So I finished reading The Adoration of Jenna Fox sometime last week but I’m just now having a moment to sit down and think about it. This is a very thought-provoking book. I wasn’t sure if I’d get into it at first, but pretty early in, I was hooked. It’s a page turner. It’s sci-fi, but it has some futuristic feelings to it. For example, all the technology and advances in science seem totally plausible. The book feels like a mystery for a good portion of the book. The main character, Jenna, has woken up after having supposedly been in a coma for a year after a terrible car accident. But everything is strange. Her family has moved to CA even though her dad still works in another state. Her grandmother treats her like a stranger and seems resentful of the fact that Jenna’s there–even though they used to have a super close relationship. Jenna can’t remember anything of her life before. Her parents are secretive about too many things. Something’s way, way off. And Jenna knows it.

The story revolves around Jenna finding out what really happened to her and who she really is. The thought-provoking aspect comes into play when you start to consider the ethics (or lack thereof) of certain decisions Jenna’s parents made. To be honest, when I finished the book, I kept wondering what the author’s position would be on some things. You don’t end with a clear picture of what’s right or wrong, though you sort of have an idea of the direction the author’s going in. It made me question my own opinion of where the ethics line in science should be drawn. The book didn’t change my views whatsoever on that–but it was still a really interesting read. It raised some questions that it couldn’t answer, of course (things about a person’s soul). But overall, I thought it was a fascinating book. At some points, maybe a little disturbing, but definitely interesting.

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