Fox Forever by Mary E. Pearson

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

First Thoughts: I loved The Adoration of Jenna Fox and the sequel The Fox Inheritance was a very good read too, so I’ve got high hopes for this book. Again, loving the jigsaw puzzle cover – however, once I read the book I had to add the comment that this is not how I picture Raine from the descriptions in the book.

Plot:  Locke is determined to do some living so he can catch up a little to Jenna’s experience, but what he doesn’t expect is to find himself involved with the Network, a group of non-Pacs and illegals who are carrying on the work of the Resistance which crumbled with the arrest of it’s leader several years earlier.

As he works to become close to Raine in order to spy on her father, who is the head of security, he finds that his focus shifts to Raine herself. Is she anymore free than the Resistance leader who’s been kept under imprisoned for so long, or is being the daughter of this official like living in a claustrophobic dictatorship. He come to see that the girl who appears to have it all, may have nothing of her own at all.Locke’s espionage also uncovers greater horrors that lie hidden beneath the surface of this futuristic civilization.Rating: 4 out of 5.

Pacing: This book perfects the action-adventure element tried out in the second book. Sction, romance and suspense alternate to make this a very easy read. Rating: 4 out of 5

Character: Locke starts out hoping to ‘find himself’ after Jenna asked him who he truly was…but aside from finding himself, he finds a cover-up, a purpose and a new love. He’s also not forgotten his promise to Dot and goes about Boston, spreading her story, hoping to inspire other bots like hers – those capable of dreaming. Jenna and Miesha play secondary roles, but their interaction with Locke remains key to the development of his sense of self in relation to this new world and this new body of his.

Raine’s an interesting new character, she’s not what she appears at first although one of the twists about her was far to easy to figure out for my liking.

The Network is made up of a group of people determined to free an old friend, but they aren’t all doing it just for the man since they’re also looking for the money he stole from the government all those years ago. I enjoyed having my suspicions awakened about one or two of the members. Rating: 4 out of 5

World Building: I felt that in book two there had been a missed opportunity to explore in greater depth the technology that could be possible in three hundred years time, and this time I’m pleased to say there was a little more to the world’s tech to satisfy me. The new Boston is a place of haves and have nots. As long as you’re a civilian you can imagine that there is not starvation and over-work in the world, but scratch the surface and there’s more to see…Rating: 4 out of 5

Overall: I loved book one, but when book two tried to move from that suspenseful tone to a thrilling, futuristic  action adventure I felt there were pacing issues that held me back from enjoying it as much as the first. This book however ticks all the right boxes for furistic action-adventure and I loved the pace! Rating: 4 out of 5