Identity, relationships, and emotions play pivotal roles in this intriguing novel by Mary E. Pearson. Waking up from a year-long coma, seventeen-year-old Jenna Fox finds that nothing in her life is familiar. Her doting and protective parents are unwilling to offer much in the way of explanations—except for giving her a box of family movies chronicling central snippets of her life. Strictly monitoring Jenna’s health care and controlling her interactions with the outside world, Jenna’s devoted parents seem beyond loving. Readers, along with Jenna, struggle to put together the pieces of her life both before and after the accident. Like many teens, Jenna tries to reconcile the various definitions of herself while also negotiating boundary changes in her relationships with others. Brief and reflective poems that bookend the chapters offer insight into Jenna’s deepening understanding of who she is and what she’s made of. Set in the near future, this novel presents realistic issues related to biotechnology and medical ethics. Also embedded in the story are the challenges these issues impose on civil rights, the environment, and religious beliefs. This multilayered novel is equal parts love story, science fiction, and mystery. (Age 12 and older)