I read (listened to, actually) The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson more than a year ago. It was not only an interesting story with a creepy premise, but it was an excellent audiobook version, which I think contributed to my enjoyment of it.
When I saw that there was a new book out called The Fox Inheritance, I was intrigued. The Adoration of Jenna Fox (linked to my review) did not end needing a sequel, and this book takes place 260 years later, so it’s not as if it picks up where the other book left off.
If you have not read The Adoration of Jenna Fox this review will have spoilers, as far as knowing what happens, so I would suggest that you stop reading and go pick up a copy of that excellent book and then come back to this one. For those of you who do know the plotline of that book, this review won’t give away anything, but will let you know the basic premise.
As I said, this story picks up 260 years later, and we meet Kara and Locke inside a house/laboratory and learn about their restoration. Locke seems to be the same, but Kara is definitely a little off. She’s subject to mood swings and doesn’t seem quite right. When they realize that Dr. Gatsbro is using them, they decide to escape.
They try to hijack a car driven by a ‘bot. When the driver Dot realizes that they are escapees, she wants to help, since she herself as a ‘bot is literally joined with her car and isn’t programmed to think independently, yet she does. Their cross-country ride reveals how much has changed in the last couple of hundred years — to them, and to us the reader. It’s pretty interesting that we, the readers, discover it right alongside them.
That said, this book was just okay. Mary Pearson definitely showed her creativity, and the character of Dot absolutely made the novel for me. I also enjoyed revisiting Jenna, and learning more about Locke, but it wasn’t as good to me as the first one. I don’t know if it’s the male narrator and POV or the fact that the plot wasn’t as original since I had been shocked by it in the first volume. However, I loved meeting Dot, and she’ll definitely stick with me.
AUDIO NOTES: One thing that bugged my daughter (13) and me is they way reader Matt Brown pronounced Jenna’s friend’s name. In the audiobook of Jenna Fox, she was “Alyse” (Elise), but he kept pronouncing it “Allies” (AL-ees). I looked up the spelling, it’s Allys, so honestly I can’t fault him too much. I’ll place that blame on the author.
Matt Brown narrated It’s the First Day of School. . . Forever, and it was fine — nothing special, but not objectionable in any way. I think that I associated him with that middle grade novel, and so it was harder for me to adjust to him as the teen in this book. The Fox Inheritance gave him much more of a venue to exercise his talents. However in the end, he didn’t really add to, nor detract from, this story.
Jennifer Donovan is a bookaholic and an audiophile. She uses other big or made-up words on occasion when she blogs at Snapshot.
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