Review: Every Day by David Levithan

Every Day

By: David Levithan

Pub. Date: August 28, 2012

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books

Pages: 336

Source: Netgalley

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

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.

Every Day is one of those novels that you will be thinking about long after you reached the end. I finished it last week, and I am still thinking about A. A isn't a boy, or a girl. A just is. A has no gender, no sexuality and no body. Every day A wakes up in the body of somebody else. A has no idea why this happens or where he came from. Throughout the story, I always thought of A as a boy, so in this review, I will use he/him.

A is one of the most interesting characters I have ever came across in YA literature, maybe in adult lit as well. A has no friends or family and is not able to form attachments. A has been in love once, but he was only able to email the boy he fell in love with. They were never able to meet again.  All A has is memories of his past in other's peoples lives. A is such a good person. No matter what body A was in, he didn't cause any problems. I thought it was so interesting that despite everything and being a different person every single day, A was able to hold on to his own personality. In every person he was in, you could see he was still A inside. A sees humanity in a way that nobody else experiences and A's voice was so interesting because of this.

A's love interest in the story is Rhiannon. A met her when one day he woke up as Justin, the jerk boyfriend. When A met her, he threw away all of the rules, and didn't act like Justin, but as A would act. It was beautiful and heartbreaking. A realized he needed to continue to see Rhiannon, and in different bodies, met Rhiannon in different circumstances and places. Once Rhiannon knew the truth, it was beautiful that she knew who A was because she was able to see him in the eyes of the person he inhabited. I wasn't a huge fan of Rhiannon. At first I really liked her, but I didn't connect to her the way I was hoping I would.

I thought it was very interesting how A didn't consider himself gay or straight. He just was. He's kissed boys and girls, he's been in love with a boy before, and he fell in love with Rhiannon. What was interesting about this was I know many people who say they same thing. They don't consider themselves gay, straight or bi. They just are, and they fall in love with people, not their gender.

The ending of Every Day was bittersweet. I understood the reasoning behind it though. What A did for Rhiannon was so touching.

I would strongly recommend Every Day. In true David Levithan fashion, the writing is emotional and raw and I think this book will appeal to a wide range of readers. Be sure to add this to your bookshelves on August 28th.