The Fox Inheritance (ARC)

Title: The Fox Inheritance


Author: Mary E. Pearson


Publisher: Henry Holt


Pages: 304


Read Time: 4 Days


Tag Words: Sequel, The Adoration of Jenna Fox, dystopian, sci-fi


My Summary:


Locke and Kara should be dead, many times over, but copies of their former selves have persisted over 260 years.

Now they have bodies, and their minds are no longer caged inside contraband technology.

However, the world is different, and everyone they knew, and loved, is gone...everyone, except Jenna Fox.


My Review:


I'm going to begin my review of this book the same way most every other sane blogger has. The Adoration of Jenna Fox is one of my favorite novels, ever. It was trendy before there was a trend, it's hauntingly beautiful and Jenna has never left me, not from page one, probably not ever. You would think I would love book two then, yes? No. I could cry because I don't, but no, this book is not only not as good as it's predecessor, it's just not very good, at all.

I've been trying to figure out for the longest time what went wrong here, and I think it all boils down to a lack of commitment on Pearson's part. In 'Adoration' Pearson did a, dare I say it, perfect, (Oh, I did!) job of finding a thesis and sticking to it, developing an amazing story and a beautiful heroine along the way. However, I cannot honestly tell you what 'Inheritance' was all about. It was in there somewhere, what Locke was saying just got scrambled inside the hasty development of a dystopian society that didn't even matter in Jenna, Kara and Locke's world.

This book shouldn't have happened in my opinion; it messes with my mind, this reimaging of what was the most perfect last chapter of a book to ever happen to me as a reader. I still tear up when internally reciting, "...I wonder at the weight of a sparrow." There was such an ethereal beauty to 'Adoration' that did not cross into 'Inheritance.' Pearson was so busy taking her world to new heights, creating cold people, including Bots, and a grid system for trains that move almost as fast as the speed of light, that the tone and weight of the back story begun in 'Adoration' just got lost along the way.

If you disagree, good, you got something out of this book I could not find, and wish I had.

Now as for me, I'm off to read 'Adoration' again, and scrub this sequel from my mind once and for all.
  
Notes on the Names:


Locke, even in book one I thought Locke had the coolest, most unusual name. I can really see a little Locke blending in seamlessly on the playground with all the baby Cash's, Nash's, Pierce's, and all the babies with occupational names.


Thoughts on the Cover:


Anyone else notice that the Bio-Gel is different on this cover? Loved that. Also, having read the book, the fact that Locke's eye is the central focus makes me want to congratulate this team of designers, they read this book, considered it, and created something that perfectly reflects Locke's part of this story.


Parental Book Review *spoilers*


Sexual Content: 


Kara and Locke are very close, and share kisses along the way. Locke does lament about his being a virgin, (260 years, longer than Edward Cullen, even!) so they haven't slept together.

Language: 


A- 7
H- 3
B- 1
Screw- 1
D*ck- 2


Violence:


A fist fight engaged in for self defense.


Other Notables:


Eventual suicide/homicide by jumping from a cliff.