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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
emotional
mysterious
This was a good book, but I mostly liked the way it makes you think about science and life, and they way they work with and against each other. I'm not sure where the sequels will fit in because this book seemed complete. I hope they don't ruin it.
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It started out really interesting and I was dying to find out why Jenna was different. But by the time I did find out, it was no longer a surprise and then it all got a bit too philosophical for me. This is a dystopian book, but I like my dystopians a bit more science-fiction-y than this book was, although The Adoration of Jenna Fox wasn't bad by any means.
After the way the story ended, I'm kind of curious to see how the author has managed to turn this into a series though.
After the way the story ended, I'm kind of curious to see how the author has managed to turn this into a series though.
I think this is going to be an interesting discussion book. I'm not usually into sci-fi, but the writing was good and it proved to be an interesting read that explored the grey area of moral code.
“Do certain events in our lives leave a permanent mark, freezing a piece of us in time, and that becomes a touchstone that we measure the rest of our lives against?”
As a book alone, I would rate it with 3.5 to 4.5 stars; but as one I read for school, it’s a 5 stars book.
The plot twists are guessable, but I like the fact that something is always happening, it’s interesting.
Although I’d like to get to know more about Dane. I don’t exactly get his role in this story, but maybe I just didn’t get the message between the lines or something like that
As a book alone, I would rate it with 3.5 to 4.5 stars; but as one I read for school, it’s a 5 stars book.
The plot twists are guessable, but I like the fact that something is always happening, it’s interesting.
Although I’d like to get to know more about Dane. I don’t exactly get his role in this story, but maybe I just didn’t get the message between the lines or something like that
People really like writing long reviews for this one… mine isn’t going to be that long.
This is an interesting book with a couple of fairly universal literary themes: “who am I?” and “what makes us human?” I found it an intriguing look at the paths science can take and the way our world might evolve in the near future. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to sympathize very well with the main character and found it difficult to care much about what happened to her (or any of the characters, really). Overall, an interesting speculative novel, well-written and quite solid, though I am absolutely sure it will sound extremely dated in 10 years.
This is an interesting book with a couple of fairly universal literary themes: “who am I?” and “what makes us human?” I found it an intriguing look at the paths science can take and the way our world might evolve in the near future. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to sympathize very well with the main character and found it difficult to care much about what happened to her (or any of the characters, really). Overall, an interesting speculative novel, well-written and quite solid, though I am absolutely sure it will sound extremely dated in 10 years.
Just what lengths will parents go to in their adoration of their children? And what if that adoration is unrequited because of what they’ve done?
I love a young adult dystopian novel smothered in mystery. And not just the typical 'Oh, what is our nefarious government up to?' mystery, but the James Dashner [b:The Maze Runner|6186357|The Maze Runner (Maze Runner, #1)|James Dashner|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1308971563s/6186357.jpg|6366642] type mystery where you have no freakin' clue which way is up for half of the book! The Adoration of Jenna Fox is exactly that type of mystery.
I enjoyed fumbling along with Jenna as she struggled to recall not only the events that put her in a coma, but simple things like her friends' names. I loved how the author alternated between chapters of 'events' and chapters of 'reflection'. The actual story and Jenna's day-to-day struggles were chronicled in the 'events' chapters, while the chapters of 'reflection' were like stream-of-consciousness diary entries. They were barely a page long, consisting of Jenna's disjointed thoughts about how she fits into the universe. In reading them, I imagined that I was Jenna floating through an endless sea of black; the abyss that played home and hell to her consciousness over the past year. These chapters were an extremely effective plot device, helping to hammer home the feelings of isolation, confusion and loneliness that Jenna was feeling.
I also enjoyed guessing what on Earth Jenna was, and what her parents were hiding. I theorised that the real Jenna had died in the accident, and her parents had used a scan (not unlike the system Zoe uses in Caprica, the prequel to Battlestar Galactica) to replicate/clone her mind and body. I also theorised that the real Jenna had died in the accident, and the one we were seeing was a cyborg with uploaded memories and artificial skin, not unlike the first 'skinjob' we see in Caprica. I theorised that the 'nutrients' could be a fancier version of engine oil, designed not only to keep her cyborg body running, but to keep up appearances that Jenna had normal bodily functions.
Though I didn't form any concrete theory, I was reminded of the 'frankenstein' creature seen in Neal Shusterman's [b:Unwind|764347|Unwind (Unwind, #1)|Neal Shusterman|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1297677706s/764347.jpg|750423] series. I didn't put stock in the theory that she had been patched together from other peoples' organs, but I did question whether her soul had perished with the 'real' Jenna, and the creature we were seeing was an empty shell. I then thought of Caprica (can you tell this book really reminded me of that short-lived show?!) and how Zoe's resurrection program could create identical copies of anybody on the planet, but that's all the person would be: a copy. We were just seeing copies of people in a computer program, not the actual person and their soul.
I enjoyed following the mystery and witnessing the big reveal, but there seemed to be a lot missing. Assuming there were no technical difficulties with my Kindle copy missing content, I just have to comment on how I think the book should've gone down. Allys' parents should have reported Jenna, bringing the FSEB down on their doorstep. Jenna and Ethan would narrowly escape with the help of Lily and Mr Bender, but the FSEB would be one step behind them, eventually cornering them in a show of helicopters, squad cars and searchlights. Jenna and Ethan would then be cuffed and transferred to a federal facility.
In the meantime, Allys would be rapidly deteriorating and regretting turning Jenna in. Having a change of mind, she'd somehow find a way to track down Jenna's parents (who managed to escape capture) and the Bio-Gel team would provide her with a new body. Allys would publicly speak out against the FSEB, defending Jenna's existence and bringing a stop to the disturbing experiments the government would no doubt be inflicting upon her. Allys' story and personal experience with the medical industry would plant the seeds of doubt in key lawmakers' minds, and would lead to years of court cases and epically long parliamentary discussions, eventually resulting in the legalisation of the 'Jenna Fox procedure'.
Jenna would finally be free to live her life with Ethan. Their relationship wouldn't be easy though, as Ethan struggled with growing old while his true love remained forever seventeen. Allys would provide a shoulder to cry on when Jenna eventually lost Ethan, her parents, Lily and Mr. Bender. Along the way we'd casually learn that Dane had been responsible for the missing pets years ago, and had since been imprisoned for life for serial murders. Allys and Jenna would live on for another century or so as heterosexual life partners (to quote Jay & Silent Bob), and Jenna would eventually choose to procreate, using her ovary and some frozen sperm cells from Ethan. Once Jenna's child was old enough, she'd move to Boston and succumb to the cold to ensure that she didn't outlive her child. Allys would stick around for years to enforce checks and balances in the medical industry, ensuring the days of old would never return.
As you can tell, I wasn't satisfied with the events of the book. Jenna and Ethan's relationship moved too quickly. There needed to be more build-up, more drama, something that took them from innocent flirtation to true love. I was waiting for Ethan to share the details of why he beat that guy up, and it never happened. The author could have really pulled at the reader's heartstrings by showing Jenna and Ethan's beautiful but tragic life together, exploring how painful it would be to love a partner who will never grow old with you.
The author should've also detailed the struggle to make the Jenna Fox procedure legal. Surely it didn't happen overnight, surely Jenna and her parents endured abuse from the public, having their home vandalised and making Jenna feel less than human. It was such a copout that the author just said 'It's 260 yrs into the future now, Ethan is dead but everything is good trolololol'.
There should have also been some acknowledgement of Dane. Mr Bender emphasised the white house and importance of knowing your neighbours several times, and I really thought we'd learn more after Jenna's tangle with Dane in the woods. They strongly hinted that he had the makings of a serial killer, but then it was never mentioned again! Perhaps the author could've used Dane as a tool to help Jenna become accepted – showing that the public shouldn't be worried about a harmless girl made up of blue goo, when they have 100% natural psychos like Dane inflicting harm upon animals and humans.
I wanted to learn more about Kara, Jenna and Locke's relationship. When we see them on the grass skipping school, we get hints that they're experimenting with polyamory. This was at such odds with the Jenna we saw on the videotapes, including the Jenna that stormed off after the ballet recital argument. The author should have described how Jenna was acting out against her parents. Was she doing alcohol and drugs? Was she having threesomes with Locke and Kara, or were Kara and Jenna just sharing Locke in an experiment with polyamory? Was Jenna a real threat to herself, or was she just wearing a bit too much eyeliner for daytime?
One other thing I disliked were the random and unnecessarily gross descriptions included from time to time. When Kara, Locke and Jenna laugh about skipping school, the author describes snot flying out their noses in laughter. The author also randomly describes bread flying out of a classmate's mouth as they laugh during lunch. The gory descriptions were so out of place in this novel; it was as if the author would decide from time to time that she wanted to be Chuck Palahniuk. It was gross and didn't make sense, and I wish like hell I could unsee that sentence about snot. * gags * * scrubs brain *
Though there were a lot of things I didn't like about this book, it was okay overall, and I'll be reading the next two. I haven't read into the it, but I get the feeling that this was always intended to be a standalone book that was later expanded into a series. I haven't read the blurbs for either sequel, so I'm curious about what the storylines could possibly be! I'm guessing they either follow the life of Jenna's child, or they go the Scott Westerfeld [b:Extras|493456|Extras (Uglies, #4)|Scott Westerfeld|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347490204s/493456.jpg|3315797] route and follow a completely new character as they make their way through this post-Jenna Fox world.
Overall: The second half of this book leaves a lot to be desired, but the sheer mystery of the first half is good enough that it's worth giving a go. However, my dissatisfaction was so strong that while I would recommend reading this book, I'd suggest borrowing a copy from a friend, the library, or finding a cheap ebook rather than paying full price. It's an intriguing concept and it's fascinating trying to solve the mystery with Jenna, but the ending was so rushed and subpar that I just can't justify rating this above three stars. I'll be reading the next couple of books out of curiosity, but I'm glad I haven't forked out for paperback copies.
I enjoyed fumbling along with Jenna as she struggled to recall not only the events that put her in a coma, but simple things like her friends' names. I loved how the author alternated between chapters of 'events' and chapters of 'reflection'. The actual story and Jenna's day-to-day struggles were chronicled in the 'events' chapters, while the chapters of 'reflection' were like stream-of-consciousness diary entries. They were barely a page long, consisting of Jenna's disjointed thoughts about how she fits into the universe. In reading them, I imagined that I was Jenna floating through an endless sea of black; the abyss that played home and hell to her consciousness over the past year. These chapters were an extremely effective plot device, helping to hammer home the feelings of isolation, confusion and loneliness that Jenna was feeling.
I also enjoyed guessing what on Earth Jenna was, and what her parents were hiding. I theorised that the real Jenna had died in the accident, and her parents had used a scan (not unlike the system Zoe uses in Caprica, the prequel to Battlestar Galactica) to replicate/clone her mind and body. I also theorised that the real Jenna had died in the accident, and the one we were seeing was a cyborg with uploaded memories and artificial skin, not unlike the first 'skinjob' we see in Caprica. I theorised that the 'nutrients' could be a fancier version of engine oil, designed not only to keep her cyborg body running, but to keep up appearances that Jenna had normal bodily functions.
Though I didn't form any concrete theory, I was reminded of the 'frankenstein' creature seen in Neal Shusterman's [b:Unwind|764347|Unwind (Unwind, #1)|Neal Shusterman|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1297677706s/764347.jpg|750423] series. I didn't put stock in the theory that she had been patched together from other peoples' organs, but I did question whether her soul had perished with the 'real' Jenna, and the creature we were seeing was an empty shell. I then thought of Caprica (can you tell this book really reminded me of that short-lived show?!) and how Zoe's resurrection program could create identical copies of anybody on the planet, but that's all the person would be: a copy. We were just seeing copies of people in a computer program, not the actual person and their soul.
I enjoyed following the mystery and witnessing the big reveal, but there seemed to be a lot missing. Assuming there were no technical difficulties with my Kindle copy missing content, I just have to comment on how I think the book should've gone down. Allys' parents should have reported Jenna, bringing the FSEB down on their doorstep. Jenna and Ethan would narrowly escape with the help of Lily and Mr Bender, but the FSEB would be one step behind them, eventually cornering them in a show of helicopters, squad cars and searchlights. Jenna and Ethan would then be cuffed and transferred to a federal facility.
In the meantime, Allys would be rapidly deteriorating and regretting turning Jenna in. Having a change of mind, she'd somehow find a way to track down Jenna's parents (who managed to escape capture) and the Bio-Gel team would provide her with a new body. Allys would publicly speak out against the FSEB, defending Jenna's existence and bringing a stop to the disturbing experiments the government would no doubt be inflicting upon her. Allys' story and personal experience with the medical industry would plant the seeds of doubt in key lawmakers' minds, and would lead to years of court cases and epically long parliamentary discussions, eventually resulting in the legalisation of the 'Jenna Fox procedure'.
Jenna would finally be free to live her life with Ethan. Their relationship wouldn't be easy though, as Ethan struggled with growing old while his true love remained forever seventeen. Allys would provide a shoulder to cry on when Jenna eventually lost Ethan, her parents, Lily and Mr. Bender. Along the way we'd casually learn that Dane had been responsible for the missing pets years ago, and had since been imprisoned for life for serial murders. Allys and Jenna would live on for another century or so as heterosexual life partners (to quote Jay & Silent Bob), and Jenna would eventually choose to procreate, using her ovary and some frozen sperm cells from Ethan. Once Jenna's child was old enough, she'd move to Boston and succumb to the cold to ensure that she didn't outlive her child. Allys would stick around for years to enforce checks and balances in the medical industry, ensuring the days of old would never return.
As you can tell, I wasn't satisfied with the events of the book. Jenna and Ethan's relationship moved too quickly. There needed to be more build-up, more drama, something that took them from innocent flirtation to true love. I was waiting for Ethan to share the details of why he beat that guy up, and it never happened. The author could have really pulled at the reader's heartstrings by showing Jenna and Ethan's beautiful but tragic life together, exploring how painful it would be to love a partner who will never grow old with you.
The author should've also detailed the struggle to make the Jenna Fox procedure legal. Surely it didn't happen overnight, surely Jenna and her parents endured abuse from the public, having their home vandalised and making Jenna feel less than human. It was such a copout that the author just said 'It's 260 yrs into the future now, Ethan is dead but everything is good trolololol'.
There should have also been some acknowledgement of Dane. Mr Bender emphasised the white house and importance of knowing your neighbours several times, and I really thought we'd learn more after Jenna's tangle with Dane in the woods. They strongly hinted that he had the makings of a serial killer, but then it was never mentioned again! Perhaps the author could've used Dane as a tool to help Jenna become accepted – showing that the public shouldn't be worried about a harmless girl made up of blue goo, when they have 100% natural psychos like Dane inflicting harm upon animals and humans.
I wanted to learn more about Kara, Jenna and Locke's relationship. When we see them on the grass skipping school, we get hints that they're experimenting with polyamory. This was at such odds with the Jenna we saw on the videotapes, including the Jenna that stormed off after the ballet recital argument. The author should have described how Jenna was acting out against her parents. Was she doing alcohol and drugs? Was she having threesomes with Locke and Kara, or were Kara and Jenna just sharing Locke in an experiment with polyamory? Was Jenna a real threat to herself, or was she just wearing a bit too much eyeliner for daytime?
One other thing I disliked were the random and unnecessarily gross descriptions included from time to time. When Kara, Locke and Jenna laugh about skipping school, the author describes snot flying out their noses in laughter. The author also randomly describes bread flying out of a classmate's mouth as they laugh during lunch. The gory descriptions were so out of place in this novel; it was as if the author would decide from time to time that she wanted to be Chuck Palahniuk. It was gross and didn't make sense, and I wish like hell I could unsee that sentence about snot. * gags * * scrubs brain *
Though there were a lot of things I didn't like about this book, it was okay overall, and I'll be reading the next two. I haven't read into the it, but I get the feeling that this was always intended to be a standalone book that was later expanded into a series. I haven't read the blurbs for either sequel, so I'm curious about what the storylines could possibly be! I'm guessing they either follow the life of Jenna's child, or they go the Scott Westerfeld [b:Extras|493456|Extras (Uglies, #4)|Scott Westerfeld|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347490204s/493456.jpg|3315797] route and follow a completely new character as they make their way through this post-Jenna Fox world.
Overall: The second half of this book leaves a lot to be desired, but the sheer mystery of the first half is good enough that it's worth giving a go. However, my dissatisfaction was so strong that while I would recommend reading this book, I'd suggest borrowing a copy from a friend, the library, or finding a cheap ebook rather than paying full price. It's an intriguing concept and it's fascinating trying to solve the mystery with Jenna, but the ending was so rushed and subpar that I just can't justify rating this above three stars. I'll be reading the next couple of books out of curiosity, but I'm glad I haven't forked out for paperback copies.
LOVED IT! It was so good. It was a new thought in the book world. I loved the story line, and how it was not predictable.