Book Review: Every Day by David Levithan

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BOOK review
Started on: 6.January.2013
Finished on: 9.January.2013

Every Day by David Levithan

Title : Every Day
Author : David Levithan

Publisher : Knopf Books
Pages : 336 Pages
Year of Publication : 2012
Price : $ 14.45 (http://www.bookdepository.com)

Rating: 5/5
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"At first it was hard to go through each day without making any lasting connections, leaving any life-changing effects. When I was younger I craved friendship and closeness.... I took other people's lives personally. I felt their friends could be my friends, their parents could be my parents. But after a while, I had to stop. It was too heartbreaking to live with so many separations."

This is a story about A - who lives as a different person in a different body each and every day. It is itself and also someone else, whose body he lives in. It has been 5994 days; and after 16 years it's not strange anymore and A was used to it. However, things changed that day when he was a boy named Justin. He went to school as usual - because he can access the memory of the body, knowing the person's habit and life. It was when he met Justin's girlfriend, Rhiannon, that things started to get out of hand. Because A fell in love with Rhiannon, but unfortunately he won't be Justin every day.

Rhiannon didn't realize that she was spending the day with A - not Justin; even though A's behavior is too nice for Justin's level. They went to the beach, both of them had the best time of their life. But the next day, A was another person - but he still can't forget Rhiannon for a day. And because of the love A had for Rhiannon, he decided that other people's lives weren't important. A started using other people's body to meet Rhiannon as a stranger, just to be able to see her another day. But his decision only led him into deeper trouble when Nathan - a boy whose body was used by A to meet Rhiannon - realized that he wasn't in control for his own body that one day.

"What is it about the moment you fall in love? How can such a small measure of time contain such enormity? I suddenly realize why people believe in déjà vu, why people believe they've lived past lives, because there is no way the years I've spent on this earth could possibly encapsulate what I'm feeling."

"In your heart, you know. He didn't act like Justin. He didn't do things Justin does. That's because it was me. I didn't mean to do it. I didn't mean to fall in love with you. But it happened. And I can't erase it. I can't ignore it. I have lived my whole life like this, and you're the thing that has made me wish it could stop."

Nathan started spreading rumors about him being possessed by the devil that one day - and A really doesn't know what to do. So A decided he would spill everything to one person only, which is Rhiannon. He told Rhiannon about that one day A became Justin, all about the strangers Rhiannon met and how they are all A. Although it seems impossible to believe, Rhiannon has proven that A's words turns out to be true. Since that day, A and Rhiannon constantly meet up and talk about things. A also talk about his love for her, how he know for sure that his feeling for her is real. But even though Rhiannon believe those feelings, she still cannot comprehend the possibility of loving someone who becomes a different person every day. A really wished that he could stay as the same person everyday, or to go back to yesterday when he was with Rhiannon - but all he gets is a tomorrow and a different body.

"I mean, you're a different person every day. And I just can't love every single person you are equally. I know it's you underneath. I know it's just the package.... And there are just so many things you and I can't do. We'll never hang out with my friends, and that's driving me crazy. You'll never meet my parents. I will never be able to go to sleep with you at night and then wake up with you the next morning. Never."

I TOTALLY ABSOLUTELY LOVEEE THIS BOOK. Even as I'm writing this review, I'm still overflowed by feelings and feelings. This is the first time I'm reading David Levithan's book and I will definitely try to read his other works (hoping that it would be as good as this one). As for this book, I think the basic idea of a soul moving into different bodies every day is the one that makes it amazing. Even more, the love between a soul and a human that's impossible to happen has successfully create a heartbreaking story - almost feels like a forbidden love. Another thing to love about this book is of course the way David Levithan tells his story. Honestly, I was quite confused while I was writing this review, about how shall I refer A - because A is not assigned any gender, not a male, not a female either. But in the end I decided to call A as a 'him'. And I also thought how much should I write in the plot summary, because I'm afraid it may cause spoiler to those who haven't read it.

The plot of the story, although not packed with thrilling scenes, has served a perfect story-line for me. The main conflicts of the story would be A's love for Rhiannon - which is pretty impossible to happen; and also the fact that Nathan realized what has happened to him for one day. While the rest of the story is more about observing the different lives of people through A - and how A would do anything to spend another day with Rhiannon. The whole story is narrated by A, so the reader will really get to see and understand what A is feeling - his sincerity and love for Rhiannon is something that is pretty rare to see in real life. But even though A and Rhiannon definitely has feelings for each other, A's way of living is what separates them from being together. So while I was reading this book, I keep reading just so I could know how the story ends. And the ending, was PERFECT. I could still remember how I felt so sad at that point, that I wished for better things to happen. Although it may be heartbreaking, it was the best way to wrap up the story. (won't tell any much more than that. no spoiler :p). Triple, quadruple thumbs up for the ending.

Other than the main story, I also love how there are so many things I could learn through the lives that A lived. One of them is how A has went to many different religious services over the years of his lives - and he realized that all religions have so many more in common than people want to admit. But however, people always seemed to focus on the small differences rather than what they have in common. This part is what strikes me and realized that it is indeed true. Besides that there are also many other things that made me reflect upon many things - which is, again, a very good thing about a book and I really appreciate what it's done for me. I only talked about one, and so the rest of other things, I guess you have to read them by yourselves to find out ;))

"And religion - whether you believe in God or Yahweh or Allah or something else, odds are that at heart you want the same things. For whatever reason, we like to focus on the 2 percent that's different, and most of the conflict in the world comes from that."

Lastly, it is sad for me to finally say goodbye to A. After 40 days (in the book, I mean, not literally) with A and knowing his sadness, loneliness, and his love - it's like he's a friend I've known for quite sometime. But fiction is fiction anyway, in the end we always have to say goodbye to the character we love. Overall, it was a book that deserve a 'perfect' from me. A good book like this is hard to find; and I am more than happy to be able to come across one like this. Thumbs up to you, David Levithan :))

"I don't have the heart to tell him that's the wrong way to think about the world. There will always be more questions. Every answer leads to more questions. The only way to survive is to let some of them go."

still so much feelings for A :'(((((

"I wake up thinking of yesterday. The joy is in remembering."

by.stefaniesugia♥ .