Quick Snippet: Every Day focuses on the life of A, a boy who wakes up in a different person's body every day and has to adapt to whatever life he is thrown into. A has made peace with this, simply going through the motions and doing his best not to leave an imprint on anyone's life. When A wakes up as Justin and meets Justin's girlfriend, Rhiannon, however, he realizes he does not want to live without her, and must find a way to keep her in his life even after he has moved on to the next body.
Recommendation: I would recommend this to fans of realistic fiction books with a twist.
Review: I found this book to be, surprisingly, very intriguing. The idea of waking up in someone else's body every single day kept the gears in my head turning, and I felt a lot of pity for A by the end of the novel. How incredibly helpless I would feel to never have my own life, my own family, friends, loved ones...even the people who dislike me would be welcomed in a world like A's, which might be why A never really expressed any anger toward Nathan. However, it would also be very enlightening to see viewpoints from so many different types of people, and it would turn you into a very, very empathetic person.
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Rhiannon is a very understanding girl for believing A. Personally, if someone were to come up to me one day and tell me they'd embodied my boyfriend, the new girl and school, and the gay boy I danced with at a party, I would get the heck away from them and do a lot of praying. I am almost certain that I would never believe a story like this, which is why I find it so incredible that Rhiannon not only accept's A's predicament, but also manages to form an almost normal relationship with him. It's quite admirable of her.
Then, there's the devil-possessed story that Nathan tells. I'll admit, the thought crossed my mind that maybe A is the devil, especially when it seemed like A is the only person like this in the world. I concluded that he isn't after realizing all the harm A could do, but does not do. Still, I cannot come up with any good reason as to why A is sentenced to such a horrible life, and what the overall purpose is. Likewise, there is no evident way how this happened. It must be credited to a higher power, a greater force.
Several times throughout Every Day I physically yelled at A for being such a "jerk" and so selfish, particularly when he is in the body of Michael, whose family is going to Hawaii. He really couldn't wait a day to see Rhiannon? He had to screw up this guy's life, causing him to have to pay for the plane ticket out of his allowance for the next year, for something he didn't even consciously do? Another example is when Rhiannon waits for A in the cabin the entire day while he is stuck in the body of the hungover girl. She has no right to get mad at him for not being there. He had absolutely no control over his life that day, and he never has any control over which life will be his. Rhiannon might be understanding of A's predicament, but she is not understanding of the fact he needs to keep the people's lives he embodies semi-normal for the day.
Even after all that criticizing of Rhiannon, I feel her decision to leave A is justified. A setting her up with another likable guy is such a kind thing to do. He clearly cares about Rhiannon a lot, enough that he doesn't mind if she isn't with him, as long as she's happy with someone. It would still be neat for them to keep in touch online. Really, I think if I were in A's predicament, I would for a couple relationships online, with people I've never met. That would be the only way to live a semi-normal life.
The last page is a little confusing. I interpret it as symbolism for A running away from Rhiannon and his feelings for her, but I wish there were more of an indication of what he will be doing differently from now on, and if he plans to improve his way of going about life. I guess leaving an ending open for interpretation is sometimes a smart thing to do, but in the case I think it requires too much interpretation. Maybe I'm missing something.
Overall, Every Day was well worth the read, stirring up a lot of thought in my mind. I think this book will stick with me for a while, and I will happily read it again in the future.
~Alli
