July 24, 2013

What I'm Reading Wednesday: YA Dystopia!

First off, gigantic thanks to my awesome older brother for designing a new header for my blog!  I love it!  He also bought my domain name as a surprise for me, so you can now reach me at juiceboxesandcrayolas.com.  (.blogspot.com still works, so no need to resubscribe!)  I feel so official now. ;)

Anyways, onto the reading!  Ahhh!  I am slacking on reading this week!  I have only ONE book to share with you!

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
Goodreads SummaryWho is Jenna Fox? Seventeen-year-old Jenna has been told that is her name. She has just awoken from a coma, they tell her, and she is still recovering from a terrible accident in which she was involved a year ago. But what happened before that? Jenna doesn't remember her life. Or does she? And are the memories really hers?

This fascinating novel represents a stunning new direction for acclaimed author Mary Pearson. Set in a near future America, it takes readers on an unforgettable journey through questions of bio-medical ethics and the nature of humanity. Mary Pearson's vividly drawn characters and masterful writing soar to a new level of sophistication.


My Thoughts:  Jenna Fox falls *loosely* into my beloved genre of YA dystopia.  There is no crazy government or uprising, but the book is set in the future, and the world is certainly different   Tons of medical advances have been made that can keep people alive and functioning when they would otherwise have been dead.  But overuse of antibiotics over the years have caused viruses to mutate into crazy deadly strands that left many dead and others disables.  I'd say Pearson was definitely trying to stir up some conversation about medical ethics, and I'd say she was mildly successful.  There were some thing that bothered me about the writing--lots of "telling" and not enough "showing" as I would tell my students--but overall I liked the book and was captivated by the story.  I was planning on giving this one 4 stars...until the end.  The ending of this one kind of killed it for me, and I thought the story totally fell flat.  It's the first book in a trilogy though (of course it is), and my friend assured me that I just have to keep reading; that book 2 is better.  I will definitely be reading the others this week, so I will keep you posted!

3/5 Stars

What have you been reading this week?

Cover art and summary are borrowed from goodreads.com, my favorite site ever. :)

7 comments:

  1. I absolutely love Good Reads! I'm currently reading The One and Only Ivan (I am so late on this one!!) and Teach Like a Pirate.

    Thanks for the suggestion!

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  2. Love the new header. I am reading The Diviners by Libba Bray.

    Laurie
    Chickadee Jubilee

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  3. Ugh, I hate when the ending kills it! I feel so defeated when that happens lol. I just finished Divergent & Insurgent, and now I'm finally getting around to reading The Fault In Our Stars!

    Meg
    Third Grade in the First State

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  4. I am not reading anything at the moment, but I'm thinking with my forced rest - I have some time now!!! :) I'll have to pull from your lists because I have no idea where I want to start.

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  5. I have too many books that I am currently reading! (Not joking...The Bible, Awakened, Word Nerds, Goodness & Mercy and on and on)

    I LOVE your new header! Super cute. AND what an awesome brother to buy your domain! Tell him to give my brother some tips lol

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  6. Ah, I love YA Dystopian-type books! It is such a cool genre! You'll have to let us know how this one turns out after the second book. I could use a new read in this genre. I am currently re-reading the Maarten Troost travel books about his time living the South Pacific (PC-type assignment with his spouse). The books are amazing! Check them out if you get a chance (the titles aren't super "appropriate" so I thought it best to just post the authors name-ha ha). Thanks for the great book review!

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  7. Grrrrrr...I tried commenting on Wednesday, but my iPad was being completely spastic. I am reading a really good book right now called The Ice Cream Girls. It had my attention after 10 pages! I did my first What I Read Wednesday this week after being inspired from your posts, so thanks for that! Oh and P.S...Goodreads is my most favorite site too! I tell people all the time it is like Facebook for books and that I prefer it over FB. Love it!
    http://being-ladylike.blogspot.com

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