The Fox Inheritance

Starred review from June 13, 2011
Pearson delivers another spellbinding thriller with this sequel to The Adoration of Jenna Fox (2008), which takes place 260 years after the first. Medical advances have finally enabled the disembodied minds of Kara and Lockeâwho were critically injured in the same car accident as Jennaâto be restored in new, look-alike bodies. Locke narrates, as he and Kara wonder why they have been recreated, what the world holds for them, and if they really qualify as human. "What I think is all I have left," he admits. "My mind is the only thing that makes me different from a fancy toaster." When they learn Jenna has been alive for centuries while their minds existed only in some computer netherworld, they are angry but desperate to find her. The world they re-enter is unfamiliar: civil war has divided the United States, and Mars has been colonized for 150 years. A dazzling blend of science fiction, mystery, and teen friendship drama, Inheritance stands alone, but reading Adoration first will ground readers in the surreal and philosophically challenging terrain on which Pearson is working. Ages 12âup.

October 31, 2011
In Pearson’s latest installment in the Jenna Fox Chronicles, following a fatal car crash, the minds of teenage Locke and Kara are recorded and saved as computer data. The two teens are given new life, 260 years later, via biosynthetic bodies that are indistinguishable from living human beings. But as Locke reflects on his old life, remembers his mind’s virtual imprisonment, and discovers the marvels and dangers of the future, he begins to suspect that something about the new version of Kara isn’t quite right. Matthew Brown narrates with a smooth, mellow voice that is very appropriate for this YA sci-fi novel. His rendition of the distressed Locke is spot on, and he provides equally appropriate voices for the book’s various characters: adults, kids, males, female, and even robots. Brown’s reading also captures the thoughtful reflection of the author’s prose, while still creating excitement and tension when the story hits suspenseful passages. A Holt hardcover.

December 1, 2011

Gr 8 Up-Fans of Mary Pearson's The Adoration of Jenna Fox (2008) will relish this futuristic sequel (2011, both Holt). Two hundred and sixty years have passed since a portion of Jenna Fox's mind was saved by her father and a body was built to house her brain after a car accident that also killed her best friends, Locke and Kara. As this tale begins, Locke and Kara are finally released from their digital purgatory by Dr. Gatsbro. They are hidden on his estate because they are illegal-less than ten percent of their brains were saved. The girls soon come to realize that Gatsbro sees them as a way to become rich-as prototypes for the wealthy who want to live forever. Escape from the estate is easy. Using 21st century minds to exist on the run in 23rd century world is difficult and they know nothing about their new world, so they seek out the only other person they know who might still be alive: Jenna Fox. The story is told from Locke's perspective, and Matthew Brown's youthful voice captures Locke's bewilderment and frustration. However, his failure to change pitch and tone for other characters is sometimes confusing. Libraries circulating the first title will definitely want to add this to their collections.-Tricia Melgaard, formerly Broken Arrow Public Schools, Tulsa, OK

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