The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

Pearson, Mary E. (2008). The Adoration of Jenna Fox. New York, New York: Henry Holt and Co. 

ISBN: 9780805076684

272 pages

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Science Fiction

Age Level: 15-19

Stars: 5 stars

Subjects: Identity, High School, Relationships, Family, Future, Surgery

Reader's Annotation

Seventeen-year-old Jenna Fox wakes up from a year-long coma caused by a terrible accident unsure of who she is and who she used to be, and as she slowly gains her memoies back, she has more and more questions about who she was and what happened to her. 

Summary

Jenna Fox has been told that is her name. She has been told that she's seventeen years old and that she was in a coma for a year after a terrible accident. But in spite of the questions answered by her friends and family and the home movies she watches of herself before the accident, there are some lingering questions. Why are people treating her so strangely? What really happened on the night of the accident? Why do her arms and legs not feel, look, or move the way they used to? As she slowly starts to remember pieces of her life before the accident, she questions even these memories, and she wonders what she can trust, how she can know who she is and, most importantly- who is Jenna Fox? 

Notes

This has some similar themes to Scott Westerfeld's Uglies Trilogy. Readers who enjoyed this book may want to look into the series. It is equally thought-provoking about what makes you who you are, and how identity is formed.

Awards

A Book Sense "Top Ten" Summer Pick

Other Information

Adoration of Jenna Fox Website

Author Information

Mary Pearson's Website

The Angel Experiment by James Patterson (Maximum Ride, Book 1)

Patterson, James (2007). The Angel Experiment. New York, New York: Little, Brown Young Readers. 

ISBN: 9780316067959

404 pages

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Science Fiction

Age Level: 15-19

Stars: 4 stars

Subjects: New York, Science Fiction, Mutation, Surgery, Identity

Reader's Annotation

14-year-old Max is one of a group of genetically enhanced children with unique talents  on the run from predators called Erasers who seek to destroy any evidence of their existence, but how long will they be able to evade these hunters? 

Summary

When a group of genetically enhanced children escape from a lab with the help of a scientist sympathetic to their cause, they are immediately hunted by a group of predators that are part-human, part-wolf and completely dangerous called Erasers. The Erasers need to catch and return these mutants before the world can find out that they exist. When Angel, a six-year-old, is captured, the other members of her "family" must help rescue her even as they learn more about their pasts and why they were created. 

Notes

Readers might recognize James Patterson as the author of the Alex Cross books, starting with Along Came A Spider and Kiss the Girls, both of which were also made into movies. Readers who enjoyed this book might enjoy those mystery thrillers, but they should check out the other books in this series: School's Out-Forever, Saving the World, and The Final Warning. 

Author Information

James Patterson's Website

School's Out- Forever by James Patterson (Maximum Ride, Book 2)

Patterson, James (2007). School's Out- Forever. New York, New York: Vision Press. 

ISBN: 9780446618892

368 pages

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Science Fiction

Age Level: 15-19

Stars: 4 stars

Subjects: New York, Mutation, Surgery, Science Fiction, Identity

Reader's Annotation

When genetic mutant Fang is injured in a battle against part-human, part-wolf predators called Erasers, his "family" must take him to the hospital, but his strange DNA leads them to contact the FBI, and for the first time, Max and her friends experience what it might be like to live a normal human life, but how long can it last?

Summary

Max is one of a group of genetically mutated children who escaped from a lab and have been on the run ever since. They are in a battle with part-human, part-wolf predators called Erasers that want to bring them back to the lab they left or otherwise exterminate them. When one of the group, Fang, is injured so seriously that he must be taken to the hospital, doctors immediately notice anomalies and contact the FBI. The lead agent, Anne Walker, takes them to her Virginia farm home where, for the first time, they manage to lead normal lives, but when they start to try to seek their birth parents, they begin to realize that Anne might not have been entirely upfront about who she is and why she has taken them to her farm. 

Notes

Readers might recognize James Patterson as the author of the Alex Cross books, starting withAlong Came A Spider and Kiss the Girls, both of which were also made into movies. Readers who enjoyed this book might enjoy those mystery thrillers, but they should check out the other books in this series: The Angel Experiment, Saving the World, and The Final Warning. 

Author Information

James Patterson's Website

Saving the World by James Patterson (Maximum Ride, Book 3)

Patterson, James (2007). Saving the World. New York, New York: Little, Brown Young Readers.

ISBN: 9780316155608

416 pages

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Science Fiction

Age Level: 15-19

Stars: 4 stars

Subjects: New York, Mutation, Identity, Rebellion

Reader's Annotation

Max and her "Flock" have returned to face their ultimate enemy and destroy their creators before they themselves are destroyed, and in the process, save the world from a eugenics plot- but will they succeed? 

Summary

14-year-old Max has returned with her friends in the 3rd book in this series. Now that they have discovered more about who created them and why, the time has come for action. It turns out that it has been decided by their creators that they must be exterminated, but if that happens, then the world as a whole may fall subject to a plot to re-engineer parts of the population and create a superior master race and terminate the rest. With their creators more determined than ever, the group is weak, forced to hide and separated, so this novel begs the question of how they can possibly hope to succeed against such incredible odds. 

Notes

Readers might recognize James Patterson as the author of the Alex Cross books, starting withAlong Came A Spider and Kiss the Girls, both of which were also made into movies. Readers who enjoyed this book might enjoy those mystery thrillers, but they should check out the other books in this series: The Angel Experiment, School's Out-Forever, and The Final Warning. 

Author Information

James Patterson's Website

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Westerfeld, Scott (2005). Uglies. New York, New York: Simon Pulse. 

ISBN: 9780689865381

448 pages

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Fantasy

Age Level: 15-19

Stars: 5 stars

Subjects: Surgery, Popularity, Outcast, Future, Dystopia, Relationships

Reader's Annotation

In a futuristic society where, at the age of 16, everyone becomes a "Pretty", Tally Youngblood wants nothing more than to undergo surgery herself, until she meets Shay and a fringe society and explores the idea that she might be okay just the way she is. 

Summary

Tally Youngblood is like any other teenager- she is filled with doubts and insecurities about herself, and she is desperate to be beautiful- but in this society, that wish is granted to everyone at the age of 16. Her best friend and almost everyone she knows is already in Pretty Town, partying all day and having fun being beautiful, while she has been left behind in UglyTown to wait for her 16th birthday. Before that date, however, she meets Shay, a young girl who plans on running away and joining a fringe society that accepts individuals who don't want to undergo this transformation. As Tally is pulled into this idea, she is forced to examine society and the ideals she has been forced from birth to believe and she begins to question everything. 

Notes

Although there is a strong femal protagonist in this book, it is highly readable for guys or girls. The underlying commentary on our current society's values is intriguing because Westerfeld has taken it to the next level, where everyone is beautiful and happy. This asks the question: at what cost does this perfect society exist? 

Other Information

This is the first book in the Uglies Trilogy. Those interested in the fate of Tally Youngblood, Shay, and their friends, should check out Pretties, Specials, and Extras. 

Author Information

Scott Westerfeld's Website

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

Westerfeld, Scott (2005). Pretties. New York, New York: Simon Pulse. 

ISBN: 9780689865398

384 pages

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Fantasy

Age Level: 15-19

Stars: 5 stars

Subjects: Surgery, Dystopia, Future, Relationships, Popularity

Reader's Annotation

Tally Youngblood is now one of the "Pretties", but although she has gained beauty, she wonders if maybe she has lost something else, and she continues to battle against the rules of society.

 

Summary

This is the sequel to Westerfeld's Uglies, and is the second of four books in the series. At the start of the book, Tally Youngblood has been made into a Pretty against her wishes, but she can't seem to recall any of her problems with being a Pretty- or any of her friends in the Smoke, either. It seems that becoming a Pretty has some side-effects that people might get angry about if they find out about them. After a former friend from New Smoke delivers two pills, Tally begins to continue her battle against society. With the help of her new boyfriend, Zane, who wants to stay alert and aware at all times, they and their friends try to find a way out of Pretty Town and a way to return to who they used to be. 

Notes

This is the second book in the trilogy, and although it continues to focus on Tally Youngblood, guys and girls alike will relate to the characters in the story. They are fearless, brave, and their determination to expose the problems with society will win the heart of any readers. 

Author Information

Scott Westerfeld's Website

Specials by Scott Westerfeld

Westerfeld, Scott (2007). Specials. New York, New York: Simon Pulse. 

ISBN: 9781416947950

400 pages

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Fantasy

Age Level: 15-19

Stars: 5 stars

Subjects: Dystopia, Surgery, Relationships, Popularity, Future

Reader's Annotation

After being captured by her former friend, Tally Youngblood has been made into a "Special"- a pretty with incredible strength, intelligence, and reflexes- but with all of society being policed by the Specials, who will police them? 

Summary

Again, Tally Youngblood has been forced to turn against her former ideals. With a new surgery that has made her super-tough, super-strong, and super-cold, she has become what she formerly despised: a Special. She and the other special group of Specials, "Cutters", stay especially sharp and fearless by cutting themselves to focus and maintain clarity. They are seeking to find and destroy New Smoke, but in the process, they realize that, as before, there might be something terribly wrong with their world, and it is up to them to make it change. Tally stays a Special as long as she is sure Zane is safe, and ends up following him to New Smoke, but it is nothing like what they had thought, and this forces them all to realize that they must put an end to the Specials, once and for all. 

Notes

This is the gripping conclusion to the Uglies Trilogy that will have readers turning page after page, unable to put this fast-paced novel down. Tally must yet again face her past and try to forge a future in a world that doesn't seem to accept people for who they are. Now that she is one of the Specials, normal rules don't apply, and she is amazed to find out what she- and other Specials- are truly capable of. Readers who enjoy this book should explore Uglies, Pretties, and Extras, also by Scott Westerfeld. 

Author Information

Scott Westerfeld's Website

Extras by Scott Westerfeld

Westerfeld, Scott (2007). Extras. New York, New York: Simon Pulse. 

ISBN: 9781416951172

432 pages

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Science Fiction

Age Level: 15-19

Stars: 5 stars

Subjects: Popularity, Fame, Identity, Surgery, Relationships, Family

Reader's Annotation

The aftermath of Tally Youngblood's take down of the Uglies/Pretties/Specials regime has left what was once Japan with a new currency, popularity, and Aya Fuse is determined to become famous at any price. 

Summary

It has been a few years since Tally Youngblood took down the social structure dividing everyone into Uglies, Pretties, and Specials, and society has been left to reorganize itself. In what was once known as Japan, Aya Fuse lives in near obscurity. According to her parents, she's too young to undergo surgery, so she's stuck with an ugly face and she's doomed to be a nobody with a famous brother. That's when she discovers a clique of girls who do crazy stunts, and despite their wishes to remain unknown, she plans to kick their story and become famous through them- until they all discover something that is bigger than that. There could be a greater danger that they stumble upon, and when Aya kicks the story, she's launched into incredible fame- and incredible danger, taking those closest to her with her for a thrilling adventure they never expected. 

Notes

Although there is a strong female protagonist, readers of both genders will be drawn into this story of action, adventure, and a futuristic society. It is full of adventure, misunderstandings, and a future that might hit a little too close to home.  

Other Information

This is the fourth book in The Uglies Trilogy. Those who enjoyed this book should read Uglies, Pretties, and Specials to learn the full backstory to the society and better understand the protagonist of this novel. 

Author Information

Scott Westerfeld's Website