 |
I picked out Every Day by David Levithan out of curiosity seeing as it had a pretty intriguing concept. What if you woke up in a different body everyday? You're about the same age but you can either be a boy or a girl, and you have to adjust day in day out to the mindset of a different person, being someone but no one at the same time.
Somehow he can access the memories of the person so he's not left totally clueless. If he sticks to the routine then there's no problem, he'll just come and go with no one noticing. But there's also that other side of him that wants a kind of consistency in his life, which happens to be Rhiannon-- the person who made him realize that there's gotta be more to life than a daily existence being someone else.
(I'm talking like he's coming from a male point of view but he's actually neither. It makes sense since technically he's only a soul, going from one body to another, so it's safe to assume that he's bisexual in whatever body he assumes. Some might think this can be confusing but he actually really know who he is, he doesn't like a person based on gender but he likes a person as a person.)
Not a Love Story
Though despite what it says on the back of the book, it's not a love story, not in the sense that I thought it would be. It's more philosophical than anything else, like is what he doing moral and just how much can he meddle in other people's lives.
Everyday he doesn't know what a person is facing and everyday he risks changing things, and he doesn't know what repercussions his actions can do for the person the next day. You might think that's ridiculous as not a lot can be changed in a day. But you'll be surprised just how much it can be affected, especially coming from the person who knows the value of a day more than anyone
A Lot of Resentment
I actually find it a sad story, you can feel a lot of resentment in the character. And I wouldn't be surprised if the author, David Levithan himself has gone through some of the scenarios himself. Like depression, or not being able to fit in and all that. In every body that our lead character is in, it's all very introspective and personal.
I thought it became repetitive after a while though, waking up in a different body and going through the same motions, but for some reason I couldn't put it down. I really wanted to know what happens next and next and next. A lot of possiblilities in my head and I wanted to know which one pans out.
Finally, I have to say, it did not end the way I thought it would go. I think I was kind of disappointed at first, though I guess it did end in a peaceful note, but it was also not much an ending as much as a new beginning. You'll see what I mean. I'm sure not everyone would be satisfied with how it ended, but if you look closely and think it over, it was actually nice and bittersweet.
Anyhow, what did you think of the book? I think if it was me I'd give the changing bodies a more positive light, like more of an everyday adventure and not be too realistic about it.
