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Career Day
(I Hunt Killers #0.3)
by
You're seventeen years old and your father is the most notorious serial killer America has ever produced.
He brought you up. Taught you everything he knows. Everyone in your ordinary American town knows who you are. So even though Dear Old Dad is safely behind bars, when the killing starts all over again, you are the first person the police come to see.
They don't know wheth ...more
He brought you up. Taught you everything he knows. Everyone in your ordinary American town knows who you are. So even though Dear Old Dad is safely behind bars, when the killing starts all over again, you are the first person the police come to see.
They don't know wheth ...more
ebook, 16 pages
Published
March 16th 2012
by Little, Brown and Company
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No, this is a prequel to I hunt killers
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Start your review of Career Day (I Hunt Killers, #0.3)

In my ongoing binge of Barry Lyga’s ‘I Hunt Killers’ series, I am turning my attention to the prequel short stories so that I can better understand the characters who will grace the pages of the full-length novels. Having a little background on Billy Dent in the first piece and a better understanding of Lobo’s Nod, the setting of the series that is explored in the second story, it is time to explore Jasper, the protagonist for the larger series. Jasper is a struggling teen with both parents away
...more

Jasper had grown up with a killer in the house. A killer for a father. Combine the murderous impulse with the paternal impulse and you got...
Perfect intro to the series. You can read Career Day before reading book 1 (which is probably a great idea), or after, like I did. This gives you just the right amount of character insight to leave you curious for more.
It's just a few pages, so the risk factor is low. You can find the story on wattpad for free HERE.
Well, you got Billy...more

Jasper had grown up with a killer in the house. A killer for a father. Combine the murderous impulse with the paternal impulse and you got...
Well, you got Billy Dent. A guy who raised his son to understand the human body in a very special way. A guy who taught Jasper how to hit an inside fastball and how to separate an arm at the shoulder joint.
This is a very short prequel to Jasper Dent trilogy ( there are 4 prequels as far as I know ).
It shed the light more on Jasper’s as teenage. ...more

Holy whoa, people! This short story packs a considerable wallop. The ending. THE ENDING. It nearly made me tear up. For all his bravado and the game face he puts on for the world, Jazz is just a sad, sweet, messed up kid underneath. It absolutely kills me how badly he wants to be normal and how much his dad screwed him up.
This is a fantastic look at Jazz and his friends before the events in book 1. Between gangly, irrepressible Howie (his flirting is AWESOME, btw) and cool as a cucumber Connie ( ...more
This is a fantastic look at Jazz and his friends before the events in book 1. Between gangly, irrepressible Howie (his flirting is AWESOME, btw) and cool as a cucumber Connie ( ...more

A sad little prequel to 'I Hunt Killers'. Gives a bit more backstory into the characters before the main storyline.
I really enjoyed this. Lyga's writing style is simple yet he still manages to pack a punch. He can switch from comedy to downright chilling instantly. The end of this made me tear up a little. I will be reading I Hunt Killers soon.
(Oh, and can I just say how awesome it is that there's an interracial couple in this? XD ) ...more
I really enjoyed this. Lyga's writing style is simple yet he still manages to pack a punch. He can switch from comedy to downright chilling instantly. The end of this made me tear up a little. I will be reading I Hunt Killers soon.
(Oh, and can I just say how awesome it is that there's an interracial couple in this? XD ) ...more

I thought this was a great prequel to the I Hunt Killers series. Career Day was a lot better than what I was expecting because I think based off the title and blurb it had the potential to be really cheesy and bad. However, this was thankfully not the case. Career Day was highly enjoyable for me and it was cute to see that Jasper's best friend gave him the nickname Jazz. I also thought it was cool to learn how Jazz and Connie met.
The I Hunt Killers series has a lot of novellas in it and I hope ...more
The I Hunt Killers series has a lot of novellas in it and I hope ...more

Career Day is a free 17 page prequel to I Hunt Killers. I didn't even know that there was a prequel to I Hunt Killers so I am very happy that I found it before I started reading the main book. The very second Howie was bought into the story I just sat there grinning like a moron and thinking oh yeah here we go this is going to be awesome, can you say instalove! Getting back to the serious side though, this short prequel was fantastic it hooked me right in and when it ended I was left feeling los
...more

Though this novella is much shorter than Lucky Day, it doesn't pack any less of a punch.
What do you want to be when you grow up? This question sticks with Jasper as he struggles with a homework assignment after Career Day that focuses on his life. Chilled by his father's legacy, Jasper realizes he doesn't exactly know what he wants - he just wants to be safe.
There is a bit of humor in this, brought up by naturally Howie, who gives the dark short story moments of hilarity. And Jasper's first enc ...more
What do you want to be when you grow up? This question sticks with Jasper as he struggles with a homework assignment after Career Day that focuses on his life. Chilled by his father's legacy, Jasper realizes he doesn't exactly know what he wants - he just wants to be safe.
There is a bit of humor in this, brought up by naturally Howie, who gives the dark short story moments of hilarity. And Jasper's first enc ...more

Kat Mandu says...
Though this novella is much shorter than Lucky Day, it doesn’t pack any less of a punch.
What do you want to be when you grow up? This question sticks with Jasper as he struggles with a homework assignment after Career Day that focuses on his life. Chilled by his father’s legacy, Jasper realizes he doesn’t exactly know what he wants – he just wants to be safe.
There is a bit of humor in this, brought up by naturally Howie, who gives the dark short story moments of hilarity. And Ja ...more
Though this novella is much shorter than Lucky Day, it doesn’t pack any less of a punch.
What do you want to be when you grow up? This question sticks with Jasper as he struggles with a homework assignment after Career Day that focuses on his life. Chilled by his father’s legacy, Jasper realizes he doesn’t exactly know what he wants – he just wants to be safe.
There is a bit of humor in this, brought up by naturally Howie, who gives the dark short story moments of hilarity. And Ja ...more

Career Day is a special short story/bonus scene that accompanies the I Hunt Killers series. Since it's so short, this review will also be pretty short.
Basically, there's a day where all the parents come in to talk about what they do. Jazz's father, obviously, couldn't be there are is not the best role model to look up too, so Jazz has to wing it.
It was nice to read about how he and Connie met and how he got the nickname Jazz.
I love this series with a passion. Barry Lyga's writing style is hilari ...more
Basically, there's a day where all the parents come in to talk about what they do. Jazz's father, obviously, couldn't be there are is not the best role model to look up too, so Jazz has to wing it.
It was nice to read about how he and Connie met and how he got the nickname Jazz.
I love this series with a passion. Barry Lyga's writing style is hilari ...more

The shortest of the prequel shorts and yet so far the best of them. It's got the quiet melancholy I really liked from Blood Boy and also a slow terrifying aspect for it's protagonist that is both relatable and unfathomable that I won't spoil, you could honestly start the series here without needing to know anything else and it might even be the right place to start.
Lyga's afterwords on these shortest ones mention he wanted to use these to answer minor yet still important little questions he alwa ...more
Lyga's afterwords on these shortest ones mention he wanted to use these to answer minor yet still important little questions he alwa ...more

Short story
It was short and to the point. The ending, though. Jasper's need to not end up like his dad, to prove people wrong is a strong one. Can't wait to get started on the series! ...more
It was short and to the point. The ending, though. Jasper's need to not end up like his dad, to prove people wrong is a strong one. Can't wait to get started on the series! ...more

Damn - I didn't know a 16 page short story could have an impact on me, but it hit right in the guts.
...more

A short story in the I Hunt Killers series by Barry Lyga. The events in this book take place before Book 1. This story is told from Jasper's POV. It's time for career day at school, and Jasper has to think about what he wants for his future. An entertaining addition to the series. Quick and fun.
...more

I'm truly sucked into this series !
This was a nice take on how jazz got his nickname and how he met Connie ! ...more
This was a nice take on how jazz got his nickname and how he met Connie ! ...more

Cute little back story of how Jasper first meets Connie.

A really good look at Jasper Dent, on just a day in his life, punctuated by what should be a normal school event. Having a serial killer for a father that taught you the ropes supremely messes a person up. Having that balanced out with normality and good fatherly actions has only left Jasper more confused. Now, three years after proclaiming that he doesn't think he did anything wrong, he is being faced with the prospect of what he will actually do with his life.
I really enjoyed this. It was an e ...more
I really enjoyed this. It was an e ...more

Length isn't as important as what you say and how you say it. - Barry Lyga, Career Day (Jasper Dent, #0.5)
The above quote perfectly sums up the spirit of this book.
This brilliant book serves as the perfect prequel to Lyga' I Hunt Killers, the first book in the Jasper Dent series. In a few short pages, we get a glimpse into the life and mind of Jasper - who is the son of the most notorious serial killer America has ever produced.
Though this one isnt much about the plot, but to pique the interest ...more
The above quote perfectly sums up the spirit of this book.
This brilliant book serves as the perfect prequel to Lyga' I Hunt Killers, the first book in the Jasper Dent series. In a few short pages, we get a glimpse into the life and mind of Jasper - who is the son of the most notorious serial killer America has ever produced.
Though this one isnt much about the plot, but to pique the interest ...more

Barry Lyga has a direct line to that placid little place in my heart that seldom makes itself known; and he knows how to make it rear up like a gargantuan fist of feelings to sucker punch me straight in the gut.
Career Day is a short story that can make novels wish they were as enthralling, as engaging, as deep as it is.
I have read some of the best novels, short stories, & novellas the world has to offer but this.. man, this wipes the floor with all of them.
Career Day is a short story that can make novels wish they were as enthralling, as engaging, as deep as it is.
I have read some of the best novels, short stories, & novellas the world has to offer but this.. man, this wipes the floor with all of them.

Well, there is not much to tell about this short free story, except WOW! I've almost started with the first Jasper Dent book when I've read here at Goodreads that there is a prequel, which is free. So I downloaded as pdf file and read it within 5 minutes. It's only about 15 pages long, but boy that small story packs a punch. This guy definitely knows how to write...Now off to read the first main book in the series. If it's anything like the prequel, I'm sold!
...more

This review was first published on The Bookshelf at the End.
Pretty short, not much for one to talk much about. It takes place not too long after Billy is sent to prison, and sets up Jazz, Connie, and Howie to be the trio they are in the trilogy. The ending is sweet, and something fans of the trilogy will appreciate. ...more
Pretty short, not much for one to talk much about. It takes place not too long after Billy is sent to prison, and sets up Jazz, Connie, and Howie to be the trio they are in the trilogy. The ending is sweet, and something fans of the trilogy will appreciate. ...more
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Barry Lyga is a recovering comic book geek. According to Kirkus, he's also a "YA rebel-author." Somehow, the two just don't seem to go together to him.
When he was a kid, everyone told him that comic books were garbage and would rot his brain, but he had the last laugh. Raised on a steady diet of comics, he worked in the comic book industry for ten years, but now writes full-time because, well, wou ...more
When he was a kid, everyone told him that comic books were garbage and would rot his brain, but he had the last laugh. Raised on a steady diet of comics, he worked in the comic book industry for ten years, but now writes full-time because, well, wou ...more
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I Hunt Killers
(3 books)
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“Length isn’t as important as what you say and how you say it.”
—
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“Stop what?” Howie demanded. “Stop loving you, Jazz? I wish I could quit you, but I can’t. Someday, we’ll run off to New York and get married, the way God intended it.” Despite himself, Jasper cracked a grin. “Sorry, man my nips only go out about this far.” He mimed a quarter inch. “Oh, well, in that case, nice to know ya…”
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