Book Review :: Every Day, by David Levithan

Every Day by David Levithan
Published by Knopf Books for Young Readers
on August 28th 2012
Genres: Fiction, Young Adult
Pages: 322
Goodreads

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.

Last updated on 14 October 2023

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What is Every Day by David Levithan about?

Every day of their life, A has woken up in a different body. It’s always the same age as they are, and in the same state, and never, ever the same body twice. One day, A wakes up as Justin. He goes to school, he attends class, he meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. And A falls in love with her.

My thoughts on Every Day

I’ve heard a lot about this book over the years (and it has been years – it was released in 2012!), and even after buying it at a library sale a year or so ago, I only picked it up this year. To add to the story, it was only when I a) realised that it was becoming a movie (released 22nd Feb) and b) saw the trailer that I immediately bumped up to top of the to-read pile. I find if I don’t do this sort of thing often enough, I would have gone to the movies, seen it, and then never read it. But I am so glad I picked it up.

The concept is so incredibly odd; a person wakes up in a different body every.single.day, knowing that they only have that one as that person. Tomorrow when they wake up, they’ll be in someone else’s body. The person in Every Day gave themselves the name A as a child when they realised that they were the only ones, the unique being that woke up to a new family every day, that was a different gender and ethnicity every single day.

While I do think that A fell in love with Rhiannon way too quickly – a day? Really? A single day and you’re head over heels in love with a girl who you skipped school with and took to the beach? Really? – the rest of the story plays out really well.

I love the dangerous/oh-no side of the story, where one of the people that A body-jacks, if you like, starts declaring that he was demon possessed for the day. Then there’s an uproar and suddenly A is being talked about, although people think they’re a demon rather than just a consciousness that body-jumps. The press, the priest, the kid who is claiming he was possessed, on top of waking up as another person, trying to find Rhiannon every day… it’s a lot to take in.

There are definitely things that didn’t seem right, like why the body-jumps are state-bound, or why they can’t jump into the same person twice, but in the end it’s sort of a magical story, so you just shrug and carry on.

Overall, I did really enjoy this book, and I read it in two days (maybe four or five hours in total?). I’m happy to say that I read this before I saw the movie (which is always important, right?). If you’re into your Young Adult genre, then this is a good one.

Read Every Day? Feel free to share your thoughts with me!