The Adoration of Jenna Fox

Jenna goes for her walk and decides to visit Mr. Bender. On her way there, she meets a strange, white-haired boy named Dane, who welcomes her to the neighborhood. At Mr. Bender’s house, Jenna asks to try and feed the birds again, and is upset when they still refuse to land on her. Jenna reveals that she has done some research and that the real Mr. Benderis eighty years old. Mr. Bender admits that the artist was his mentor and, when he died, Mr. Bender took over his identity to escape a rough childhood. Mr. Bender also admits that he has researched Jenna and discovered articles about her car accident. He tells her that she was not expected to survive. Jenna is disturbed by this information and a recent discovery that her fingers don’t interlace properly. Mr. Bender says he’s glad to have Jenna around, and that he likes her attitude and bravery, though Jenna has doubts about this, thinking of herself as fearful. Later, while watching a home video of preteen Jenna at the beach, Jenna is overwhelmed by a clear, full set of memories of three weeks of her life, including a time she went camping.