Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
The Adoration of Jenna Fox Audio
Fiction
For ages 12 and up
Unabridged audiobook (CD)
Performed/read by: Jenna Lamia
Macmillan Young Listeners, 2008 ISBN: 978-1427204431
Over a year ago, Jenna Fox was in an accident and she went into a coma. Two weeks ago she woke up from the coma, and though she is basically fit and healthy, there is something wrong. Jenna cannot remember anything about her life. She doesn’t “remember Jenna Fox.”
Bit by bit Jenna learns how to smile again, how to walk properly, and what words mean. She watches home movies about her pre-accident life, and slowly her memories start to emerge. However, Jenna cannot figure out why she does not love her parents and her grandmother. Where are her friends and all the things that she must have had before the accident happened?
As more and more memories come back to her, Jenna begins to question her life and who she is. She begins to realize that the stories her parents have told her about the accident and her coma make no sense. They are keeping secrets from her, and they are trying to protect her from something.
As the days go by, Jenna tries to understand her own story. Then she accidentally cuts herself and she finally understands who and what she is. The truth is terrifying, and she realizes that she is in uncharted territory. For once in her life Jenna is going to have to stand up for herself, and she is going to have to claim what is rightfully hers.
In this powerful and often disturbing audiobook, Mary E. Pearson takes her readers to a future world where scientists have made remarkable discoveries that have the potential to change humankind forever. The problem is that people simply are not sure if these discoveries should be allowed. Are they a good thing, or should they be illegal?
Though we have not yet managed to do many of the things mentioned in this story, the issues that are explored still have enormous relevance to us today. Is all scientific progress a good thing, or are their times when playing God simply isn’t acceptable?
Seeing these important problems explored through Jenna’s eyes is thought provoking, and as listeners hear the last words of the narrative they will probably find themselves wondering “what if?”
