Monday, October 31, 2011
Review: Every Other Day
Age Group: Young Adult
Published: December 27, 2011 by EgmontUSA (expected)
Format: eARC, 336 pgs
Source: NetGalley
Description:
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.
Mini-Review: Full of intriguing characters and fascinating world building, Jennifer Lynn Barnes' Every Other Day has a special place in my heart, and it's right next to Buffy.
My Thoughts:
Kali D'Angelo is not like other girls. Even when she's human, she stays out of the spotlight and counts down the minutes until she's not, until she's something more. Kali thinks she's the only one of her kind. She's wrong.
I saw someone else's review on Goodreads where they compared Barnes' latest book to the episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer when Buffy loses her supernatural abilities, and I have to say the idea is similar. But unlike Buffy, who trains to make herself stronger and faster and smarter about the things she's facing, when Kali is human, she is completely human with no idea how to hunt, how to survive against anything supernatural; all she has are her instincts. And on top of that, she's being drained of life. That is what makes Every Other Day a fun, fresh read.
I think my favorite aspect of the novel is Kali's relationship with Zev because of how it unfolds. It starts as an occasional voice in her head and grows into something concrete. I love how Barnes pieces things together until you finally get to see the big picture. I can honestly say I didn't see everything with Zev coming, and I liked not being able to figure it out; it made it that much more enjoyable.
I thought there were a lot of really cool and original things in this book, especially the rewriting of history as it concerns Darwin's greatest finds. There were, however, some things that took away from the spectacular story that I can't really get into with being spoilery, and I hate being spoilery. So I will say there was one moment where something should have been very emotional, but for some reason it didn't really come through for me. There was a moment immediately beforehand that had me more involved and ready to cry but when the scene got intense, the emotions seemed to evaporate. It was a tad disappointing.
Actually, that one moment was really the only thing that bothered me about this book. I enjoyed the characters and their sudden involvement with one another; I enjoyed Kali's dual nature and the mystery surrounding it; and I particularly enjoyed how much it made me think of Buffy. If you were a fan of the show, or even of Supernatural, I would suggest giving Every Other Day a shot when it comes out. I'm glad I did.
Visit the author online.
Buy the book: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
LinkWithin
2 comments:
That's interesting. I bought a recent sci-fi novel but haven't begun to read it yet. As I understand the description, it's rather involved and deals with history too. First, I need to finish another book and other stuff I'm doing.
I'm growing rather fond of historicals, whether they're steampunk and alternate history, involve supernatural or science fiction elements, or are straight historicals. This one had a nice alternate history twist to it.
I hope you like your sci-fi book when you do get around to it! :)
Post a Comment