Review: Every Other Day

Every Other Day

By Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Publication date: December 27, 2011

My review:

Kali D'Angelo cycles between being a super strong hunter of preternatural creatures and being a teenage girl every 24 hours. When she is in hunt mode she has an automatic urge to kill preternatural creatures like zombies, hellhounds, and basilisks. One creature that is deadly to humans in particular is the chupacabra which bites and feeds on its victims' blood and memories. After a person is bitten, they only have hours before it is too late and the orobouros symbol appears on their bodies. When Kali sees that symbol on cheerleader Bethany Davis, she is unfortunately in "human mode" but she decides to do something risky anyway to save Bethany's life. Now Kali has to get through the hours till she transforms and in the meantime the stakes are raised when she realizes that Bethany was infected on purpose. 

Kali is in some ways similar to Bryn from Jennifer's other series, Raised by Wolves, but Kali actually has supernatural strength though she goes back to being a regular teen in 24 hours. Like Bryn, Kali also has an unusual home life-her mom left when she was little and her dad is very much an absent-minded professor type. She pretty much has to raise herself. This means that Kali comes across as more of an adult than a teen. It is funny then to see her interact and make friends with more typical teens like Skylar, a social outcast, and Bethany, a popular cheerleader. Kali's social awkwardness and temporary vulnerability make her easier to relate to. Zev and Skylar are interesting characters and even Bethany grew on me. 


The writing is humorous and action packed (the story takes place over just a few days) but we still get to see some character growth in Kali as she learns more about herself, her family, and her newfound friends. Something else I liked was how even though Kali's dad isn't the greatest, Kali sees that he actually does care about her and their relationship does improve by the end of the book. Another positive is that the romance element is not the main point and there isn't a love triangle-a huge plus in this genre of YA fiction. I do wish there was better world building and that some things were better explained but hopefully there will be a sequel that will answer those questions.


Overall while I think Raised by Wolves is the better book, Every Other Day exceeded my expectations.  Jennifer Lynn Barnes has become one of my favorite authors of YA paranormal fiction because of her strong but flawed protagonists and because she knows how to tell a story. I would suggest this to fans of Paranormalcy by Kiersten White and to those who like strong female protagonists like Billi Sangreal from Devil's Kiss or Rose Hathaway from Vampire Academy.


Readalikes: Paranormalcy by Kiersten White, Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Devil's Kiss by Sarwat Chadda, Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow


Note: I received an ARC of this book through the Amazon Vine program in exchange for my honest review