Every Day (edição: 2013)

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I love all the tough questions and topics the plot brings to light. A, I feel for you. The end was a surprise and I wanted to know so much more. How fitting the readers are left hanging, just as A is daily. I enjoyed seeing the different perspectives on what essentially makes a person a person, on what is true love, on who is more valuable ( the host or the possessor), what's a soul, etc. The chapter about the grandfather's funeral really high lighted A's loneliness, I could feel it. That loneliness was not solved, the book essentially ended with A coming to terms with his/her existence, not really changing it. That ending was brave and I appreciated it. I picture A body jumping in New York now. ( )

Is an ingenious idea enough to fill a whole novel? Like with King's "The Dome", it is a frame for what happens at first and then becomes part of the plot itself (rather than the repercussions is has). And yes, there is ample room to explore all aspects of this given. Which is what Levithan does well and in all directions. But, alas, as most days are shortand one-dimensional for A, there is a feeling that the plot reinvents itself just the same each morning, in spite of the unifying thread that holds the days together.

Oh my gosh! It's been such a long time that I have devoured a book like this. It probably took me 6-7 hours to read it. I definitely should have been doing something much more productive this morning from 9-noon as I was finishing up the last 2/3 of the book but it was sooooo worth it.

So like I said, I devoured this book! David Levithan tells such an interesting and completely original story. Yes the plot has two people falling in love like many stories, but the premise of this book is so new and fresh! To wake up in the body of someone new every day - boy or girl, having to quickly adjust to and access their memories is just part of the interest in this book. I can't even begin to imagine how lonely it must have been for 'A' (as he calls himself) before he stepped out of his regular (if you can call it that) daily life and try to make a lasting connection and relationship with Rhiannon.

I loved the many different lives, aspects, and problems that Levithan shows us through the lives that 'A' inhabits. There are people who are jocks, nerds, skinny, obese, straights, gays, transgendered, depressed, downright mean, drug/alcohol addicts, and everything in between. Through all this, 'A' is able to keep true to himself and it was both refreshing, but also humbling to see how difficult other people who we (or I) would perceive as "different" can be. Just because they look weird or come from a different background or home, they are usually going through problems just like we are. I loved seeing and hearing about these different lives and I felt just as "out of it" as 'A' did when waking up in a new body.

Although some would probably say that they hate the ending because nothing is wrapped up, I think it love it more for this because not everything in life is wrapped up... and who knows, maybe Levithan will tell more of 'A's tale in his search to truly be his own person.

I loved this book and would highly recommend it to anyone! I bought this one on a whim and I'm so glad that I did! It's going to take a little bit to unwind out of the world of 'A' that I just left. ( )

It took me a bit longer to read this time because I had a few reviews due, but it was even better than it was the first time around. I'm not sure what I had an issue with last year, but I absolutely loved it this time.

For the most part, the characters were great. I did dislike Rhiannon at times, but overall she was a well-written character. I do think that Angourie Rice made her more lovable and tolerable in the film, though. A was also frustrating at times, but again, it wasn't bad enough to completely ruin the character for me. I also had mixed feelings about Nathan; he was annoying and at times ridiculous, but at the same time, I felt bad for him. After all, he was just confused and looking for answers.

The plot was unique and well-executed. David Levithan is a phenomenal author, and I believe he created this story perfectly. The combination of heartbreak, excitement, and love was amazing. I'm very glad I decided to give this one another go; I believe the entire thing went over my head a bit the first time and I noticed more details and understood it all a bit more. ( )

Note: The narrator of Every Day is essentially genderless, but for simplicity's sake I use male pronouns throughout this review.

David Levithan is an interesting standout in the young adult / fiction world. He seems more than willing to experiment with storytelling forms; his previous book, The Lover's Dictionary, chronicled the ups and downs of a relationship through alternately hilarious and painful entries in a dictionary. His new book, Every Day, is more traditional in form, but still full of the same thrillingly out-there ideas that I loved about his previous work.

Every Day's premise is simple but striking; what if you woke up every day in a new body and a new place? Some essence of your self - your soul, some ineffable store of memory - survives the jump from body to body, which gives you continuity of identity, but you also have access to the memories of your "host" so that you can pass unnoticed in their life. How would it feel to look out from different eyes every day, experiencing the world from an infinite number of perspectives? More importantly, what would happen if, one day, you fell in love... and couldn't let go?

A, the narrator of Levithan's story, wakes up one morning in the body of Justin, a sullen teenage boy who doesn't take care of himself, doesn't get along well with his parents and mistreats his girlfriend. A usually tries not to interfere with the lives of his hosts - who seem to match the age he would be if he lived normally - but something about Justin's relationship with his girlfriend, Rhiannon, makes him decide to try and improve her day. They skip school and go to the beach... and A falls in love. After that, A spends each successive day trying to find Rhiannon, working to get to know her and eventually revealing his body-jumping secret.

Levithan plays with some fascinating philosophical concepts throughout. Once A reveals his identity to Rhiannon, the major question becomes: how exactly do you have a relationship with someone who isn't in the same body twice? A, who grew up unsurprisingly open-minded after experiencing life through the eyes of every possible type of person, feels like there shouldn't be anything keeping them apart, but Rhiannon isn't quite so ready to live outside the norms. For example, A notices that she isn't quite as receptive when he is in the body of a girl or someone who isn't traditionally attractive. Late in the book, the question arises of what it would mean if A and Rhiannon had sex in one of his host bodies, since it has been made clear that the hosts do remember vague details of their lives the next day. All of these complications make A's story poignantly tragic, and the romance compellingly star-crossed.

A's experiences vary wildly from day to day. One particularly harrowing experience involves a day spent in the body of a habitual drug user going through withdrawal; another centers on a girl who is planning to commit suicide. A is almost always understanding and open-minded about the lives of the people he inhabits, although he does admit early on that he doesn't necessarily like everyone whose life he takes over. The only real false note in the book comes on a day when A inhabits the body of an extremely overweight boy. A refers to him as "the emotional equivalent of a burp" and it seems strangely judgmental by comparison.

The author also introduces a subplot about a boy named Nathan who gets in trouble with his parents after A controls his life one night. When Nathan comes home after curfew, he blames his behavior on demonic possession. Eventually the story gets picked up by the national news and a shady evangelical preacher starts asking more of the "possessed" to come forward. Nathan remembers enough about his experience to get in touch with A through his secret email account, and tries to convince A to reveal his true nature. Although this storyline does add some tension to the mix, I felt like the book didn't necessarily need it. Every Day largely focuses on the romance between A and Rhiannon, so when a late reveal implies that the story might slip into thriller territory or start exploring explanations for the body-jumping mythology, it doesn't quite fit. Luckily Levithan avoids straying too far down that path.

That isn't to say I wouldn't be curious to know more about the cause of A's body-jumping experiences, and the book definitely ends on a note that would leave Levithan wide open to write a sequel if he chose to. I'd definitely read it, but I imagine it would need to be a very different book, simply because it would only diminish this book to try and repeat the romantic storyline.

All in all, I highly recommend Every Day. It's a quick read full of powerful emotional moments and thought-provoking ideas, and I definitely look forward to seeing what Levithan comes up with next.

Full disclosure: I received a free review copy of this book from Net Galley. ( )