Early Review: Every Other Day

Every Other Day

-       Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Publisher: Egmont – Released on 27^th December 2011

Ecopy courtesy of netgalley & Egmont USA

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.

This is not a paranormal YA with romance. There is no knight/angel/fae/vampire/werewolf in shining armour to drool over. This is a kick-butt, action adventure with plenty of violence and gore – and I loved that it was so different from most of the paranormal YA books out there! This time our heroine, Kali is independent, feisty, confident and more than able to stand up for herself at the start of the book – what she learns is how to open up and be friends with others – how to trust, but this never takes away from how awesome she is!

The friends are great at adding colour but are never two-dimensional. Bethany, cheerleader and popular girl drawn into events against her will has a real sarcastic bite to her – and loved how didn’t have to help Kali but did anyway. Skylar was friendly and a great support – I just couldn’t help but love her. While Skylar’s brothers also help out, to me this was very much about girl power throughout – even the main bad guys are women. Adding to the story is Kali’s mysterious condition – fearsome demon hunter one day with rapid healing and normal teenager the next. Her history is explored throughout the story and makes for a fascinating hook. In this world supernatural creatures are natural – with hellhounds put on the endangered species list – even if they are man-eaters!

The writing is great – never overloading you with explanations but enabling you to explore the world. The action is sharp, fast-paced and breath-taking. The relationships intriguing and real. This is one of the best YA books I’ve read in a long time – and I really hope there will be more adventures in Kali’s world!

Recommended for fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Jeri Smith-Ready. 9 out of 10