Every Day by David Levithan

Amy    
Lynnie 


young adult, fantasy

Every Day, A wakes up in a new body.  He/she is always inside someone's body who is the same age he/she is and never strays far geographically.  He/she has his/her own memories and his/her own thoughts but not his/her own body.  Life goes on this way until he/she finally meets someone with whom he/she wants to spend the rest of his/her life.  Then, A's life becomes all about how to be with this person despite the fact that A has no way to control who/where he/she becomes each new day.

Amy's Review

I listened to the audiobook version of Every Day. The premise was so utterly nonsensical and unbelievable that I had a very hard time caring what happened. However, as with other audiobooks, since I was a hostage audience in my car I stuck with the story longer than I might have if reading it myself. I had never read anything else by David Levithan and I’ve heard great things about him, so I gave the story the benefit of the doubt. It ended up catching my interest about halfway through and I became curious about how it would end. But I never felt immersed in the story. I should also be given credit for sticking with it despite the narrator’s froggy voice. She did a good job with pulling off many different voices and her voice acting was fine, but the quality and tone of her voice was grating. I’d like to say this storyline was a creative way to explore teen feelings and opinions related to gender, interaction, acceptance, abuse, poverty, appearances, equality, and relationships. However, the method for exploring these ideas felt too forced from the start and its ridiculousness overshadowed any discoveries or insight the book provided. I won the sequel, Another Day, from First In Line which is what prompted me to want to read this one in the first place. But, I’m thinking that I won’t be reading the sequel.

Lynnie's Review

I really like David Levithan's writing & how he continually pushes boundaries & looks for acceptance, always.

That said, while I loved the premise of this book I hated the execution & found myself constantly annoyed by the characters- particularly the main character, A. I was really furious at how A continually promised not to do too much to change a person's life & then went out of the way to really screw up person after person's life! Yes, A also often tried to make amends to these people whose lives were taken over, but in the end- how do you explain to a teacher that you need to make up multiple missed tests? How do fix things with a boyfriend or girlfriend whom you've treated so poorly? Who do you make it up to your family when you've missed a really important event?

A's selfishness ultimately made me so mad I didn't care how or where A ended up. I also though the ending was a complete cop-out with no answers to any of the questions that had been presented throughout the story.

So, I guess I go with fascinating idea, but unsatisfying in the end- probably a lot like I imagine A's life to be.