Review: The Killing Jar by Jennifer Bosworth

Title: The Killing Jar
Author: Jennifer Bosworth
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Release Date: January 12, 2016

Seventeen-year-old Kenna Marsden has a secret.

She’s haunted by a violent tragedy she can’t explain. Kenna’s past has kept people—even her own mother—at a distance for years. Just when she finds a friend who loves her and life begins to improve, she’s plunged into a new nightmare. Her mom and twin sister are attacked, and the dark powers Kenna has struggled to suppress awaken with a vengeance.

On the heels of the assault, Kenna is exiled to a nearby commune, known as Eclipse, to live with a relative she never knew she had. There, she discovers an extraordinary new way of life as she learns who she really is, and the wonders she’s capable of. For the first time, she starts to feel like she belongs somewhere. That her terrible secret makes her beautiful and strong, not dangerous. But the longer she stays at Eclipse, the more she senses there is something malignant lurking underneath it all. And she begins to suspect that her new family has sinister plans for her…

I really wanted to like this one.  I tried,  I got about 45% through before DNFing.

It's well written, and I certainly learned some new vocabulary words during the process.  So what were my problems with it?

First, I found it rather predictable.  I didn't get to the twist in Eclipse.  But I certainly believe that something wrong was going on.  It seemed pretty obvious from the start that Eclipse was not really a good place.

My other main problem was the characters.  I can forgive plot forever if I like the characters, if they're interesting and dynamic.  But I just couldn't back any of them except for Blake.  And that was unfortunate since he wasn't a main.  Kenna and her mom both annoyed me with the amount of secrets they kept.  And Erin just confused me.

Overall

I think with a new cast of characters I would have really enjoy this.  But I just couldn't.  If it sounds interesting to you, you should still give it a try.  It's a pretty fast read, and you might learn some new words.

Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, and that in no way swas my opinion of this book.