Review: Every Other Day

by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
publisher: EgmontUSA
date of publication: December 27, 2011
format: eGalley
pages: 336
source: Netgalley
Amazon / Goodreads / B&N

From Goodreads:

Every other day, Kali D'Angelo is a normal sixteen-year-old girl. She goes to public high school. She attends pep rallies. She's human.

And then every day in between . . .She's something else entirely.

Though she still looks like herself, every twenty-four hours predatory instincts take over and Kali becomes a feared demon-hunter with the undeniable urge to hunt, trap, and kill zombies, hellhounds, and other supernatural creatures. Kali has no idea why she is the way she is, but she gives in to instinct anyway. Even though the government considers it environmental terrorism.

When Kali notices a mark on the lower back of a popular girl at school, she knows instantly that the girl is marked for death by one of these creatures. Kali has twenty-four hours to save her and, unfortunately, she'll have to do it as a human. With the help of a few new friends, Kali takes a risk that her human body might not survive. . .and learns the secrets of her mysterious condition in the process.

What I Thought

Every Other Day is a very interesting take on YA paranormal fiction. I was very surprised to find that the protagonist of this story is a demon hunter. That may not be altogether unusual. However, the idea that the demons and creatures she hunts are protected by the government as endangered species adds an intriguing twist on the idea of a teenage demon hunter by including her being viewed as an environmental terrorist through the government's misguided attempts at using such creatures for research.

Kali makes for quite the heroine. Though she doesn't know what lends her the powers that she has, she does her best to get through life with as few goof-ups as possible. However, she does come off as angst-ridden quite often, which can grate on one's nerves when served in such high doses. Though I may not have enjoyed everything about her attitude, she does possess some mysterious yet interesting traits that I was very curious about. I kept trying to guess their source and was a bit surprised by the revelation. It was a very interesting take on things, though I can't say what those things are. I wouldn't want to ruin it for you all!

The setting for this book just wasn't very vivid to me. With the exception of one particular scenario near the end of the book, I couldn't really picture it in my mind and could only guess as to the location. It made for a very bland backdrop that I would have loved to see developed a bit more. Fortunately, the story is more than sufficient enough to make up for the setting and I didn't feel too badly about that particular part of the book.

If you enjoy books with a lot of action, supernatural creatures, and conspiracy theory-like intrigue, this just might be the book for you. It is definitely action-packed, interesting, and gripping in terms of plot and characterization. Aside from two slight flaws, I found this book to be very enjoyable and feel I can recommend that you pick it up and give it a try.







Obligatory legal statement: This eGalley was provided to me free of charge by the publisher via Netgalley. No monetary compensation was received in exchange for this fair and unbiased review.