Every Day - David Levithan

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Summary (from 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.
.~*.*~.~*.*~.~*.*~.~*.*~.~*.*~.~*.*~.


Edition Read: Ebook borrowed via Overdrive

Where (else) to buy: kobo*, google play, amazon*, book depository*, nook*

Full disclosure, I've been dreading writing this review.

Thoughts:
Every Day does a decent job at trying to shine light on some hot button and often misunderstood issues (ie: sexual orientation, gender identity, severe depression, undocumented immigrants, addiction, etc...), but it grossly misses the mark by completely skipping over any racism an African American person might face and by fat shaming the hell out of an obese character.

The main part of the story (A & Rhiannon) was okay.
I do like that it addressed and subverted the whole insta-love trope. YA and romance novels tend to rely too heavily on this and it's one reason I shy away from novels proclaiming to be a love story. A does have insta-love, but Rhiannon is level-headed enough to tell A that they don't actually know each other.

The characterization was all over the place. I didn't like A and I think I was supposed to. Rhiannon was a pretty solid character. I never believed the boyfriend (Justin?) was as much of a tool as A claims he is.

The ending wasn't terrible, but it was weird. The overall concept of the ending was fine and I knew it was going to end the way it did (or it was going to end stupidly), but I disliked how it played out. It's hard to discuss it without spoilers. It was just plain silly and, quite frankly, arrogant.

Verdict:

Thin plot and I don't buy the ending (completely). However... it is a quick read with an interesting premises. Would be perfect for a day at the beach or lounging by the pool for a couple hours. Just, don't over think it.

I am interested in the second book since it is told from Rhiannon's point of view and I actually liked her.

Quibbles:
-I wish the possessions were a little longer. By limiting each one to a day, it forces the book to be preachy because any problems must be addressed and brought to the front immediately. If there was more time, I think the issues could come to light in a more natural and subtle way.



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