Every Day by David Levithan
Title: Every Day
Author: David Levithan
Publisher: Knopf 2012
Genre: YA Fiction
Pages: 324
Rating: 4/5 stars
Reading Challenges: New Author; Eclectic - LGBT; Blogger Recs; Book Bingo - 3 from everyone but me
How I Got It: Library Loan
Every Day is technically for young adults, but the premise of this unusual book goes much deeper. It asks a question that will resonate with the young and old alike: Can you truly love someone regardless of what they look like on the outside? The main character, A, wakes up every morning in a different body. Day to day, A can be male or female, any ethnicity, any size, and in any type of household. The only constant is that he (we'll go with that pronoun for convenience) is 16. A has been body jumping for as long as he can remember, and he has learned to not leave behind any trace of his presence--until he meets Rhiannon. For the first time in his life, A feels a true connection with another person. But can she love him back? Levithan handles their romance with great aplomb, building to a poignant and beautiful ending that took my breath away. --Caley Anderson
I'll admit that reading the summary for this book, I wasn't hooked at all. I thought it would be some whiny teen romance book with a gimmick. I am not afraid to say that I was wrong. This was a very interesting insightful young adult aimed novel. While the romance with Rhiannon kept the novel moving forward, I really zeroed in on the passages about what A has learned from being in so many different bodies. I especially like the chapter where A discusses gender or the feelings of being genderless while body hopping. It's an interesting take on identity and sexuality. And I thoroughly enjoyed it!