Module 8 - March 8-14
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
Summary:
This story opens with Jenna Fox struggling to regain her memory after 'waking' 18 months after a terrible car accident. Her memory comes back in fragmented bits and pieces. She realizes that she looks the same but cannot shake the feeling that she doesn't feel the same. Intuitively, she realizes that she is not the same Jenna that she sees starring in her parents home movies. In her quest to find herself, Jenna stumbles upon the discovery that her parents broke laws to use new medical advancements to save her life. Jenna now finds herself struggling not only to find out who she is but to also find out what she is. How much of original Jenna enough? How far would YOU go to save a life of a loved one?
Thoughts of a Book Worm:
I enjoyed this book for the thought provoking questions that it inspires. In an era of rapidly advancing technology and medical advancements, we must take the time to consider the morality and ethical responsibilites that we as a society face when going forward with some of these medical advancements. This story introduces these difficult questions through the life of a teenage girl who just wants to be normal. The author does an excellent job of helping the reader to feel the pain, frustration, and confusion as Jenna tries to come to grips with her new reality.
Reviews:
"Outstanding examination of identity, science and ethics. "I used to be someone. / Someone named Jenna Fox. / That's what they tell me," begins the hypnotic first-person narration. She woke from an 18-month coma two weeks ago, but she doesn't know how to smile or who her parents are. She watches recordings of each childhood year but they ring no bells. Why has her family brought her to a hidden cottage in California, distant from home and doctors? Mental flashes reveal a void of paralysis where "darkness and silence go on forever." Was that her coma? Voices call Jenna, hurry! into her ears-are those from the night of the accident, which she can't remember? Jenna recognizes that her gait is awkward and her memory peculiar (spotty about childhood while disturbingly perfect about academics), but asking questions provokes only furtive glances between her parents. Pearson reveals the truth layer by layer, maintaining taut suspense and psychological realism as she probes philosophical notions of personhood. A deeply humane and gripping descendent of Peter Dickinson's classic Eva." - Kirkus Reviews
"Jenna Angeline Fox has ostensibly just awakened from a year-long coma, supposedly the result of a serious accident, and she cannot remember anything about her prior life. Her parents assure her that will change. They are living in a crumbling California house with her maternal grandmother, Lily, who seems inexplicably hostile, although Jenna feels sure that was not always the case. Jenna's memory does begin to come back, but in strange ways. She can remember things that happened when she was much too young to have clear memories (her baptism), and yet she cannot remember if she ever had any friends. Her parents have documented her life in hours of video recordings, and Jenna watches them in an effort to recover her life and herself. What she finds is that her parents adored her, almost to the point of obsession. Can someone love you too much? As a parent, what would you do to save your child? This is a speculative novel set in perhaps a not-too-distant future when biogenetics can preserve and even promulgate life. Science has run amuck, and millions have died or been maimed by antibiotic-resistant germs. The backlash has created government mandates about what some see as life-saving technology. Jenna's narrative as she gradually uncovers the mystery of her history and existence is haunting and compelling. The other characters—family members, neighborhood friends, school friends—are equally complex and believable. Teen readers will be drawn in because the story is well-written, it is well-paced, and it deals with many of the same relationship and existential issues that shape adolescence. But the story also pushes us to think about larger philosophical questions such aswhat is it that makes us truly human? Neal Shusterman's Unwind and Nancy Farmer's The House of the Scorpion examine similarly thorny dilemmas about the value and meaning of an individual life. This book would be a great catalyst for a discussion around science and ethics—about our responsibilities to one another, to the environment and to society at large." Reviewer: Paula McMillen, Ph.D. -Children's Literature
Suggested Activities:
This book would work well to introduce a discussion on science and medical advancements. Students can prepare a debate from the perspectives of Jenna and her classmate Allys.
Bibliography: Pearson, M.E. (2008). The adoration of jenna fox. New York: Square Fish.
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
Summary:
This story opens with Jenna Fox struggling to regain her memory after 'waking' 18 months after a terrible car accident. Her memory comes back in fragmented bits and pieces. She realizes that she looks the same but cannot shake the feeling that she doesn't feel the same. Intuitively, she realizes that she is not the same Jenna that she sees starring in her parents home movies. In her quest to find herself, Jenna stumbles upon the discovery that her parents broke laws to use new medical advancements to save her life. Jenna now finds herself struggling not only to find out who she is but to also find out what she is. How much of original Jenna enough? How far would YOU go to save a life of a loved one?
Thoughts of a Book Worm:
I enjoyed this book for the thought provoking questions that it inspires. In an era of rapidly advancing technology and medical advancements, we must take the time to consider the morality and ethical responsibilites that we as a society face when going forward with some of these medical advancements. This story introduces these difficult questions through the life of a teenage girl who just wants to be normal. The author does an excellent job of helping the reader to feel the pain, frustration, and confusion as Jenna tries to come to grips with her new reality.
Reviews:
"Outstanding examination of identity, science and ethics. "I used to be someone. / Someone named Jenna Fox. / That's what they tell me," begins the hypnotic first-person narration. She woke from an 18-month coma two weeks ago, but she doesn't know how to smile or who her parents are. She watches recordings of each childhood year but they ring no bells. Why has her family brought her to a hidden cottage in California, distant from home and doctors? Mental flashes reveal a void of paralysis where "darkness and silence go on forever." Was that her coma? Voices call Jenna, hurry! into her ears-are those from the night of the accident, which she can't remember? Jenna recognizes that her gait is awkward and her memory peculiar (spotty about childhood while disturbingly perfect about academics), but asking questions provokes only furtive glances between her parents. Pearson reveals the truth layer by layer, maintaining taut suspense and psychological realism as she probes philosophical notions of personhood. A deeply humane and gripping descendent of Peter Dickinson's classic Eva." - Kirkus Reviews
"Jenna Angeline Fox has ostensibly just awakened from a year-long coma, supposedly the result of a serious accident, and she cannot remember anything about her prior life. Her parents assure her that will change. They are living in a crumbling California house with her maternal grandmother, Lily, who seems inexplicably hostile, although Jenna feels sure that was not always the case. Jenna's memory does begin to come back, but in strange ways. She can remember things that happened when she was much too young to have clear memories (her baptism), and yet she cannot remember if she ever had any friends. Her parents have documented her life in hours of video recordings, and Jenna watches them in an effort to recover her life and herself. What she finds is that her parents adored her, almost to the point of obsession. Can someone love you too much? As a parent, what would you do to save your child? This is a speculative novel set in perhaps a not-too-distant future when biogenetics can preserve and even promulgate life. Science has run amuck, and millions have died or been maimed by antibiotic-resistant germs. The backlash has created government mandates about what some see as life-saving technology. Jenna's narrative as she gradually uncovers the mystery of her history and existence is haunting and compelling. The other characters—family members, neighborhood friends, school friends—are equally complex and believable. Teen readers will be drawn in because the story is well-written, it is well-paced, and it deals with many of the same relationship and existential issues that shape adolescence. But the story also pushes us to think about larger philosophical questions such aswhat is it that makes us truly human? Neal Shusterman's Unwind and Nancy Farmer's The House of the Scorpion examine similarly thorny dilemmas about the value and meaning of an individual life. This book would be a great catalyst for a discussion around science and ethics—about our responsibilities to one another, to the environment and to society at large." Reviewer: Paula McMillen, Ph.D. -Children's Literature
Suggested Activities:
This book would work well to introduce a discussion on science and medical advancements. Students can prepare a debate from the perspectives of Jenna and her classmate Allys.
Bibliography: Pearson, M.E. (2008). The adoration of jenna fox. New York: Square Fish.
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