Thank you, Mary E. Pearson!

Here's a big danke to the awesome Mary E. Pearson for joining us at readergirlz this month! Things we learned about Mary during our LIVE chat include:

1. She'd like to write a screenplay one day, but she didn't write one for The Adoration of Jenna Fox--Dana Stevens is writing that one!
2. Mary's favorite writing spot is outdoors.
3. She's working on two books right now (HOORAY!).

We had so much fun with all our new formats this month! Thanks for being adventurous, Mary!

PS-Breaking News: Mary's next book, coming in September, is titled THE MILES BETWEEN. Mary says, "It is about Destiny Faraday and three classmates who take off on an unauthorized road trip in search of one fair day. They all have secrets but Destiny's secret is one that she fears will bring the whole day to a horrible end. It is a larger than life type of story about chance and coincidence and how it weaves unexectedly into our lives. It is a VERY different story from JENNA!"

We're psyched!

March: Closing post for The Adoration of Jenna Fox

It's our closing post with Mary E. Pearson, everyone! *sob* It's been such a fantastic month of discussion about The Adoration of Jenna Fox. I've pasted all the links below that we've accumulated in the sidebar. Feel free to revisit them!

Thanks to Mary for her patience as we relocated our discussions and rgz LIVE! this month. Feedback from rgz is that everyone is so happy our interactions are open to all now!

Drop your own thanks and fangirl love to Mary in the comments. Mary, know you are always welcome to hang with rgz! We heart you! Thanks again for all your time. Best to you in your writing!

~Lorie Ann

March Welcome
postergirlz recommended reads for March
How far would you go to save someone?
What are you self conscious about?
Happy anniversary!
postergirlz recommended reads
Has medicine saved your life?
What superhuman ability do you want?
Does the real you reside in your brain, heart, or gut?
Do you want to live for 200 years?
How do you define yourself?
rgz LIVE! with Mary E. Pearson
The Adoration of Jenna Fox Cover
Poll
Do you give too much of yourself?
What's your final take-away from The Adoration of Jenna Fox?

March: What's your take-away from The Adoration of Jenna Fox?

Any final thoughts for Mary as her month concludes? What's your personal take-away from The Adoration of Jenna Fox?

And Mary, what should we watch for next?

March: Do You Give Too Much of Yourself?

There is a "gray page" titled Pieces where Jenna describes working so hard to give pieces of herself to others that she has nothing left for herself. Do you ever feel that way? Why?

The Adoration of Jenna Fox cover

I love the cover of The Adoration of Jenna Fox. Don't you? Not only is it eye-catching, but it fits the story - for reasons I won't disclose here, as I want to encourage those who have yet to read the book to do so and find out for themselves! :)



Upon realizing I had a little purple-and-blue plastic butterfly in my possession, I took a picture:



Mary E. Pearson joined in the fun, calling her picture of The Adoration of Rex and Spot:



In early April, I received a forwarded email filled with nature photographs. It included this beautiful image, which I promptly sent over to Mary:



Paradox posted a whole bunch of fan art book covers, including one for The Adoration of Jenna Fox. Click here to see them.

Want to recreate the cover yourself? Go for it! Put a link to your picture(s) in the comments below, and we'll showcase all of the covers in this blog post!

March: rgz LIVE! with Mary E. Pearson

Hey rgz!

Welcome to rgz LIVE! with Mary E. Pearson. We are PSYCHED to hold this live chat/LOVEfest in her honor tonight.

We know everyone will be patient as we try out this new software. Feel free to let us know if you dig it or don't. No hurt feelings! Really. This is just a shot, and Mary is so kind to be flexible with us. It seems like the free technology just isn't quite the perfect match with what we want to do. Let's see what we can figure out together.

This will be more like a free flowing party than what we are used to at the MySpace group forum. Mary may catch a few questions as she sees them stream by. No pressure on anyone though. Just enjoy the moment as we celebrate The Adoration of Jenna Fox. Let the party begin!

~the rgz divas

Things to Know About Featured Author Mary E. Pearson

In addition to being the author of our March pick, The Adoration of Jenna Fox, Mary E. Pearson is a barefoot girl. Here, we get a glimpse of her personality (read more in the March issue of Readergirlz):

On the nightstand: Chapstick and the book What I Saw and How I Lied

Pets: Brody and Hunter -- 160 pounds of slobbery, golden love.

Dream book tour: All my writer friends get to go along with me and sign their books too. And let's throw in Paris since it's a dream tour.

Stilettos or Uggs? Au naturel! Bare feet all the way!

How would you answer one ore more of these questions, readergirlz?

March: How do you define yourself?

On page 212, Jenna defines herself. If you could define yourself with just three words, what would they be?

See you all at the LIVE chat on Thursday!

Reminder: rgz LIVE! is Thursday with Mary E. Pearson

Just a reminder! rgz LIVE! is Thursday, March 19th, at 6:00 pm, Pacific. We are still doing test runs of free chat software. Hopefully, the event will be right here in a new blog post. If we need to run it over at the MySpace group forum, we'll let you know!

There will be a test on Tuesday at 1:30 pm, Pacific, if anyone wants to help. More soon, rgz! Thanks for your patience.

~Lorie Ann

March: Do you want to live for 200 years?

Jenna faces living two hundred years or even more. Would you want to live forever?

~the rgz divas

Rgz Street Team: Alex reviews The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

The rgz Street Team is a group of teens who bring YA reviews to our blog, led by Postergirl Miss Erin. Find out more.

Today, Alex reviews our March pick, The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson:

*slight spoiler alert if you haven't read the book*

Love is blind.

Everyone, at one point on their life, has heard this phrase. Our love can make us overlook faults and even make us overlook times when our love makes others suffer. In The Adoration of Jenna Fox, Jenna’s parents keep Jenna alive even though she is well past the point where she can be treated. Jenna’s parents use their money to basically build a body for Jenna and “upload” her brain into it. When Jenna finally wakes up, she doesn’t know who she is or who her parents are. Jenna was destined to die because of her extensive injuries but her parents could not let her go and they gave her a new body and a new life. They covered their actions with lies, and as with most lies, the truth could not be hidden forever. The truth about who and what Jenna was came out. To know the truth and try to make peace with it is much harder than it sounds.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox also covers the hot topic of technology and ethics. Just because we have the technology to do something does not make it ethical, and what feels good is not always ethical. As humans, we need to learn to draw boundaries between technology and our humanity. --Alex

PS-Postergirl Miss Erin recently reviewed another of Mary's books, A Room on Lorelei Street. Check out her review here.

March: Does the real you reside in your brain, heart, or gut?

Where does the you of you reside in your body? This is a question I return to often and it came to mind reading The Adoration of Jenna Fox. When you think, "Me," do you point to your heart? Or do you think of yourself dwelling up in your brain? Other cultures might point to their gut. What about you?

Maybe this is a question about your soul, if you believe you have one. Do you?

March: What superhuman ability do you want?

Jenna seems to be able to hear better because of the changes she has undergone. Is there one thing you wish you had superhuman abilities to do?

~the rgz divas

March: What are you self-conscious about?

Jenna is self-conscious about what she says and does around her friends, wanting to fit in so badly. Is there something you are self-conscious about around your friends? Was there ever and now you are over it? Any tips on getting past it?

Get the dialogue going, rgz!

~the rgz divas

March: How far would you go to save someone?

So after a writing retreat this past weekend, ideas were hopping like the divas were in a bingo ball hopper. I'm serious.

A massive new idea formed, and we are zooming through a test run. I'll give you the overview now, and then be sure to let us know your thoughts, rgz!

Here's the dealie-do:

* We are going to load discussion questions in this BLOG! *do a little dance*
* You can drop your comments here or in our FACEBOOK NOTES!
* We are going to TWITTER related topics to jive the exchange even more. Catch those and comment on Twitter or our rgz divas' Facebook.

What do you think?

So here's your first discussion question for Mary E. Pearson's The Adoration of Jenna Fox:

On the cover of The Adoration of Jenna Fox is the question, "How far would you go to save someone you love?" Did Jenna's parents go too far? How far would you go?

March's Pick: The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

Identity. Where does it lie? In a face? A voice? A bundled string of events we call a lifetime? Who am I? Can anyone ever know for sure just what it takes to be who we are? We all search for our place in this world and how we fit in, but for Jenna Fox that search reaches dark new dimensions when she wakes from a coma and can't remember who she is. Worse, she doesn't remember the people who claim to be her parents. There is something curious about them, about the house they all live in -- in fact, curious describes her whole life, as she attempts to unlock the secrets of who she was, and who she has become. Mary E. Pearson's The Adoration of Jenna Fox is about Jenna's search for identity, a quest as old as history, but as startling as the future.

"Outstanding examination of identity." - Kirkus, starred review

"Gripping...seamless..." - School Library Journal, starred review

"Expert plotting." - Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Quite literally breathtaking." - Kliatt, audio starred review

Optioned by 20th Century Fox for a feature film

Come join Mary E. Pearson and the rest of the readergirlz in the forum, and let's talk Jenna!