Book Review Time Featuring Jenn Gibson!

Destiny by Jenn Gibson

3.5 out of 5 stars

 I was given a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Destiny by Jenn Gibson was a very entertaining story. It comes to us as the third part of a series by Gibson, the first book being Sway, followed by Compass and now Destiny. All three books follow the life of Jessie McIntyre, who by all intents and purposes is a normal teenager. But there’s something that makes her stand out from the rest that I’m not going to tell you because that would ruin it!

Let me say this though—it’s not very often that you come across a book written from the point of view of someone with a very real problem. Most young adult books nowadays are filled with heroines who are burdened by some blossoming magical power or a boyfriend who grows fangs and claws on the full moon. Destiny is a refreshing change in that our protagonist is so normal and what burdens her is very real.

            Jessie is at a disadvantage straight out of the gate, with just about everyone---her teachers, her classmates, her potential employers. The frustration she feels towards the adults in her life is just as potent as the mistrust the adults feel towards teenagers in general. Gibson does a very good job at catching the volatile mood swings that plague a teenager’s temperament. The people Jessie encounters outside of school seem to be more accepting of her, which is usually the case anyway, especially when one is trapped in the hell that is high school. But the animosity and the cruelty Jessie faces on a day-to-day basis is nothing short of genuine.

            The thing I wasn’t a huge fan of was her relationship with Ethan. It was too perfect. Is it possible for a boyfriend to be too perfect? The way he was written made me distrust him which made me feel like I was missing something because Jessie trusted him with absolute certainty and her parents treated him as one of their own. I also felt that Gibson could’ve done a better job at showing emotions rather than telling. Emotions were rampant through-out this book; there was enough of them going around that she didn’t really need the words to say it.

            Overall, I enjoyed this book. As I said before, it was a refreshing change. I rooted for Jessie the whole way through. She endured and survived when it would’ve been so easy for her to drift away into the darkness.