ARC Review: Fox Forever by Mary E. Pearson

Fox Forever
Author: Mary E. Pearson
Publication:  Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); First Edition edition (March 19, 2013)

Description: Locke Jenkins has some catching up to do. After spending 260 years as a disembodied mind in a little black box, he has a perfect new body. But before he can move on with his unexpected new life, he’ll have to return the Favor he accepted from the shadowy resistance group known as the Network.

Locke must infiltrate the home of a government official by gaining the trust of his daughter, seventeen-year-old Raine, and he soon finds himself pulled deep into the world of the resistance—and into Raine’s life.

Mary E. Pearson brings the story she began in The Adoration of Jenna Fox and continued in The Fox Inheritance to a breathtaking conclusion as Locke discovers that being truly human requires much more than flesh and blood.

My Thoughts: In FOX FOREVER Locke has to return a Favor. In this future there was a civil war. The country was not divided but the people were, choosing one of two different governments. Some people didn't choose. Now, five generations later, the descendants of those who didn't choose are a disenfranchised minority without access to education, jobs, and public transportation. An underground developed to help those disenfranchised. They are the ones who helped Locke find his way to Jenna who had been a long time supporter.

Now there is a chance for the the country to be reunited and the underground wants to be part of the new government. However, they need a leader and money. That is where Locke comes in. For his Favor, all he has to do is "charm" the daughter of the leader of the security forces who might have captured the Resistance leader who knows the code to access some missing money—80 billion duros. Karden is the Resistance leader who needs to be freed. He is also the husband of Locke's friend Miesha who believed her husband and daughter were killed in a fire by security forces. 

Meeting Raine Branson throws a kink in the Resistance's plans for Locke. Locke falls for her and falls even harder when he learns who she really is. He still needs to find out where her father has Karden hidden but Raine is no longer potential "collateral damage." 

This story was a combination of heart-pounding adventure and philosophy. Locke struggles to understand his place in this new world. He questions his own humanity. The ending made me cry and then made be breathe a satisfied sigh. The Chronicles of Jenna Fox: The Adoration of Jenna Fox, The Fox Inheritance, and Fox Forever make up a wonderful trilogy that goes beyond science fiction and dystopias to encourage readers to think the big thoughts for themselves. 

I heartily recommend the series to all thoughtful readers. 

Favorite Quote:

Slowly, I pull my lips away from hers.

Jenna.

But the reality isn't the same as the dream. It's different now. She's not the same girl I knew. I hear her words again...None of us are what we once were. How is it that she knew this all along, but I didn't? I do love her, but not the way I thought I did. Not the way I had always imagined. Our live race past me. All the times before. All the times with Kara when we were three. We held hands. We crossed a line. We made one another braver. All the things that Jenna meant to me at a certain time in my life.

I received this ARC from Macmillan Children's Publishing Group. You can buy your copy here.