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 Locke—who were critically injured in the same car accident as Jenna—to 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 12–up. (Aug.)

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. (Aug.)

In this futuristic follow-up, Pearson pries open the most haunting element of Jenna Fox's world: disembodied minds trapped in computers. Questions of human identity and nightmarish medical technology drive this riveting, thought-provoking sequel.” —Suzanne Collins, author of The Hunger Games

“This is a mesmerizing story that will be greeted enthusiastically by Jenna Fox fans.” —VOYA

“The ethical debates around whether science should be limited by conscience and not just ability are well integrated into a story that is equally strong as an exploration of home, identity, and the meaning of survival.” —BCCB

“A gripping story that begs the question: Do you really know what lies at the genesis of your friend's biology, psyche or even their heart?” —Shelf Awareness

“The story is gripping, urgent, and highly appealing.” —School Library Journal

“It is through his [Locke's] viewpoint that we experience the confusing futuristic world, the thrilling suspense of the chase, the charged emotional reunion of the friends, and the admirably complex playing out of the issues of trust, ethics, and betrayal.” —Horn Book Magazine

“* A dazzling blend of science fiction, mystery, and teen friendship drama.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“The book's timely and haunting questions will leave thoughtful readers with much to ponder.” —Kirkus Reviews

Gr 8 Up—This sequel to The Adoration of Jenna Fox (Holt, 2008) is narrated by Locke, one of Jenna's best friends and fellow car accident victim. After Jenna was given a new body, her friends Kara and Locke's consciousnesses were left in a set of hard drives. Now, 260 years later, they have been given new bodies by the mysterious Dr. Gatsbro, a man who clearly has his own agenda. He has sheltered Kara and Locke from the changes in the world by keeping them on his isolated estate. Locke is haunted by his lost time and disturbed by suspicions that something isn't quite right with Kara. Escape leads to a fast-paced cross-country adventure and search for Jenna, all with the help of a subversive "BioBot" taxi driver. Overall the story is gripping, urgent, and highly appealing, though the political landscape of the future world is underdeveloped and there are some predictable action sequences in the end. Fans of the original novel will enjoy seeing Jenna and learning about her (long) life. New readers are advised to start with the first book.—Eliza Langhans, Hatfield Public Library, MA

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

Narrator Matt Brown is outstanding as humans, robots, and other futuristic life forms in this stunning sequel to THE ADORATION OF JENNA FOX. It's 260 years since the accident that killed Kara and Locke and that nearly killed Jenna. Kara and Locke have new bodies and are valuable examples for Dr. Gatsbro to show ultra-rich customers who never want to die. Brown’s most memorable character is Dot, a bot (a droid that serves humans) who befriends Kara and Locke as they flee their captor. Attempting to find Jenna, they encounter conflict between humans and nonhumans, laws that divide people even more than different bodies, and a bleak fight for survival. This is science fiction even for those who aren’t sci-fi fans. Both book and narrator cannot be overpraised. S.G.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

In a thought-provoking, atmospheric follow-up to The Adoration of Jenna Fox (2008), Pearson again contemplates bioengineering and the nature of humanity.

Some 260 years after Jenna Fox's father used controversial technology to upload Jenna's mind into an imitation body, Jenna's friends Locke and Kara, presumed dead in the same car accident, are uploaded into new bodies of their own. Both traumatized and connected to each other by the years their minds spent locked in claustrophobic "environments," the pair live for a year with Gatsbro, the doctor who brought them back. Then Kara discovers the exploitative ends for which he is keeping them, and the two flee their captivity with the (perhaps too convenient) help of an unexpected ally. Their journey from Gatsbro's facility through a greatly changed America and ultimately toward Jenna Fox, still alive in her BioGel body, is harrowing and eye-opening, but the heart of the story is its meditation on what it means to be human. Is Locke human, his consciousness uploaded into a taller, more malleable body? Is Kara, who has lost her compassion? What about Dot, a legless robot engineered only to drive a cab, who is nonetheless strong-willed, brave and rebellious?

Though action scenes are occasionally predictable or over too soon, the book's timely and haunting questions will leave thoughtful readers with much to ponder. (Science fiction. 12 & up)