The_Adoration_of_Jenna_Fox

THE ADORATION OF JENNA FOX The Adoration of Jenna Fox, written by Mary E Pearson, is a compelling story about a seventeen year old girl who has just woken up from a year long coma, and has no recollection of her previous life. In this book Jenna wakes up to find that not only has she forgotten her previous life but she has also forgotten how to walk, talk and express emotion. She finds it difficult to understand expressions like sadness and sarcasm, and has trouble remembering the meaning of simple words such as hot, apple and jump. Jenna recovers quickly and parts of her memory start to return, but as she recovers she starts to wonder about her previous life and the holes in the story she has been told. The book is written in first person from Jenna’s perspective. It puts us in her position and makes us relate to her situation, we hear firsthand what she is thinking and feeling. The only criticism I have about the writing style is that I found myself re reading paragraphs to try and figure out who was speaking at certain points in the book. A recurring theme in this book is identity. Jenna struggles to understand her new identity and decide whether or not to make a new one or try to become her old self again. Along with her own ideas of who she is, her parents try to mould her into the Jenna they knew and loved before the accident. From the perspective of Jenna we see how our understanding of emotion guides us and helps us to make decisions. “Small wrinkles deepen around her eyes. The subtleties of expression still escape me” says Jenna when she is trying to read her grandmothers face. Another theme in this book is the question of humanity. What is the definition of a soul' How does it make us human' At what point do people lose their souls' Do some people never have them' Or can we never lose them' The target audience for this book is teenagers and young adults. I would give this book 8 out of ten. I feel that the book would have been better if there were fewer “big” reveals, as they began to lose impact.