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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
Good book. Not a stunningly new premise or anything, but Jenna feels much more real than she might have done, and Pearson deserves credit for that.
This is totally what the Battlestar Galactica spinoff show Caprica is going to be about. Grief-stricken parents will do anything to bring back their daughter after she dies, including transplanting her thoughts and memories into an artificial body.
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book left a huge impression on me when I was 11 ish. I still find myself thinking about the 10% sometimes.
Anyway, here are my main (spoiler-free) complaints:
1. This book could’ve (and should’ve) been a lot shorter. After a certain point, we were just having the same moral quandary over and over again. I was bored.
2. The way sociopathy/psychopathy was represented in this book was dehumanizing and ableist.
Anyway, here are my main (spoiler-free) complaints:
1. This book could’ve (and should’ve) been a lot shorter. After a certain point, we were just having the same moral quandary over and over again. I was bored.
2. The way sociopathy/psychopathy was represented in this book was dehumanizing and ableist.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Medical content
Moderate: Death, Terminal illness, Car accident
Je m'attendais vraiment à mieux et à plus. J'ai lu quelques commentaires et c'est vrai que ça a été une lecture assez ennuyante. Je ne sais pas si c'est l'histoire qui n'avance pas assez vite ou ces événements qui ont l'air tous semblables. Répétitifs. Bof. Dès le milieu de livre j'avais hâte de le finir pour passer à autre chose.
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A Gem from The Era/5
I thought it was super slow. It's taken me 6 months to finish. The only reason I gave it 3 stars is because of the romance.
I'll have to say I was very disappointed because my mom and sister loved it and I have an obsession with comas. I was very put off by the pace and the way the story was narrated. My biggest problem though is Jenna herself. You don't really see her change that much as a person and I thought she had an annoying and clueless personality.
I'll have to say I was very disappointed because my mom and sister loved it and I have an obsession with comas. I was very put off by the pace and the way the story was narrated. My biggest problem though is Jenna herself. You don't really see her change that much as a person and I thought she had an annoying and clueless personality.
Tää kirja sai mut ajattelemaan paljon ihmisyyttä ja sen rajoja. Kuinka paljon ihmisestä voi "poistaa", että ihmisyys silti säilyy? Paljon mietin myös lääketieteen tulevaisuutta ja sitä, onkohan kirjan kaltanen biogeeli kuinka kaukana tulevaisuudessa oikeesti ja mitä eettisiä tai moraalisia ongelmia siihen liittyy. Pitäiskö ihmisten antaa kuolla sillon ku on sen aika, vai lääketieteen avulla jatkaa elämää eteenpäin? Tässä käsiteltiin myös tosi klassista scifi-aihetta, eli ihmismielen siirtämistä tietokoneelle, mikä on mun mielestä kans kiinnostava aihe.
wow, where to start with this book?!? have you ever read a book that made you want to love it, that was so honest and in your face, but it just fell short? that's what happened to me here. i really liked it - great subject, good writing, honestly written characters - but, somewhere, somehow, it just didn't come together as much as i wanted. i still really enjoyed it, but it had that potential to be even more. *sigh*
our narrator, Jenna Fox, has just woken up from a coma, with no memory of her life. she doesn't recognize the people who are her parents, but through videos of her childhood, she learns that they adore her and that she has always been the perfect daughter. we learn in real time, as she learns of her past, and layer by mind boggling layer, we learn the truth of her life, from the accident that put her in the coma to the future that she can expect with her newly forming identity.
When you are perfect, is there anywhere else to go? I ache for her like she is someone else. She is. I am not the perfect Jenna Fox anymore.
this is a YA dystopian novel - that is, a visionary of a futuristic society that is lacking in individual freedoms - so that gives you an idea of what to expect. any more than that and we'll be in spoiler territory, so i'll leave it at that. what i will say is that Pearson does a phenomenal job of tackling the moral dilemma of medical ethics and parental obligation. i was amazed at how she was able to create a story that unfolded delicately, both for Jenna and the reader, all in the confines of under 300 pages. the self discovery is so dense in those pages that it is difficult not to be startled at times by the profundity of it all.
Identities aren't always separate and distinct. Sometimes they are wrapped up with others. Sometimes, for a few minutes, maybe they can even be shared.
the narrative is written in a mostly conversational tone, which works well for Jenna's story. she is a quick witted girl with a wry sense of humor, and she clearly isn't afraid to laugh at herself, which makes for good punchy reading. but, the chapters are interspersed with definitions (which she is learning as she goes) and some stream of consciousness type poetry. some of these worked really well and served the purpose of bringing us deeper into the story, but some just seemed disjointed and forced. the worst part for me was the ending. i won't say what happens, but i thought it was weak and unfulfilled, to say the least.
like i said, i really wanted to LOVE this book and i've had such a difficult time reviewing it because i really enjoyed it, but it just didn't deliver the crashbang experience that i had expected and hoped for. normally, i think i would have just loved it and written a wonderful, glowing review, but i'm being a harsh critic here because it had such amazing potential. it fell short in a few areas that were just so disappointing. that being said, i still think everyone should read it because of the subject and characterization. i think it would make a particularly great (high school?) classroom read with some really great opportunities for discussion.
our narrator, Jenna Fox, has just woken up from a coma, with no memory of her life. she doesn't recognize the people who are her parents, but through videos of her childhood, she learns that they adore her and that she has always been the perfect daughter. we learn in real time, as she learns of her past, and layer by mind boggling layer, we learn the truth of her life, from the accident that put her in the coma to the future that she can expect with her newly forming identity.
When you are perfect, is there anywhere else to go? I ache for her like she is someone else. She is. I am not the perfect Jenna Fox anymore.
this is a YA dystopian novel - that is, a visionary of a futuristic society that is lacking in individual freedoms - so that gives you an idea of what to expect. any more than that and we'll be in spoiler territory, so i'll leave it at that. what i will say is that Pearson does a phenomenal job of tackling the moral dilemma of medical ethics and parental obligation. i was amazed at how she was able to create a story that unfolded delicately, both for Jenna and the reader, all in the confines of under 300 pages. the self discovery is so dense in those pages that it is difficult not to be startled at times by the profundity of it all.
Identities aren't always separate and distinct. Sometimes they are wrapped up with others. Sometimes, for a few minutes, maybe they can even be shared.
the narrative is written in a mostly conversational tone, which works well for Jenna's story. she is a quick witted girl with a wry sense of humor, and she clearly isn't afraid to laugh at herself, which makes for good punchy reading. but, the chapters are interspersed with definitions (which she is learning as she goes) and some stream of consciousness type poetry. some of these worked really well and served the purpose of bringing us deeper into the story, but some just seemed disjointed and forced. the worst part for me was the ending. i won't say what happens, but i thought it was weak and unfulfilled, to say the least.
like i said, i really wanted to LOVE this book and i've had such a difficult time reviewing it because i really enjoyed it, but it just didn't deliver the crashbang experience that i had expected and hoped for. normally, i think i would have just loved it and written a wonderful, glowing review, but i'm being a harsh critic here because it had such amazing potential. it fell short in a few areas that were just so disappointing. that being said, i still think everyone should read it because of the subject and characterization. i think it would make a particularly great (high school?) classroom read with some really great opportunities for discussion.
Wow, makes you stop and think about the future. My students and I both like this book.
Set in a not-so-distant-future, Jenna Fox is a 17 year old who has recently awoken from a coma but has no memory of her life (although she can quote Walden word for word). She learns that she is recovering from a horrible accident, and her family has moved from Boston to a quiet area in California. Slowly, she begins to regain pieces of her life and question who she is. She doesn't feel like the old Jenna. The reader learns along with Jenna that her father is a billionaire after creating a substance called Bio-gel, which can grow and nourish human body parts, although the government tries to limit what science can do with these modern inventions.
I could not put this book down - I wanted to know what would happen to Jenna. This is science fiction for people who aren't big sci-fi fans. I liked the characters and how the secrets are revealed slowly, although the reader will see some of them coming.
I could not put this book down - I wanted to know what would happen to Jenna. This is science fiction for people who aren't big sci-fi fans. I liked the characters and how the secrets are revealed slowly, although the reader will see some of them coming.