Every Day by David Levithan

Title: Every Day
Author: David Levithan
Hardcover:336 pages
Pub Date: August 28, 2012
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Review: +++++

Summary from goodreads:

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

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.

Review:

This book got a lot of buzz when it came out. It was in Entertainment Weekly, which rarely happens with a non paranormal/dystopian YA book. All of my favorite authors were talking about it on twitter. As a fan of David Levithan, I knew I wanted it, but what got me to buy it the week it came out was my husband wanting to read it so much. The day after my brother got married, while the guys were returning the tuxes, I got this book. My husband wanted it more, so he read it first. I thought about reading it for the read-a-thon, but I didn’t want to speed through it since I thought it was a book that could make you think.

And did it ever! Not only was it engaging and entertaining, but it made me look at the world through a different set of eyes while reading the book. I found myself walking around the next week wondering how someone in A’s position would handle the people I was walking by. Could A help? Would A ruin their life a little? Should A put themselves over the people A is in for the day, or should A just not get any life?

You may have noticed that I am not using pronouns. A does not have a gender, which is part of what makes A so interesting, and the girl A is in love with. Her reactions are different based on the gender A is in that day, in addition to what A looks like. It says a lot more about her and brings an entire other layer to how you can think about this book.

I think this concept was just so interesting and different. I think it really worked being presented in a young adult novel, since not knowing who you are really can resonate with this group and there are still so many firsts in relationships and life. It would be interesting to see how A would deal with it as an adult, in the 30s, 40s, and beyond. There would be different challenges and situations.

I have seen many people had a problem with what are more “issue” chapters. They are about teens that are different. One has a drug problem, a couple are discriminated against. However, I disagree that these are a bad thing. This is the kind of thing A has to deal with. It shows flexibility and strength that A has. There was one chapter that was really touching. I think they all added something to who A is and how A sees the world.  By including these chapters, Levithan allows us to see the world a little differently.

This is one of the best books i have read this year. I highly recommend it to anyone who is a young adult or older.