Review: Every Day by David Levithan

Author: David Levithan

Genre: contemporary, fantasy

Pages: 336

Published: August 28th, 2012

Publisher: Knopf Books

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Source:  I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

"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."~Goodreads

This is one of those books that stays with you.   I didn't love everything about it, in fact there were things that really bothered me, but in the end I had to give it four stars if only because it was able to elicit so many diverse emotions.  "A" is a flawed being.  He is lost and self-centered and he has never truly felt love.  This feeling of neglect and loneliness is carried throughout the book and the reader really gets to feel what it must be like to live in a world where no one knows you exist.  One of the biggest problems I had with this book is "A's" selfishness.  He claims to love Rhiannon but he has no problem with her living a strange and painful life, so that he can live vicariously through him.  He wants her to leave her controlling boyfriend only so she can live in a new type of prison dictated by the strange rules of "A's" life.  "A" is also pretty judgemental and is quick to point out what he perceives to be flaws in others.  He seems to forget that not everyone has lived the type of life that he has, but expects them to be as comfortable with it as he is.

Even though "A" isn't always the most likeable character, the reader does come to feel for him and his situation.  This book is a study in intense character development.  Both Rhiannon and "A" are laid completely bare for the reader and once you get to know them, you love them.  There were so many moments where the story completely surprised me as it moved along at an incredible pace.  From the lightening-quick beginning to the perfect ending, Every Day is an incredible and exhilarating read.  This book is written so beautifully and with such care that I am sure I will be thinking about it for a long, long time.  The world that Levithan creates is both relate-able and fantastic and it is so easy to get sucked into his universe. I loved Every Day and would recommend it to both lovers of contemporary and fantasy.  This is not your average YA romance!