Rating: 4/10
Series: Every Day #1
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQ+, Young Adult,
Publication Date: April 28, 2012
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Page Count: 322
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought from Powells Book Store
Goodreads Synopsis: 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.
*Quick Note: I keep calling 'A' a he bc that is what 'A's character felt like to me, but because he's in so many bodies, he could be male, female, or a little bit of both. I hope I don't offend anyone with this, I'm just unsure wat pronoun he would go by*
Ethics: 'A' lives the life of somebody else every single day.This brought up a lot of issues having to do with if he should change the person's life for the better, or just leave it alone. You could have seen him as a visitor, or the devil, or someone just borrowing the body, or inhabiting it. It could even be seen as a host-and-parasit relationship. In fact (I hope this isn't too much of a spoiler) on one day, when he leaves the body on someone, that someone remembers, and then spreads the news that the devil had possessed him. During this review, I will be saying the word 'inhabited', but I'm not sure that is the correct term. I would assume that some highly religious people would be up in arms about this book because of the LGBTQ+ going ons (obviously my brain isn't working because that sounds like I'm Rachel Lynne from Anne of Green Gables), and the ethical questions involved.
LGBTQ+ 10/10: This story should be analyzed intently by the LGBTQ+ community because it's so hard to understand. As reader's we obviously know that 'A' loves people for being people. Because he's in so many different bodies, it's impossible for him to have a so-called 'preference' for one gender. He loves them for being them, their little quirks, their favorite things, their (as John Legend would say) "perfect imperfections". 'A' has inhabited the lives of so many people, mostly straight, but he has been in a gay person's life, a girl who likes other girls as boys, and countless others. We can tell that Rhiannon (that is so hard to spell *inside book joke*) isn't exactly comfortable with 'A' being a girl, and 'A' kissing her. At the same time, this book is incredibly free in what areas it covers with the LGBTQ+ zone. These kinds of books are still pretty rare on the market, and the area's that Every Day covers are vital for putting more LGBTQ+ books on the market, and making people more comfortable with it.
Premise/Originality 10/10: Ten out of Ten, the premise of Every Day by David Leviathan was freaking incredible. It seemed right up my alley, and was one of those unexplainable-things-set-in-modern-times-that-sound-like-science-fiction-but-isn't kind f books. The thought of waking up in a new body every day has, to my knowledge, never been done before. Imagine never having a stable home, family, friend, or any comfort of people knowing who you are. No one in the entire world would know your favorite color, food, if you preferred using a pen or pencil on your English homework. No one would know who you were. Every day, you would be forced to go along with people you have never met and will never see again after that day. It wouldn't matter if you woke up in the body of a nerd, drug addict, cheerleader, or someone with leukemia. The possibilities of what Leviathan could have done with this story are endless. What 'A' could have done is limitless, and he could have made an impact on each tiny sphere of someone else's life.
Characters 5/10: I don't think that Leviathan utilized his premise well enough. The story, about 'A' falling in love with this one girl on day 5994 of his life, and spending the next 40 days of his life trying to get back to her could have been the most epic love story of 2012. Instead, if felt like 'A' dealt with the entire situation like a regular 16 year old guy who has never inhabited 5994 bodies in his lifetime. I know readers should be glad that he held onto a sense of normalcy despite his situation, but I honestly would have expected him to be a little more, let's say "psychologically advance". By that, I mean the 6th grader's definition of a person being "deep". After seeing so many lives, and experiencing so many situations, I would have expected him to deal with situations like an older person that had experienced more in his life. At the same time, it's expected because 'A' has never experienced a closeness with someone, and actually developed a relationship with them. Even when he took over a life of someone who was in a relationship, he wasn't in that relationship with that person. He never went through the rough patches, or the honeymoon phase with them, or the stilly arguments all couples have. Because this story is so different, you could probably write a hundred essays ELA teachers love to assign, analyzing different reasonings for 'A's' behavior and reactions. I know I sound so....I'm not even sure what the term is, but I sound so contradicting because that's what this story is.
Romance 5/10: I sound heartless, but I didn't enjoy Every Day's romance that much. Let me explain, Rhiannon was a very nice girl, who shone with her own light, was nice to everyone, had the jerk boyfriend....you get the picture. I truthfully, did not like her that much. I know there have been so many discussion posts around the Blogosphere dictating when it's appropriate to write a negative review, and the rule of the thumb, is that as long as you have evidence, then everything is fine. I can't give you that evidence because I simple don't know why I dislike her. I have a absolutely no vendetta against kind, smart, and pretty girls (HELLO! Look at me! Just Kidding 😝), or anything that I can think of that would make me dislike her. Rhiannon has plenty of good qualities and merits, but I think 'A' was just desperate for compassion and people to be there for him, so he went straight for Rhiannon, who may have been his soul mate. It's my personal preference that 'A' and Rhiannon are not my newest OTP.
Cover 3/10: *squints and looks at the cover weirdly like I'm constipated 😁* What is that? I have often talked about in the 'Cover' section that something abstract would be nice, and I normally would have said that for Every Day as well. I'm merely not the biggest fan of the designer's vision/abstractness. If this were art class I would say, "There are people....teenage (looking) boys and girls. They are jumping on clouds and floating in the air. That's all." I don't understand the point of the cover, and even though it is weird, I would have expected something even weirder, brighter, and eye catching, considering everything in this book.
Title 7/10:
'A' is in a new body EVERY DAY.
'A' experiences everything differently EVERY DAY.
Enough said.
Ending 6/10: Can I just March up to David Leviathan's home (without getting arrested, of course) and strangle him? The ending is so WTF! Why are you doing this to me? I don't want to spoil things, but the way 'A' and Rhiannon leave things is extremely abrupt, like in The Fault in Our Stars, An Imperial Affliction where the book ends unwritten. I have a few words (some not appropriate for this blog) for Leviathan, but I can't spoil it for you. May I just say.....WHHHHHYYYYY?
Continuation 90%: Because of that ending, which I may not tell you, I will have to read the sequel to find out what happens. Enough said. *blood temperature rises*
Quotes 10/10: Despite 'A' nor being prophetic, there are still some killer quotes in here.
"In my experience, desire is desire, love is love. I have never fallen in love with a gender. I have fallen for individuals. I keno this is hard for people to do, but I don't understand why it is so hard, when it's so obvious."---'A' P. 142
"This is what love does: It makes you want to rewrite the world. It makes you want to choose the characters, build the scenery, guide the plot. The person you love sits across from you, and you want everything in your power to make it possible, endlessly possible. And when it's just the two of you, alone in a room, you can pretend that this is how it is, this is how it will be. "---'A' P. 175
"Even before I open my eyes, I like Vic. Biologically female, genetically male. Living within the definition of his own truth, just like me. He knows who he wants to be. Most people, our age don't have to do that. They stay within the realm of easy. If you want to live within your definition of your own truth, you have to go through the initially painful and ultimately comforting process of finding it."---'A' P. 253
"There are a few things harder than being born into the wrong body. I had to deal with it a lot when I was growing up, but only for a day. Before I became so adaptable -so acquiescent to the way my life worked- I would resist some of the transitions. I loved having long hair, and would resent waking up to find my long hair was gone. There were days when I felt like a girl and days I felt like a boy, and those days didn't correspond with the body I was in. I still believed everyone when they said I had to be one or the other. Nobody was telling me a different story....I had to learn that when it came to gender, I was both and neither."----'A' P. 254
Conclusion: Even though I wasn't the biggest fan of the story, the concept was phenomenally brilliant, and I think every one should read this book, just so I can rant with them about how frustrated I am because of it.
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