The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

Identity. Where does it lie? In a face? A voice? A bundled string of events we call a lifetime? Who am I? Can anyone ever know for sure just what it takes to be who we are? We all search for our place in this world and how we fit in, but for Jenna Fox that search reaches dark new dimensions when she wakes from a coma and can't remember who she is. Worse, she doesn't remember the people who claim to be her parents. There is something curious about them, about the house they all live in -- in fact, curious describes her whole life, as she attempts to unlock the secrets of who she was, and who she has become. The Adoration of Jenna Fox is about Jenna's search for identity, a quest as old as history, but as startling as the future.

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"Stunning in the questions it raises about what it means to be human, I think The Adoration of Jenna Fox will spur breathless discussions as teens follow Jenna's amazing journey to find answers. This book will keep readergirlz everywhere up all night as they, too, struggle with the question: Who am I?" - Dia Calhoun, readergirlz co-founder and author "Outstanding examination of identity." - Kirkus, starred review "Gripping...seamless..." - School Library Journal, starred review "Expert plotting." - Publishers Weekly, starred review "Quite literally breathtaking." - Kliatt, audio starred review Optioned by 20th Century Fox for a feature film

Mary E. Pearson

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On the nightstand: Chapstick and the book What I Saw and How I Lied

Favorite drink while you write: Currently, green tea with honey.

Favorite bookstore: My closest indies - Yellow Book Road, Warwicks, and Mysterious Galaxy - but I love them all!

Favorite library: Carlsbad Dove Library.

Pets: Brody and Hunter -- 160 pounds of slobbery, golden love.

Place to write: My office mostly, which is quiet and dark with a big leafy tree just outside my window. Sometimes I take my laptop down to the Four Seasons and write in the lobby. Big comfy chairs and no Internet!

Inspiration: People. Everything about the way they act and interact.

Dream book tour: All my writer friends get to go along with me and sign their books too. And let's throw in Paris since it's a dream tour.

Writer buddies: Too many to name. I couldn’t write without them!

Cure for writer's block: Long walks, music, and driving.

Favorite outfit: Jean skirt, tank, and flip-flops (though I sometimes I love getting all dressed up too)

Laptop or longhand? Laptop. But recently giving a shot at long-hand.

Stilettos or Uggs? Au naturel! Bare feet all the way!

Next up: The Miles Between, out this fall from Henry Holt BYR.

Author idols: I'm blessed to know so many awesome authors. One whom I don't know but greatly admire is Sonya Hartnett.

Other YA Novels: A Room on Lorelei Street, Scribbler of Dreams, and David v. God

Other Interviews: Click here for the list

Website: marypearson.com

Roundtable: readergirlz divas, postergirlz, and friends discuss The Adoration of Jenna Fox

 

rgz LIVE!

Discuss the book with the author herself. Mary E. Pearson will be chatting live at the readergirlz blog on Thursday, March 19th at 6 PM PST/9 PM EST. The chat will last for about an hour.

Get ready for the second annual Operation Teen Book Drop (TBD) coming in April!

Technologies in genomics, stem cell research, and cloning are advancing fast—so fast that the laws have had trouble keeping up. Earlier this year, a couple in Florida welcomed the first cloned dog into their home, making the once sci-fi pipedream of human cloning a real possibility for the near future.

As a result, many states are quickly drafting bills aimed to create ethical standards in bioethics. Last month Texas filed a bill that would make human cloning a first-degree felony, and other states are following suit.

Regardless of how you feel about the hotly-debated topic of human cloning, it's important to voice your opinions to legislators while bills are being drafted and discussed. Grassroots letter-writing campaigns are still one of the most effective tools you have to voice your support or opposition to pending laws and influence change.

For tips on writing powerful and professional political letters, click here. Then visit www.Congress.org to identify and contact elected leaders, post letters online, read others' letters, and more.

These tunes were hand-picked by the author to accompany her book.

Building a Mystery by Sarah McLachlan
Hold On by Sarah McLachlan
I Will Remember You by Sarah McLachlan
Path of Thorns by Sarah McLachlan
Fear by Sarah McLachlan
Sweet Surrender by Sarah McLachlan
Angel by Sarah McLachlan
In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins
Canon in D by Pachelbel (piano only)
Shepherd Moons by Enya

On the cover of The Adoration of Jenna Fox is the question, "How far would you go to save someone you love?" Did Jenna's parents go too far? How far would you go?

Jenna is self-conscious about what she says and does around her friends, wanting to fit in so badly. Is there something you are self-conscious about around your friends?

Jenna faces living two hundred years or even more. Would you want to live forever?

Jenna seems to be able to hear better because of the changes she has undergone. Is there one thing you wish you had superhuman abilities to do?

There is a "gray page" titled Pieces where Jenna describes working so hard to give pieces of herself to others that she has nothing left for herself. Do you ever feel that way? Why?

On page 212, Jenna defines herself. If you could define yourself with just three words, what would they be?

 

Invite: Decorated with the image of a blue butterfly or a brain

Food: "Nutrients" = chocolate chip shakes, blue sugar cookies

Décor: "Biogel" bracelets (the glow-in-the-dark kind), blue butterflies, and black "back-up" boxes with attendee name labels. Fill with blue M&Ms.

Movies: Frankenstein

Craft: "Blue Goo." Mix 1 cup cornstarch with approx ½ cup water and several drops blue food coloring (add slowly, just until gooey but not too watery). Goo is solid if you hit it quickly, but oozy if you slowly put your fingers in it. Lots of fun and not too messy.

Recommended by postergirlz, the readergirlz advisory council

Fiction
Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Undercover by Beth Kephart

Non-Fiction
Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure
Walden by Henry David Thoreau

 

Join us in April to discuss Impulse by Ellen Hopkins.

We'll be talking about Red Glass by Laura Resau in May.