Book Review : Every Day by David Levithan

Pages :  322

Read on : Kindle

Goodreads Rating : 4/5

Review :  Oh. My. God. This book was so unexpectedly beautiful that even now writing about it makes my heart heavy. Of course I picked it up for the unique story line. Little did I expect it to have such a lasting impression on me.

A is a person who wakes up in a new body everyday from the time he was born. We aren't told A's gender or age or any details of him that may define him as an individual. He has no friends , no idea where his family is and confides in no one about his condition. Until one day he wakes up in 17 year old Justin's body and meets his girlfriend Rhiannon and falls in love with her immediately.

There are plenty of YA fantasy and dystopian authors with the most compelling and mind boggling plot line but not many have been this poignant. 

This book is real. The situations that arise in this book are all relatable. A struggles in professing his love for Rhiannon and most of the time though Rhiannon eventually accepts it , the everyday changes in A makes it really difficult for her to be in a  consistent relationship. There are days when A becomes a woman , on those days he ( assuming ) notices that Rhiannon keeps a slight distance from him. There are days when A  may be an older guy , a disabled person , an obese teenager , a metal head , a maid , an alcoholic, a drug addict. He's lost count of all the people he has been , all the areas he has been in. But somehow , although not always he manages to make an effort and tries to be with Rhiannon and every time she sees him she needs to process who exactly he is ever so frequently. As a protagonist, A doesnt whine or constantly complaining about his condition , he has a very clear strategy to which he strictly adheres to and truly tries to  take the day as it comes.

The helplessness of the situation is heartbreaking but true. Just like in our day-to-day life ,we may have come across people who we really wish had stayed but it just didn't happen.This book primarily and on the whole questions the choices we make , who we are and what it's like to be in someone else's shoes. Time being an essential component in the novel also makes you realize the value of being just ordinary , of being just okay.

Seeing that most love stories , great love stories included, have either ended in cliched triumph or in death , this is one story where it has been abandoned due to situation, which genuinely and realistically tells you that love cannot conquer it all. So don't be surprised by the slightly philosophical shades in the book. 

Since the main topic is about not being able to have a fixed body of their own , the relationship between A and Rhiannon is very tender. There aren't a whole lot of times when Rhiannon has been physically attracted to him and A is hesitant in being intimate with her because he feels using someone else's body would be morally wrong. 

Rumor has it that David Levithan is set to publish a sequel to this book in 2015. Although the urge to know what will happen next and what other avenues A might explore in order to control his condition and be with Rhiannon  , I see this book as an excellent stand-alone. Yes , most readers might be annoyed by the fact that not a lot has been justified and all  arisen questions may have been left unanswered but that's the beauty of it! 

I personally feel that this book would be excellent for a book club discussion. The opinions and views that each one would have would be extremely diverse with a tinge of one's own philosophical essence. Some would want to nit pick on every detail and explore the driving force behind A's actions and some would want to try to work within the situation. A likely chance that an array of opinions would highlight  every possible angle in the story. Either way this book is a must read for all. Highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. 

Final Rating : 5/5

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Torment

She lies in her bed wide awake. 2:58 am. Tormented by his thoughts. He's 3 hours behind . What would he be doing right now? Out may be , or just getting back home from a night out, tipsy and ready for thoughtless sleep.

She turns to her side , picks her phone from her bedside table and looks at the only picture she has of them together. Her auburn hair looks almost black, his blond hair seems almost platinum. The two evidence of their night starkly visible on his neck.

 That night still vivid in her mind like it happened just yesterday. Every moment stuck to her skin like oil and the undying  tender determination of the candle flame that lasted the night. It would be 8 months since she first met him , 8 months since she was broken. Now she was fixed but still not whole.

From the first glimpse they knew there was no turning back. They just couldn't. The anxious excitement to see each other refused to leave their nerves , the butterflies in their stomachs wouldn't stop fluttering for a moment and in those moments weeks passed by.

Now these memories wipe the smile off her face and inflict heartache. A sweet pain pulsates in her as though a shard of glass is stuck under her skin. Her mind goes back to what he might be doing. May be he is with someone new. Tall , slender , graceful , poised. The kind whose presence exudes radiance. Tangled in her arms , she'd drink up the deep pools of ocean of his eyes and he would let her as though he's at the mercy of a goddess. And here , half a world away , she's still where she was, the very thought of a stranger's touch reaching out to her makes her skin crawl.

She kicks her blanket away and walks to her mirror. She had lost a lot of weight in the past few weeks. Her skin looks dull and grey. Her eyes enveloped in darkness. Her once metallic red hair now lack luster.
 She closes her eyes and prays in her heart ' Ya Allah , What next? How much longer?'

                                                                   

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The day's work is over. He hangs around by the ocean aimlessly , letting his feet control him and take him wherever they wished. He's a wanderer , a nomad. In 8 months, he's gone about 4 or more places. You mustn't get attached. You keep moving. But what happens you lose your heart and mind so quickly it's like sanding slipping from your fingers. You just can't control it , it slips faster. 

The sun is soon to set. The soft breeze whispers ' Kashmiri apple' in his ears. He could almost hear it smile. He looks on , trying to escape the face that haunts his memories. A  sweet lingering aftertaste he's still reeling from. 

He never would have imagined her to be this fragile the first time he saw her, tiny , like a bird with a broken wing. How much he missed her nimble fingers. Even when she casually touched him , it was enough to make him wiggle. When she slipped her hands in his shirt , he'd try his best to stay still. When he kissed her , he caught her fingers and guided them to feel his racing pulse. That morning , when he pulled her palm to his cheek and slept soundly.

He couldn't forget how she would stand on her toes to kiss him and still be unable to reach him, how she snuggled closer to him in the middle of the night and sleepily murmured ' baby , I'm getting bad dreams' , how she would close her eyes and nod her head whenever he asked her something.

The memories overwhelm him , he shakes his head but his ears are still ringing. The sun is setting filling him with gloom. 'I will find my way to you and we will be together I promise you this' he makes a silent vow to no one. 

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