year, and now that she’s awake, questions arise about what really happened. Why won’t her parents disclose any information to her? And why are there only certain things she can remember? Jenna has been given videos, chronicling her entire life up until the accident, and sometimes she gets small flashbacks of memory.

Jenna fights to take control of her life after she discovers the controversial manner in which she was saved. She finds out that her father – a bioengineer –helped create a medical breakthrough, “Bio Gel,” which is regulated by the government. However, he bends the rules to save Jenna, which has unanticipated consequences for her and the people around her.

The book raises many interesting questions. How far would you go to save a life? What if it changes the person who is saved? The lengths Jenna’s parents go through to save their only child is heartbreaking.

This book opened my eyes to the importance of truth and how we sometimes suppress it when dealing with the people we love most. It’s also timely – many of  the medical advances discussed could soon be available. It’s startling to realize that we might be dealing with some of these same issues in just a few years.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox is on the 2010-2011 Rosie Book list for middle-school and high-school students. I would highly recommend it to anyone age 14 and above who is looking for a riveting, thought-provoking read.

Copyright 2011 Y-Press