Book Review: Every Day by David Levithan + Giveaway

Posted 08/24/2012 by alicemarvels in Contemporary

Overview

Genre: Contemporary

Author: David Levithan

Year: 2012

Publisher: Knopf BFYR

Release Date: August 28, 2012

Page Count: 336

Synopsis: Every morning, A wakes in a different person’s body, a different person’s life. 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. With his new novel, David Levithan has pushed himself to new creative heights. He has written a captivating story that will fascinate readers as they begin to comprehend the complexities of life and love in A’s world, as A and Rhiannon seek to discover if you can truly love someone who is destined to change every day.

PROS:

beautiful, deep love story; relatable, lovable main characters; thought-provoking themes; interesting sub-plot

CONS:

A's so enlightened and self-assured that at times, you feel like these wonderful provocative questions about how blind love can be have right and wrong answers. They may not, but it is an interesting perspective nonetheless.

BOTTOM LINE

Equal parts sweeping romance and thought-provoking read.

by alicemarvels

Full Article

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

Every Day‘s premise sounds like the makings of an intriguing sci-fi novel. Our narrator, “A,” is unstuck in the physical world—a floating consciousness who wakes up in a new sixteen year old body each day. A has no gender, no race, and none of the identifying attributes that come attached to a body.

Each day A faces new and interesting challenges in adaptation. One day A could wake up a female cheerleader, the next day a 300 lb. guy, the next a drug addict. A is often at the mercy of the body and its addictions and genetic quirks. A tries to get through the day making as little of an impression on the host’s life as possible—a rule A sticks to resolutely until meeting Rhiannon while inhabiting the body of her boyfriend Justin. A can’t seem to help being actively present with her that day, rather than being a silent passenger. In the days following, A returns to Rhiannon, interacting with her in new bodies, forging a seemingly impossible, yet deep love.

This could be the setup of an episode of Dr. Who or the Twilight Zone. But Every Day is not really a sci-fi story, or even a magical realism story—it is a love story. The mechanics of A’s predicament aren’t fully explained. We don’t know how or why this is happening. A has to find meaning in this strange existence with no information, no comforting proof of anything.

Every Day reminds me of The Time Traveler’s Wife, a book that also sees the main character grappling with a sci-fi affliction day-to-day while trying to love someone who is grounded in time and space.

It is a deeply moving meditation on the power and enormity of love, and what it means to be human. Can love really be blind? Can someone be in love (and a more difficult beast altogether—a committed relationship) with the person on the inside, even if that person comes in a kaleidoscope of bodies? It’s a difficult question, one I’m still not sure I have the answer to. There are no easy answers for A and Rhiannon.

Levithan’s prose is beautiful, simple and heartfelt, and A is an unforgettable character whose voice will get under your skin. You can absolutely feel love and affection for A. Normally when I feel this way about a book character, I can envision them in my head—they have a face and a body and an identity they’ve built. They have context. To feel this strongly about a character as unstuck as A is in normal human life is a triumph that I suspect proves some of Levithan’s intended message—love and friendship and the human experience can transcend bodies and upbringings and prejudices. But it takes a level of enlightenment that few people are born with.

At first I wondered if A was too perfect, too enlightened, too wise for a sixteen year old consciousness. But I realize how eye-opening an existence like A’s would be—experiencing different religions and upbringings, and realizing how very similar they all are at their core—and it makes perfect sense.

A does have some painful growing to do while navigating this strange relationship—A must learn to be unselfish in love. The ending was absolutely perfect.

I heartily recommend Every Day to anyone who enjoys a thoughtful romance told through the eyes of an impassioned narrator.