Effortlessly Reading

Book Review: Every Day – David Levithan

Every Day
Author: David Levithan
Series: None
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Science Fiction
Publisher: Random House Children’s Books
My Rating:

Summary:

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.

 
First Sentence: I wake up.

My Review:

Every Day is truly a beautiful book. It’s one of those books who manages to fit tons of philosophical quotes and engages you into the story at the same time. It challenges you and also tries to change your view on life.

I love the concept of Every Day. Every day, A wakes up in a new body and never lives in the same body twice. One day he woke up in Justin’s body, meets Justin’s girlfriend Rhiannon, and falls in love all in the same day. From then on, he tries to make their relationship work. She’s the first person he’s ever told about his circumstances and the first person he really loves.

As much as I want to hate Rhiannon for her on and off feelings for A, I can also understand her completely. In fact, one of my first thoughts when A mentioned that he loves Rhiannon (who is obviously a female), but also loved a guy in the past, was what gender is A? Does he/she even have a gender because he/she lives in other people’s bodies? The he/she part then made me refer to A as an it, which doesn’t seem right. I don’t mean to sound so judgmental, but I’m used to society’s rules for classifying people according to their gender that way.

I also understand Rhiannon’s problem with A being in a new body every day. When you think about your significant other, you want to refer to him/her with a particular image, not one that is constantly changing. To have your lover in a new body everyday – a stranger’s body where you don’t know what they’ve been doing with it – is disgusting, to put it kindly.

I feel sorry for both A and the people he lived in for a day. The people he lived in lives are violated since A can find and remember any event they lived through and any thought they ever had. A is also a victim because he/she doesn’t choose to live this kind of life. A didn’t have a choice on why he was born, who his parents are, and why he was born that way.

The only thing I had a problem with in Every Day wass how the author seems to enforce his opinion on you. The main thing David Levithan strongly implied in Every Day was judge everyone as an individual of their own, not by gender, looks, etc. I’ll normally agree with him, but if you put that context into A’s case, I’m afraid I just can’t agree.

However, despite the above, I love the way David Levithan writes about A’s experiences in different bodies. A experiences life as a drug user, football player, a beautiful girl, a depressed student, and even a home-school person’s body. Each of their lives are different and opens up the reader’s eyes to what different people face everyday.

I’ll highly recommend Every Day to everyone. It’s a book that makes you think, experience, and greatly enjoy.

-Kelly

Speak Your Mind

  3. I loved this book, too! Its complexity is beautiful. I especially liked the fact that Levithan used it to explore and tackle issues of sexuality. It’s Levithan at his best. :)

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  4. I haven’t read any of David Levithan’s books, but I want and figured this would be a good start. I am intrigued by the concept and have heard that his writing is beautiful (I am all in for beautiful writing!) What you say about author enforcing his opinion on reader is a bit concerning but I’ll have to read myself to find out. Nice review!

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  5. I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH. That pretty much sums it all. But to be more specific, i love how this book showcased a lot of issues in a relationship that often goes unnoticed or cast aside. It also broke my heart towards the end of the story, but over-all, this was a very emotional read for me.

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  7. Great review! :D I LOOOOVE DAVID LEVITHAN AND HIS MASTERPIECES, NORMAL PEOPLE JUST CALL BOOKS. ♥ ♥ ♥

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  8. I liked this book a lot. This was the first book I read from David Levithan, and I was not disappointed at all (I actually jumped to Boy Meets Boy after this one). I loved A from the beginning but the end… wow… and I liked that well, every body was so different and yet A managed to live those lives.

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  9. I haven’t read this book yet. But in the couple of DL books I have read, I did feel like it was a tad too preachy. I’m still willing to give it a shot though because the writing is usually done well.

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  11. I read the book and thank you for your reviews because it turned out well. The book is so exciting and has unpredictable chapters unlike others. Your reviews are great! I am so thankful to you for keeping us updated through your reviews and it really helped me to decide to whether read the book or not. Your blog really inspires me and I know, there are a lot of your readers really inspired by you too. So keep up the good work and God bless. :)

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  14. Ive heard such amazing things about this book. The premise seems so interesting and is definitely something I havent heard of before! It has great reviews on goodreads as well (and by you ;) ) will definitely check this one out!

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  15. I loved this book. And I totally agree, I feel like he was pushing his opinion on you but it worked well with the story. Great review!

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  16. Nice Review :)
    I’m so happy that I’ve got this book and I would be reading it soon because you highly recommended it.
    I like the concept of the story, maybe Levithan tried to explain the life in different perspective!

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  17. I’ve heard a lot of praise for this book and although it may not be in my Goodreads TBR pile, it is sitting in my mind. I know I’m going to have to read this one at some point and I can’t wait! :D

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  18. I’ve heard so many good things about this book. I can’t believe I haven’t read it yet! I think the gender/non-gender aspect will be really interesting.

    Reply

    • The gender/non-gender aspect is really interesting. It also shows what’s happening from the many different points of views, making you think, which is what I’m sure David Levithan was trying to do.
      Kelly recently posted…Stacking the Shelves [52]My Profile

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  19. I too loved Every Day! The story idea is great and I loved reading about how A handles waking up in a different body each day. It was a book that was easy and quick to read but stayed with me and made me think even after I was done reading it. I would definitely recommend it!

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  21. This book left me a complete emotional wreck. I think it gets some really important messages across. Firstly, live everyday to its fullest. Second, beauty is on the inside. Such an emotional roller coaster of a book.
    I get what you mean about the he/she thing. My review took me twice as long to write then normal because I had to keep reading through and making sure I didn’t refer to A as one specific gender!
    The thing I really loved about this book though, is that I really had no idea how it was going to end. So many books I read now-a-days are predictable, you know exactly how they are going to end. I found Every Day a very refreshing read.

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  22. I loved Every Day. As a commenter above said, it was refreshing to read. It has a different storyline, and it also has good characters. He made Rhiannon relatable, even if I didn’t like her at times. But that’s what kind of person she is. Feelings and love are very complex, and people don’t just hate someone and don’t just love someone. There’s more to it than that and Levithan wrote Rhiannon to show that there are good and bad things about every person.

    David Levithan always reminded me of John Green, but he didn’t try too hard to sound sophisticated or meaningful. Levithan wrote meaningful things, had characters say meaningful things, when they were meant to be said. He said them because they mattered, not because he could just think of something very “deep” and philosophical and stick it into his character’s mouths.

    I’m not hating on John Green, but all his characters are the same people with the same vague, sophisticated thoughts. I think now more people are just liking the author name on the book, not the content itself. They only see “John Green” on the cover and only judge his book by that famous name glaring at them from the cover, not what the book is about or who the characters are.

    Anyways, Every Day was a fantastic read. I enjoyed it so much, and the things you said rang true for me.
    Brighton recently posted…Library Adventures: Week #1My Profile

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  23. A lot of the people I know have read this and they’re all raving about it. Great review, it was good to hear your thoughts and insights! Got it ordered, will read it as soon as I receive it xx

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  24. I have never heard of this. I saw it at Target and almost bought it, but I was afraid that I wouldn’t like it, so I put it back :(
    From the beginning, I thought it was interesting, and certainly something new. I figured there would be a “before” to all the body switching, but I guess not. That kind of bugs me and intrigues me at the same time. I can see where the gender confusion might be, well… confusing. Haha. I hope to pick it up the next time I see it! Thanks for the review, and heads up(:
    Joanna V recently posted…TOUR STOP AND GIVEAWAY: Heartbeat by Elizabeth ScottMy Profile

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Effortlessly Reading sometimes receives ARCs (Advance Reader Copies) from publishers or authors in exchange for honest reviews. Please note that no compensation of any kind has been provided in exchange for a review. Any use and/or duplication of my material without any permission is strictly prohibited.