Book Review: Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes  website | twitter
Published: December 27th, 2011
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
Format: Nook Ebook (237 pages)
Source: Purchased, $11.29

On every other day, Kali D’Angelo can pass for a normal teenage girl. Sure Kali’s mother took off when she was only three and she doesn’t have the most stellar relationship with her father, but she’s still more or less human. At least that’s what she wants everyone to believe. Because every other day at dawn, Kali turns into a super-fast, decidedly non-human hunter of preternatural beings that may or may not be listed on the endangered species list.

Kali’s status as a social unknown takes a drastic turn toward the spotlight when she is befriended by Skylar Hayden. Skylar is eternally optimistic, even when she finds herself in the crosshairs of the school’s cheerleading team. Kali’s plans to keep the normal and and not so normal parts of her life separate are shot to bits when she notices an ouroboros symbol on the small of Bethany Davis’ back. The same Bethany Davis who is the daughter of her father’s colleague, dating Skylar’s brother, and one of the school’s resident mean girls.

What I like most about Kali is her flaws. Her grades aren’t the best, she almost doesn’t know what to do with people who actually want to be her friend, and she has a frustrating habit of rushing into dangerous situations. The action doesn’t lag for too long because Kali herself rarely ever slows down, especially when she’s in hunting mode. When slower parts of the book do come along, we get a better chance to get to know some of the amazing characters Kali interacts with.

At the beginning of this book it is clear that Kali is a loner and prefers it that way. By the end, her life has changed for the better because of the friendships and connections she’s made. I quickly devoured this book and was sad to see it end. From everything I’ve read, this book is only meant to be a standalone, but the potential for so much more is here.

One of the reasons I didn’t give this book 5 stars is the ambiguous ending. I like to know what I’m getting into before I start a book and, from my initial research, I was led to believe this was meant to be a stand-alone book. However, the ending is highly ambiguous and there are enough questions left unresolved that I wasn’t sure that was the case just taking in the whole finished product. Also, the "romance" is almost a non-factor in this book. It almost felt like it was thrown in to satisfy some romance quotia. Without the forced-romance, this might have been close to perfect.

Promo Bonus: Figment is hosting an Every Other Day-themed writing contest. Your writing could be read by a professional editor.