A review by a_mae13
The Killing Jar by Jennifer Bosworth

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

"All that lives must die."

This book was very surprising; I got it from the dollar store so I didn't expect much from it! I finished the book in a day because it was too weird and twisted to put down. The main character, Kenna, is grappling with the fact that she committed murder. This plot point is given to the reader from page one, yet it continues to get darker throughout the novel. Kenna is plagued with strange abilities that she doesn't understand how to control, or what she is capable of until we learn a bit more about the initial murder. With a big, bloody turning point pretty early on in the story, we find that there are more people like Kenna with mutual abilities. 

Her mother takes her to Eclipse, believing that understanding her abilities will help her control them. Eclipse is a cult-like community where everyone can draw on the life force of living objects to alter their state; either rendering them more powerful, more peaceful, into a dream-like state, etc. at the expense of the other object. But, this community isn't as safe and accepting as they seem. This lore [their abilities] seemed very different from other fantasy and paranormal stories that I've read, which kept my attention. 

The downsides of this book were that the characters were pretty underdeveloped. One of the driving points of the plot was that Kenna's twin sister, Erin, has severe health issues. Kenna was seen as a "threat" to Erin's health because she couldn't control her abilities. That dynamic gave Kenna the motivation to learn about herself and what these strange powers can do to those around her. Other than Erin, we don't know much about the backstories of the other major characters. We get very little insight into Rebekah and her motives, which could have warranted a

phenomenal villain arc. Kenna's mother was exiled from Eclipse for giving up her powers in order to live a normal life. We learn that she killed someone, too, but very little comes from that besides anger for the reader. Kenna killed someone in an accident and her mother never empathized with her or got her help.

. As for the other characters, they are very one-note and don't have much impact on the plot. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book because it's not easy to find paranormal fantasy plots that are unique. It's a quick read (or listen) and definitely worth trying!