Every Day Book Review

Rawr Reader,

    I shouldn't be here right now, literally, I should be studying for astronomy, or for my stat quiz, or for my english presentation. But nope, my passion for reading books with interesting synopsis's, and after waiting weeks and finally getting it 6 hours earlier and finishing it now, here I am with another book review. This is Every Day by David Levithan. Here is the synopsis provided by Goodreads. Let's get started:

Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl.

There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.

It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.

Reference:

     I can't really remember where I first heard this from, but I'm assuming it's Goodreads.

Review:

(safe for those who haven't read this book yet)

    This is arguably the best love story I've ever read. I love everything about this story, the main character A and his ability yet complicated life of being a different person each day but still love one: Rhiannon. She has problems like most 16 year old girls do, but she isn't the annoying type I stereotypically think of when I think mid-teen.

   Can I start with the cover of this book? And when you open it, the page between the hardcover and the first page is sooooo pretty. It's a negative of the sky and, yeah, can't get over how much I love this book, inside and out. 

   Each day is someone new: gender, sexual orientation, weight, religious or not, with only  two constant facts that travel with him, his age: which is sixteen and he will never go into a body once he's lived in it before. A doesn't classify himself as male or female, loving who he loves, in which he tells a story about one previous love to Rhiannon. (But I will just say it's he since it's easier to stay in one gender). And in a way, I feel if someone who was on the fence on whether love should be defined by gender, they should read this book to discover that love is universal, love is love no matter who it is. But if this infuriates you and you won't read this book because of that statement, then disregard, I was lying. (Not really but if it will open you up to read this amazing book, then fine I lied!) 

   Levithan's style and structure was something I've never read before, with each day cataloged as a chapter, and every human life important to A (whether he showed more attention to them or not). He tells Rhiannon all about his past lives he's lived in, so many great ones that shaped A to be who he was, such as the blind girl or Zara or Alexander. It was so easy to read through each life, both thoughts and dialogue flowing so smoothly from A's mind to the page, I really felt the changes that A felt. I felt when he was in a body that was hung over, or in a body addicted, or in a body that was strictly active.  Every single sentence in this book was important, and I can't say that about every book, but everything said/thought helped the reader learn more about A or Rhiannon. 

   A defines his life by morals, and I think that makes him so much more admirable for it. He had no static parents to teach him right and wrong, he just observed and decided for himself what rules to live by in his "life". And he learned this at such a young age, I think around 5 or six. Several times in this book he could have chosen to be selfish, but he didn't, and he stayed true to himself. He knows that the more invested he becomes with lives that aren't his or trying to remember much about the past will make him lose part of his identity, what little there is that can truly be known as his, and I love that he chooses himself. I love that he's selfish for that reason. Because then A wouldn't be the sweet, thoughtful, faithful soul he is. 

   My favorite part about this book was probably the subtlety that Levithan depicts teens as. Most young adult writers, especially contemporary, focus on teens only desiring the big three: drinking alcohol, doing drugs, or having sex. While this may be true for the vast, vast majority of teens in America, it doesn't completely encapsulate who we are. Yes, A lives in the lives of teens who drink a lot, who are addicted to drugs, who have sex, but Levithan doesn't concentrate on solely those activities. He concentrates how A will work with these people's lives and if he can, try to adjust himself to them. As he says, he only borrows them and he's their guest, so if he can he will try to do as less to deviate from their true person. Oh I just love A. One of my top characters in literature of all time.

   I had several problems with this book, which will be further elaborated in the spoiler section at the end, but unlike most problems I encounter with stories, none of them made me love this book any less. 
   This book had several qualities that reminded me of some other books, such as the tenuous hope for tomorrow which is also seen in The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (haven't read the book yet but assuming from what I saw of the movie). Or the chance of being a male or female and still loving who you love, as is seen in The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin (a book I read a long time ago and while its what I'd classify as a slow paced story, but overall is a fantastic book). 

I give this ineffable book 10/5 stars. I would recommend this to anyone and would read this over and over and over again. Fantastic.

Author's Quote :

"How did you know it was me?" I have to ask.

"The way you looked at me," she says. "It couldn't have been anyone else."

-David Levithan, Every Day

My Goodreads:

http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole

Next To Read (more like finish):

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

River Song's Spoilers:

(unsafe for those who haven't read this book yet, so don't read this section)

   Alright, the ending was the most brutal thing I've ever read. I hate break-ups. Okay, that's a lie. Some break-ups in literature need to happen and are inescapable, they're doomed and I forget about them as soon as I close the book. However, A and Rhiannon, while I wouldn't call it a break-up for forever, the lack of their being a sequel certainly implies it. I have never felt so sad yet so hopeful with that ending. Which I love. This is a stand alone novel, no sequel which I find waayyy too many out there nowadays, especially in young adult, and it gives the reader hope that maybe Rhiannon and A will find each other again. I mean, Levithan never put if Alexander and Rhiannon hit it off, and maybe they didn't. Either way, I see the ending as more hope than doom for either of them.

   I didn't like how Nathan could remember about A and how he caused so many problems for him, but Levithan needed conflict and I think it was executed perfectly. Other than Rhiannon, he was the only other steady person who knew about A's secret, and he helped balance out A's life from tranquility to agitation (since all humans have them no matter if they change bodies every day).

   I read in the acknowledgements that one of the people who Levithan discussed this book's story was with John Green. If my guesses serve me correctly, this is the infamous author of works such as The Fault in Our Stars, Looking for Alaska, etc. And I am soooo happy he didn't write/ finish this story. I have never read TFiOS, but I have read Looking for Alaska and I wasn't blown away by it. Actually, I didn't enjoy it at all. So I'm scared to think I probably would never have given this book a chance if the author was J. Green. (Please all Green fans don't hate me, because while I might not enjoy one book he's written, doesn't mean I'm not a fan of his youtube channel or his personality. I'll get to reading TFiOS eventually and maybe I'll fall in love with it like millions of others, but until then, I'm glad Levithan was the one to have written this.) I would definitely be interested in reading others works of his.

    I think what I find the most remarkable themes in this book are love (obviously) and hope for tomorrow. A doesn't know when he will die or what kind of death there is for someone like him, but he chooses to move forward, living through others though still being true to himself. And finding love where love simply is, and not behind what defines it.

Until Next Time,

Nicole Ciel