The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Talk about drama! Even though the author's hints throughout about what happened to Jenna are about as subtle as a bomb exploding, I found my enjoyment for this one was less because of something else altogether. That reason is the cause for a lot of debate here in the US. It's our relationship with science. I don't feel that it's very spoilerish to say that science in the time and place of this story is looked at with extreme suspicion mixed with an a little bit of hope. Most of the arguments about nature vs science examined were moot points for me, so even though I could understand both sides, it wasn't really new territory.

My own sentiments aside, for some readers the author could raise somewhat valid (even if it's not very realistic) questions for a future where bioengineering has exceeded medicine's wildest expectations. Where do we have to draw the line? Who gets to draw it? Can there ever be exceptions? The author attempts to answer these questions in a very heavy-handed manner much to my disappointment. The last chapter was my favorite and I'd recommend just for that, but there were many things I thought could have been better developed.

Copy Source: Purchased Paperback