Once there were three. Three friends who loved each other—Jenna, Locke, and Kara. And after a terrible accident destroyed their bodies, their three minds were kept alive, spinning in a digital netherworld. Even in that disembodied nightmare, they were still together. At least at first. When Jenna disappeared, Locke and Kara had to go on without her. Decades passed, and then centuries.Review:
Two-hundred-and-sixty years later, they have been released at last. Given new, perfect bodies, Locke and Kara awaken to a world they know nothing about, where everyone they once knew and loved is long dead.
Everyone except Jenna Fox.
A couple of years ago, I read the amazing and emotional The Adoration of Jenna Fox. Ever since then I've quickly gobbled up anything Mary's released so when I first heard about The Fox Inheritance, a companion to Jenna Fox, as well as an upcoming third book in the series, I knew I had to read them. As it turns out, The Fox Inheritance was an interesting and quick read, but it wasn't anywhere near what Jenna Fox was.
The Fox Inheritance tells the story of Locke and Kara, the two friends of Jenna Fox's who "died" while she lived. However, they've recently been brought back to life by a crazy scientist, only to find a world totally unlike what they left behind. Everyone they loved is long gone. Their houses are either gone or remodeled beyond their imagination. The only thing that remains from their past is Jenna Fox, and within her, she may provide their last hope of survival as well as understanding. So they pack up their bags and live with only one goal in mind: find Jenna Fox. However, what happens when one of the long lost friends goes a little haywire? Only time and more pages can tell in this interesting and fresh addition to the Jenna Fox Chronicles.
In this addition, the narrator is Locke, and it was exciting to see that change occur, because while I loved Jenna's character, I was very curious to see things from Locke's POV, especially since his situation had been very different from Jenna's and even Kara's in some ways. Through Locke's eyes, I really got to feel and understand the world of The Fox Inheritance in new ways as well as what had occurred in the past book. Locke was a very strong and tough character, one who managed to do a lot of growing up in this one, and while he faced challenge upon challenge, he really held strong, and I admired that about him. In this, I also got to see a bit more of Kara, who was very different from how I had imagined her, as well as Jenna's future self. The later of the two, though, is what brought this book down a grade or two. In the first book, I loved Jenna, because while she was innocent and somewhat scared, she always managed to stand up for what she believed, but in this addition, she really didn't do anything. Her friends needed her help, but she just kind of stood back, and left them take care of themselves. She just wasn't the Jenna I knew, and that bothered me. Hopefully, she will be able to redeem herself in the next one.
The plot in this, though, was what made it interesting. I was very fast paced, and because of that and other things, I was constantly flipping pages, dying to know what would occur next, especially towards the ending when everything became truly surprising. The one thing I especially loved about this addition was the way Mary brought the future to life with the cool gadgets as well as the introduction of new characters such as Bot (who I loved!) and Miesha. It really helped move the book along!
Mary's writing in this was also decent, and while I had a love/hate relationship with the fact that this addition was more of an "adventure" than more of a slow yet beautifully told "coming of age", I still liked it overall. I especially have to give props to Mary for making this a pretty decent sequel.
In all, while The Fox Inheritance wasn't necessarily my favorite of the series so far, I still enjoyed it, and suggest it to others who loved Jenna Fox.
Grade: B
The Fox Inheritance (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads) is now out!
Source: Publicist at Macmillan- thanks Kathryn!
The Fox Inheritance is also available in audiobook format. You can find an audio excerpt here.
I read Jenna Fox a a couple of months ago, I believe. It was really intriguing and unique. I saw other reviews for this one, and unfortunately, I heard that it really paled in comparison. Some even said it was unnecessary. I think I'll skip over this one, but since you read it, I hope you enjoy the next book more!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment, Sophia! It did pale in comparison. However, I do feel that most of the reason I didn't enjoy it as much because Jenna Fox was such a great book, in my opinion, one that just couldn't be beat. If the basic plot in this one had been applied to a different book, I felt like it would have been much better. Here's to hoping I'll enjoy the next one better! :)
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