Everyday by David Levithan
different day, different body, different story
Plot Summary
In the book, Everyday, by David Levithan, the protagonist faces many conflicts and learns from each and everyone one of them. The main character has the same repeating problem with no resolution, everyday he wakes up in a new person’s body. One day is all A gets, there is no such thing as tomorrow or a future for his life. A's life usually starts out following the same set of rules, which are to not get attached and to not get involved with the life of the body that he is inhabiting. These rules are applied everyday, but when he is in the body of Justin, his whole life falls apart and falls into place at the same time. Rhiannon, Justin’s girlfriend, changes A's whole output on life and because of this he falls madly in love with her. He no longer wants to live day by day following the rules that he has lived by. He wants to break from the rules and he wants to be with her every minute of every day. Everything goes terribly wrong when he gets placed into the body of a 16 year old named Nathan. While A is in Nathan’s body, A decides that he is not to far from where Rhiannon lives, and wants to go visit her at a party Justin and her were attending. A shows up as Nathan, and talks to Rhiannon but little does she know it is the same person that was in Justin's body a couple days before. Throughout the book, A keeps switching from person to person like normally, but almost every day he notifies Rhiannon using email or he goes and visits her. As the book goes on Rhiannon falls in love with A, after he tells her of his situation. However, she is tormented, how could she ever love someone who she can never get married to, and can never meet her parents.
Conflicts
A, the main character does not have a specific style and changes appearances every day. For example, in the text it says, “immediately I have to figure out who I am. Its not just the body-opening my eyes and discovering whether the skin on my arm is light or dark, whether my hair is long or short, whether I'm fat or thin, boy or girl, scarred or smooth." This quote shows how everyday A has a different appearance and doesn't have a look that’s constant. A, the protagonist of the book has a very distinct behavior in the story. Usually, people with the same situation as A would take advantage of the body there in, but A has a lot of respect and try's to better the life of the person he is in. The reader experiences A's respect and consideration for others when A wakes up in the body of a girl named Kelsey. In the text A says, " I know I am not supposed to interfere. It is Kelsey’s life, not mine. It is unfair of me to do something that limits her choices that makes up her mind for her." This quote shows A's overall behavior to the bodies that are borrowed to him. A shows a lot of respect and consideration for the person and makes mostly smart decisions. A knows that after the day is up, their the ones that are going to be facing the consequences of A’s actions. A is also very persistent throughout the book in regard to his love for Rhiannon. Every day no matter what body or where A is, he tries to keep in contact with her, through email and or by visiting Rhiannon in person. One day A went to the coffee shop to see Rhiannon and finally tells her what really is going on in his day to day life. As he explains what been going on she gets very frustrated and says, “I don't understand why you’re doing this. I don't even know you!" She say this because she is in pure shock and at first does not believe A. Even though she wants A to leave her alone, A is still very persistent. He explains that they will meet again tomorrow to show her that he is really telling the truth about switching into a new body everyday. The protagonist A experiences many major conflicts throughout the book. One major conflict is with a boy named Nathan. Nathan woke up on the side of a highway after having A in his body. Nathan made his claim that he was possessed by the devil and it was posted all over the news. Throughout the book, Nathan keeps contacting A for answers. This becomes a conflict because the story is getting out and people are starting to wonder. One day A decides that the right thing to do in this case is to tell Nathan the truth and meet up with him because he feels empathy for his curiousness. Little did A know that the reverend of the town was there with Nathan when they were supposed to meet up. The reverend exclaims to A, "there are better ways to live your life.” I feel that the reverend doesn't have the best intentions because when A wanted to leave he wouldn't let him and he had to run away and escape. This serves as a major character vs. character conflict. Throughout the book A has to worry about emails and threats from Nathan most days during the story. Another conflict throughout the story is that there is no tomorrow for A and he needs to learn how to not hold attachments to people. “I took peoples 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 quote shows that the main character had to stop making bonds with the lives he took over for the day, because in the long run it hurt him and made him weak. A has to learn to transcend his fear of being alone. Another conflict shown in the book is that A has to give up the love of your life. A says his last wish is, “I want to fall asleep next to you," this is the last time A is going to see her. A leaves Rhiannon because A believes it is the best thing for her. A wants her to go on with her life and not be held back by the conflicts and hardships of A’s life. This shows that A is not selfish and wants the best for everyone, including the love of his life.
Literary Elements
Literary elements is a very important writing tool used by the author to advance the plot. One literary element used in the book is conflict. This is a major element used to advance the plot. For example, one conflict of A's is not being able to be with Rhiannon which advances the plot. It advances the plot because every day A needs to find a way to see her and also A learns how to let her go to benefit her in the end of the story. Another literary element that advances the plot is the theme. Theme is very important factor in the book, Everyday. The theme in the book is if you love someone so much you eventually have to let them go. For example, in the book he leaves Rhiannon with someone he believes will treat her right and leaves her alone because he knows they could never be together. Theses two elements advance the plot in the book.
Critique
This book was a fantastic read, that takes you through the life of a person that lives the fantasy most people dream of. Most people would love to able to switch from body to body with no consequences. I would recommend this book to all ages, but mostly young adults. I think it was a perfect length and was not to short, but it also was not to long that it was repetitive. The book also allowed the reader to be able to relate to the conflicts that the main character goes threw in the book. I believe this is a great read for young adults because you are able to experience the different lives of 16 year old's and what they have to go through every day of their life. Most people assume that their friend’s lives are normal or good but no one really knows what anyone is going through. Leviathan keeps us on our toes as we go through the lives of all different teenagers. I believe this book is an eye opener and will leave you with a lesson that you can use throughout your life. You never know how good you have it until it’s all gone.