Jennifer Bosworth

Um, yeah, I'm not quite sure what I just read. Part para-normal, fantasy, mystery, horror, coming of age, now I understand when Z told me it was weird but kind of good.

Kenna can take life just by touching. Creepy, right? When she was 10 she killed a boy. He was cruel and probably going to be a murderer himself, since liked to torture animals. Still--it was not the righting to do. Anyway--fast forward to now and after a near tragedy, in which Kenna does it again, she is shipped off to her grandmother's commune, to be with people like herself, so she can be fixed. Only that's not really what Grandma has in mind.

Lots of handwringing, wishy-washy decision non-making, finding out secrets, and the big reveal at the end, make me feel like this book is not for everyone. Some of my kids will like it, others will DNF it.… (mere)

I was looking for something a little different and this one fit the bill. It had a paranormal theme that I don't remember seeing before. I really liked the narration a lot and think that it added quite a bit to the story and I am really glad that I chose to listen to this story. This was never a book that totally sucked me in to the point that I didn't want to put it down but I did really enjoy in the end.

Kenna isn't like everyone else. She has a special ability that her mother has made her promise to keep a secret. She knows that it is very important that she never use her powers again after the unfortunate incident with the neighbor boy. Her family consists of her mother, herself, and her twin sister, who is in ill health. She is also very close to her neighbor, Blake.

Kenna's world is turned upside down when she comes home from an outing with Blake to find her mother and sister in a desperate situation. Kenna uses the abilities that she has tried so hard to keep secret in order to save the pair. In doing so, she does things that she didn't even know was possible and attracts a lot of attention. Her mother knows that Kenna will need outside help so she takes her to Eclipse.

Once Kenna arrives at Eclipse, the book takes on a different tone and instead of everything being unknown we start to learn some of what is really going on. The group at Eclipse seem like a type of cult and I was never really sure who Kenna should trust. There are a few twists and turns in the story as things progressed and the ending of the story proved to be very exciting.

I liked the characters in this story well enough. Kenna was a good character but she did drive me a little crazy with some of her thinking. Nothing that drove me too nuts or anything but I did wish that she would focus on what was really important. Blake was a great character and I wish that we had seen a little more of him in the story. He was a really great guy to Kenna. Her mother kept a lot of secrets from Kenna but she did seem to do so because she thought it was for the best. The characters at Eclipse added an element of the unknown to the story.

I really enjoyed Saskia Maarleveld's narration of this story. This is the first audiobook narrated by Ms. Maarleveld that I have had the chance to listen to but I would like to listen to her work again in the future. She really seemed to grasp Kenna's emotions and presented them well in the story. At times, her narration really added to the suspense of the story. I am pretty sure that I enjoyed this story a little more because of her narration.

I would recommend this to fans of YA paranormal stories. This story has a unique focus and everything is really wrapped up nicely. This is the first book by Jennifer Bosworth that I have read but I will definitely look for her work again.

I received an advance reader edition of this book from Dreamscape Media, LLC via Audiobook Jukebox for the purpose of providing an honest review.… (mere)