Annotation:
Kali
isn’t like other girls: every twenty-four hours she changes into a hunter with strength
and speed who can kill supernatural creatures that pose a threat to humans.
Kali doesn’t have any friends at school, but when she notices that popular girl
Bethany has been marked for death by one of the creatures she hunts, Kali must
try to save her life while keeping what she truly is a secret.
Personal
thoughts: I was intrigued when I heard about this book, and after reading
it, found that my interest was warranted. Jennifer Lynn Barnes has done a good
job of creating something interesting and unique that also challenges the
reader to think below the surface of the plot. Of course the story contains
more fantastical things like chupacabras, hellhounds, dragons and basilisks,
but they play second-fiddle to Kali trying to cope with her distant father,
abandonment by her mother and her general loneliness. Many teens are certain to
pick up on these bigger issues, while the supernatural elements of the book
will appeal to a wide audience. I hope that the author decides to write a
sequel because I think there is something really interesting in this story that
could easily be expanded upon further.
Plot
summary: In Kali D’Angelo’s world, Darwin discovered preternatural
creatures on his journey to the Galapagos Islands, and things like hellhounds,
zombies, and basilisks are a normal, if unpleasant, part of everyday life. Kali’s
mother left her and her father when she was three-years-old and since she was
twelve, Kali has kept a secret from the rest of the world: every twenty-four
hours, Kali transforms. One day, she is a normal teenage girl. The next, she is
a hunter with superhuman speed and strength and a desire to track and kill the
preternatural creatures that feed on humans. Kali has no idea why she is the
way she is, but her dark side has left her angry, bitter and without any
friends. Everything changes, however, when Kali accidentally spots a strange
marking on popular girl Bethany at their high school. It appears that Bethany
has been bitten by a chupacabra, a preternatural creature that infects and
drains the life of its host. Although they’re not friends, Kali knows that she
must save Bethany and find a way to kill the chupacabra. One major problem
exists with Kali’s plan, however: she spots the mark when she is a normal human
girl. How can Kali fight a deadly preternatural creature without her mysterious
powers?
Review: From Jennifer
Lynn Barnes, author of the Raised by
Wolves series, comes the briskly paced and dark story of Kali D’Angelo, a
girl who spends half her life as a vicious demon-hunter and the rest as a loner
who wonders why she and her father were abandoned by her mother years earlier.
Many heroines in young adult novels spend a lot of their time pondering their
identities. In Kali’s case, however, trying to find out who she is has a more
literal meaning: Kali, and the reader, don’t know why she morphs every other
day into a demon-hunter, and much of the story is spent in uncovering exactly
what is behind her transformations. The novel is also full of other mysteries
that need solving, including the chupacabra that Kali must rid from her new “friend”
Bethany, the truth about Kali’s mother, and the psychic connection that Kali
discovers with someone Zev. Although the plot is, at times, a bit confusing,
many readers are sure to enjoy this story. It is not overly romantic, but
instead focuses on Kali, who is a likable if not warm and cuddly heroine. The
side characters are also interesting, as is the relationship between Kali and
Zev. Jennifer Lynn Barnes has stated that she intended Every Other Day to be a stand-alone novel, but is open to the
possibility of writing a sequel at some point in the future. Whether the story
becomes part of a series or not, it is still something that can be easily
recommended to teens who enjoy supernatural novels with a lot of action and
mystery.
Genre: Science-Fiction
Reading
level: Grade 7+
Similar
titles: Damage by Anya
Parrish, Misfit by Jon Skovron, Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs.
Themes: Demon hunters, supernatural creatures,
chupacabras, vampires, conspiracy, father/daughter relationships, abandonment.
Awards/Reviews:
Positive reviews from Publishers Weekly and School
Library Journal.
Series
Information: First installment in Starters
and Enders series. Second novel, Enders,
set to be released December 11, 2012.
Discussion
questions:
-
Would you like to be able to transform like
Kali does? Why or why not?- Kali is often described as having a “hero complex” in the novel. What does that mean? Do you think it’s a good way to describe her?
- Why do you think Kali and her father have such a strained relationship?
- Do you think that Skylar truly cared what people at school said about her?
- Do you think Zev truly betrayed Kali? Why or why not?
- If a sequel is written for this novel, what would you like to see happen in it?
No comments:
Post a Comment