Every Day by David Levithan
Published: 8/28/2012 by Knopf Books for Young Readers
From Goodreads:
In his New York Times bestselling novel, David Levithan introduces readers to what Entertainment Weekly calls a “wise, wildly unique” love story about A, a teen who wakes up every morning in a different body, living a different life.
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.
With his new novel, David Levithan, bestselling co-author of Will Grayson, Will Grayson, and Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, 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.
I’ve been a HUGE David Levithan fan ever since I read Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist, then immediately followed by reading Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares. Unlike Every Day, those are both books that he co-wrote with Rachel Cohn, and I absolutely ADORED them!
When I saw Levithan had a new book coming out about a boy who is forced to live every day in a different body, in a different LIFE… Well, you can imagine how SUPER excited I was! Right? Thus far all of the books I’ve read by him had been contemporary all the way, so I was THRILLED to dive head first into a David Levithan with a hint of paranormal to it!
“Every day I am someone else. I am myself-I know I am myself-but I am also someone else.
It has always been like this.”
Is it just me, or is this not nearly as confusing as it should be? Like it SOUNDS confusing, but I totally get it. Which is odd for me – I mean really.
Immediately I’m drawn into the depth in which Levithan writes the simplest things. Maybe this is why he remains one of my all time favorites among the hundreds of authors that I’ve read through the years.
Today our MC is a kid named Justin, yesterday he was someone else and tomorrow he will be again He doesn’t know why he’s like this… It’s just always been this way. When he gets to school, he’s greeted by Justin’s girlfriend and he’s far more intrigued by her than he usually let’s himself be.
“I find it hard to look at her. I know from experience that beneath every peripheral girl is a central truth. She’s hiding hers away, but at the same time wants me to see it. That is, she wants Justin to see it. And it’s there, just out of my reach. A sound waiting to be a word.”
He spends the day with her, being himself instead of going through the motions of Justin’s life, and he undeniably wants to keep her. But HOW can he do this, when he is someone new EVERY DAY.
Everyday he finds a new way to become part of Rhiannon’s life as someone else… But it’s never enough.
As he goes from body to body and existence to existence, I am intensely aware of his inner struggle to keep true to HIMSELF. Every Day is very enlightening, for me personally I found myself reflecting on events of my life and how so often we take small things for granted.
Knowing yourself and living in the moment is an integral part of life… David Levithan thoroughly entertains while provoking meaningful inflection into one’s self.
Here are some of the quotes that made me FEEL:
“After a while, you have to be at peace with the fact that you simply are.”
“She’s so lost in her sadness that she has no idea how visible it is.”
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: We all want everything to be okay. We don’t even wish for fantastic or marvelous or outstanding. We will happily settle for okay, because most of the time, okay is enough.”
“If you want to live within the definition of your own truth, you have to choose to go through the initially painful and ultimately comforting process of finding it.”
“I will never define myself in terms of anyone else.”
David Levithan just released an Everyday novella called Six Earlier Days, featuring six random days from A’s journal, I haven’t read it yet – but it is downloaded to my kindle!!
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