Every Day by David Levithan
Edition reviewed: First Ember Edition 2013 (paperback)
Spoiler-free review.
Rating: 4.5 stars
Why I picked it up:
I actually first saw the book as a recommendation on a fashion blog! Unfortunately, I was feeling snooty and didn’t look into it because the cover of the book didn’t seem like it would house an interesting story. On top of that, the title of the book made it sound mundane as well, and I promptly forgot about the book.
Months later, I purchased Life after Life by Kate Atkinson, captivated by the summary and promise of reliving life. I was so obsessed that I actually looked up “books similar to Life after Life”. I ended up on a library website that listed Every Day, and summarized it. The line that ended up drawing me in? “Every day I am someone else.” (taken from the back cover of the book).
The Writing:
Rather than describing the general summary of the novel, I’m going to assume that most of you have read the provided description.
Every Day is not the kind of book that keeps your heart racing and your mind spinning. The beauty of this book draws you in much more subtly and poetically. At the start of the book, I was immediately interested, and I wanted to know what would happen next, but I was able to put the book down fairly easily. It was a nice read for bed at the end of the day, (although it only took me 2 such nights to finish the book). However, as I read on, instead of getting bored or racing to figure out what was going to happen, I grew more and more attached to A. Emotionally, the build up was a slow, delicate one that gradually tugged on my heartstrings as I approached the end of the book. By the end of the book, tears were slipping down my face because I wanted to know more about A, and experience more days with him. This was definitely a book in which I started dreading the end, because I could read so much more of his life without getting bored. Thus, I devoured the 6 bonus chapters of his life that were included in my paperback edition.
The thing about Every Day is that it’s not just about A and Rhiannon. The introduction of every new character whose body A resides in is just as compelling as the last because this book really showcases the diverse spectrum of people in the world – even in small towns in Maryland. It’s impossible to tire of these different people and the way their lives had been set up. To interfere or not interfere is just one of the many conflicts that A has to face everyday.
The Characters:
A is an incredibly likeable narrator, possibly because of how much the reader sympathizes with what he has to go through. To not have a home to be homesick for, or anybody to confide in made me feel incredibly thankful that I can have a tangible life to call my own. Nothing that A experiences is really a true “A” experience simply because he is borrowing the body and lifestyle of the person whose body he’s inhabiting. This is achingly sad, and powerful because A doesn’t outwardly rage about the situation; the reader picks up on the strain and emotions much more organically. David Levithan has demonstrated incredible talent in infusing the supposedly mundane in an extraordinary way in his writing. There is so much that it relatable in this book, despite this mystical situation that readers (supposedly) cannot actually relate to – my guess is that most people reading this book don’t become different people everyday.
As for Rhiannon (A’s love interest), I found her much more likeable than I was expecting at first. Her actions, whether or not I thought they were the right ones, were those that a girl in her situation would really make. This again, is due to Levithan’s amazing ability to create a realistic atmosphere in a not-so-realistic situation. I ended up cheering for both Rhiannon and A, even though I was strictly Team A at first. As a heterosexual girl myself, I can understand Rhiannon’s uneasiness with A when he is in a girl’s body, even when he cannot understand because he is a genderless being. I acknowledge that it doesn’t seem right when you know that the person inside is the person you know and love, but the uncomfortable situation is probably how girls like Rhiannon would realistically react.
One last thing that I really appreciated: the ambiguity in the morality of the characters. The “bad” guys all had positive sides, and vice versa. It’s hard to create three dimensional characters when you encounter them only a few times (or even just once) in the book, but Levithan did a stunning job of doing just that.
The Romance:
This is where I dock half a star from the overall rating. The romance was generally good, relatively well developed despite the fact that A fell in love with Rhiannon in essentially one day. Rhiannon, on the other hand, took longer, which I appreciated, because the average person probably wouldn’t be able to fall for someone who changes bodies very quickly. The thing that bugged me, however, was the repetitiveness in A’s daily routine – search for Rhiannon, find out how far away she is, and try to meet up with her. Yes, that’s what a person in love would probably do, but reading it in every chapter definitely gets a bit annoying after a while. It doesn’t take away from the romance per say, but at times, I wanted A to focus more on what his body (and host) needed that day.
Favorite line about their relationship? A, at the end of day 6026: “I wanted love to conquer all. But love can’t conquer anything. It can’t do anything on its own. It relies on us to do the conquering on its behalf.”
The Ending:
The ending was both expected and surprising to me. In vague terms, the ending was what I had expected it to be when I first started reading the book. Meaning, that after reading the first chapter or two, if you had asked me what I thought the ending of the book was going to be, I would’ve guessed pretty accurately. But as I read on, that ending seemed less likely, and I started predicting different endings, perhaps because I thought that a different ending would have been more suitable for A. But when I finished Every Day, I knew that it was the right ending. It felt so right, in so many ways, and I’m glad Levithan stuck to it wholeheartedly. The ending made me cry, which is always a good thing, and I promptly reread the last 2 chapters of the book because I loved it so much.
Final Thoughts:
This was my first encounter with David Levithan’s writing, but it certainly won’t be the last. The originality of the plot, the sweepingly understated emotions in his writing, the realistic character development – all of it was there. I haven’t been so impressed by a book in a while, and although it took me months to actually pick up the book to read it, I am so glad that I gave it a chance.
The title itself means more than it lets on. Every Day is divided into two words, establishing the motions A goes through, living every, individual day. Every day is unique, and brings surprises. This is different from “everyday,” which sounds much more monotonous and repetitive. The irony here is that yes, A goes through this everyday, but every day is different. Not what I expected, for sure.
Don’t be put off by the Young Adult genre. Yes, I probably fall into that category somewhere (I’m a college student), but the high school setting is relatable for every type of student that went through high school. The diabetic, the hottest girl in school, the drug addict, the 300 pound guy, the average wallflower – this book has it all. And even if you don’t fall into any of the “types” of people A lives through, the feeling, at least, will be there.
Highly recommended for any book lover. Perhaps a Young Adult lover used to instant gratification and romance with heart-pounding action could get bored of this book, but the fact that this book isn’t cookie cutter is why I loved it so much.
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Reviews with images
A great romance with a philosophical view on what is identity and the soul.
Actual rating 4.5 stars.This book consumed me. I read in one sitting, totally engrossed in the condition of the human soul and its ability to love.The spirit of A goes beyond gender and sexual identity and into a space of simply ‘being.’ It was such an amazing perspective on existence. Juxatpose that with the love interest, Rhiannon’s perception and interactions with A and her gradual understanding and acceptance of A, and their humanity, and you end up with a universal attitude of love and acceptance of everyone. It was truly inspired.On the other hand, being A was weird. Always the interloper, unsure of your very existence. It’s a hard place to be. Alone and transient. Enough to send you completely bonkers. But A finds a way to balance it all. A's own desires and wishes without impacting the lives of the bodies that are being borrowed for the day.I loved toe tone of zero prejudice about the physical being and of identity. I loved getting to walk, if somewhat briefly, in so many other people’s lives and feel that impact.While we only get the tiniest hint of the mythology behind A and his existence, the rest of the novel feels like a social commentary on identity and how we treat each other. How we are all different, yet the same. I wanted to get involved more into the reasons why A was the way he was – a wandering soul. I was hoping that in the sequel ‘Another Day’ I’d get more answers, but alas, only another brief touch on the mythology. I have my fingers crossed that we can really sink out teeth into the paranormal or science fiction of it all in the third book of the series ‘Someday’ due out on the 2nd of October this year. Not long to wait now!There’s not much to say about this novel. It’s a romance, a character study with a heavy dose of philosophy. I loved it. The concept so fresh in YA!It’s a beautiful quick read that I highly recommend. The movie does not do it justice, but is still great viewing – though it concentrates more on the romance than of the theme - what is a soul and what makes us human.
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