From the Publisher

Who is Jenna Fox? Seventeen-year-old Jenna has been told that is her name. She has just awoken from a coma, they tell her, and she is still recovering from a terrible accident in which she was involved a year ago. But what happened before that? Jenna doesn't remember her life. Or does she? And are the memories really hers?

This fascinating novel represents a stunning new direction for acclaimed author Mary Pearson. Set in a near future America, it takes readers on an unforgettable journey through questions of bio-medical ethics and the nature of humanity. Mary Pearson's vividly drawn characters and masterful writing soar to a new level of sophistication.

Publishers Weekly

Sometime in the near future, Jenna Fox, 17, awakens from an 18-month-long coma following a devastating accident, her memory nearly blank. She attempts reorientation by watching videos of her childhood, "recorded beyond reason" by worshipful parents, but mysteries proliferate. Jenna can recite passages from Thoreau yet can't remember having any friends. As memories return, however, Jenna starts picking at the explanation her parents have spun until it unravels. Pearson (A Room on Lorelei Street ) uses each revelation to steadily build tension until the true horror comes into focus. Even then Pearson does not stop; she raises the ante in unexpected ways until the very last page. Clues are supplied by the supporting cast: Jenna's father, who made his fortune in biotechnology; a classmate whose loss of limbs has turned her into a crusader for medical ethics; Jenna's Catholic grandmother, who is hostile to her. A few lapses in logic- if Jenna's father is world-famous and the family in hiding, why does she enroll in school under her real name?-can be forgiven in favor of expert plotting and the complex questions raised about ethics and the nature of the soul. Ages 14-up. (Apr.)

Children's Literature

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.

KLIATT

AGERANGE: Ages 12 to 18.

Seventeen-year-old Jenna Fox wakes from a coma and doesn’t know who she is. She has been involved in a horrific accident and is brought home to recuperate with her mother and her grandmother, two women she does not remember. In fact, she is not really at home; her parents have moved miles away to give her time to fully recover. And, she has the distinct impression that her grandmother is angry with her. When Jenna insists on being able to go back to school, she is sent to a charter school where every student has had some difficulty to overcome--some have emotional scars, like Ethan; others, like Allys, are struggling with physical handicaps. Jenna becomes friends with both, and quadriplegic Allys draws Jenna and Ethan into a political passion for strict medical controls. Gradually Jenna starts to glimpse her past life, the accident, and strange memories that don’t make sense to her until she is able to come face to face with the medical practice that has saved her. The novel is part mystery and part science fiction. Set in the future, it raises issues of biomedical ethics, suspended animation and the enduring human spirit. Jenna narrates, and we experience her confusion as she struggles to make sense of events she only vaguely remembers. Students will be intrigued by the medical treatments that allow her to recover and there is much to debate in terms of how far science should go in medical treatment. Is there a line that should not be crossed? This is fascinating and thought provoking. Reviewer: Janis Flint-Ferguson
March 2008 (Vol. 42, No.2)

School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up- Seventeen-year-old Jenna Fox awakens after more than a year in a coma to find herself in a life-and a body-that she doesn't quite recognize. Her parents tell her that she's been in an accident, but much of her past identity and current situation remain a mystery to her: Why has her family abruptly moved from Boston to California, leaving all of her personal belongings behind? Why does her grandmother react to her with such antipathy? Why have her parents instructed her to make sure not to tell anyone about the circumstances of their move? And why can Jenna recite whole passages of Thoreau's Walden , but remember next to nothing of her own past? As she watches family videos of her childhood, strange memories begin to surface, and she slowly realizes that a terrible secret is being kept from her. Pearson has constructed a gripping, believable vision of a future dystopia. She explores issues surrounding scientific ethics, the power of science, and the nature of the soul with grace, poetry, and an apt sense of drama and suspense. Some of the supporting characters are a bit underdeveloped, but Jenna herself is complex, interesting, and very real. This is a beautiful blend of science fiction, medical thriller, and teen-relationship novel that melds into a seamless whole that will please fans of all three genres.-Meredith Robbins, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis High School, New York City

Kirkus 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. (Science fiction. YA)

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Product Details

• ISBN: 0805076689
  
• ISBN-13: 9780805076684
• Format: Hardcover, 272pp
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Company, Incorporated
• Pub. Date: April 2008
• Sales Rank: 21,865
• Age Range: Young Adult

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