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Title: The Adoration of Jenna Fox
Author: Mary E. Pearson
Category: Fiction, Young Adult
Rating: 5/5
Why I Read It: My Goodreads buddy Lenore liked this book AND it’s a dystopia, so it was only a matter of time, really.

Summary: 17-year-old Jenna has been in a coma for over a year. Now she’s awake, but her parents have moved her to the other side of the country, her body doesn’t feel quite right, and her grandmother hates her.

Review: This book was one of my top 10 favorites of 2009. Why?

  • Unnerving story revealed a little at a time? Check.
  • Forbidden romantic interest? Check.
  • Hints at the direction our society could be heading without coming out and making a “speech”? Yes!

This is an early scene from the book, with Jenna, her mom, and her grandmother Lily:

I push my empty glass away and announce, “I’m going to school today.”

Mother drops her pencil and stares at me. Lily stops beating her eggs.

“I assume I didn’t graduate during the year I was in a coma, so I still need to finish, right?”

Mother hasn’t spoken. Her mouth is open and her head shakes slightly, like my words are ricocheting around inside. Somehow, I find it amusing.

“There’s two village charters within walking distance—I checked the directory on the Net—and the Central Academy is just a short drive.”

“You can’t drive!” The words shoot out of Mother, and then she says more calmly, “School is out of the question. You’re still recovering—”

“I’m fine—”

Mother stands. “I said school is out of the question. Period.”

I hesitate, but then stand, too. “And I say it isn’t.”

Mother is shocked into a marble stance. Neither of us speaks. Finally she looks away. She sits back down. She picks up her pencil. She is calm, smooth, practiced, the mother who seems to know where we are going before I do. “Go to your room, Jenna. You need to rest. Go. Now.”

I am seething. Outraged. Incensed. The words. They’re finally bubbling up in torrents just when I need them.

But the will. It is waning. Mother says I should go to my room. Go to your room, Jenna. Go to your room.

I do.

This is the first book by Pearson I’ve read, and you can bet I’ll be reading more. Have you read any others by her?

Borrow: Your local library | Swap
Buy: Your local bookstore | Powell’s | Amazon

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