Every Day - David Levithan
by emma fiore
"Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl."
character analysis
The protagonist in Every Day calls themselves A. A changes bodies everyday and this has been happening since they were born. We never really find out if A is a boy or girl, they don't even know which they are. For all of A's life they have switched to a new body everyday, some male, some female, some tall, some short, some rich, some poor. Everyday A lives in the life of another person for just 24 hours. A is never the same person twice. Although the gender, psychical appearance, and personalities of the bodies A lives in are always different, they are always the same age and live in similar locations. A doesn't become the person whose body they are in, they can control what they do, what they say and what they think, essentially A is their own person just "borrowing" another persons body each day. A is respectful of the body they are in and tries to follow the persons routine as usual, trying to not disturb their lives in any way.
"Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere." is A's motto.
development {theme}
One of the themes in Every Day is love conquering all obstacles. Although throughout the story A goes through 40 different people's lives, from Day 5,994 to Day 6,034, in each and every of these bodies A is still in love with one girl, Rhiannon. A wakes up in the body of Rhiannon's boyfriend Justin, and from the moment he met her he fell in love. They had an amazing day together and A could not forgot her. A knew they were right for her, not Justin. "When you live as I do, you cannot indulge in jealousy. If you do, it will rip you apart." A went back to see her after they swtitched bodies again, this time A was in the body of a girl. A could not help but keep going to see Rhiannon and started to email her after talking to her at a party in Nathan Daldry's body. After A's lies fell through they decided to tell Rhiannon the truth. Rhiannon doesn't believe A and makes them prove that they are telling the truth. "There will always be more questions. Every answer leads to more questions. The only way to survive is to let some of them go." They soon fall in love, through all of the obstacles they face. "It's one thing to fall in love. It's another to feel someone fall in love with you, and to feel a responsibility toward that love." It is hard for Rhiannon to accept that the soul of A travels from body to body everyday. One day A is a boy, one day they are a girl, 300 pounds or 100 pounds, Rhiannon has to accept that this is how it will always be in their relationship, A will always change bodies and there is no way of knowing where or who they will be next. "I love you-I do-but I am afraid of making that love too important. Because you're always going to leave me, A. We can't deny it. You're always going to leave."
development {characterization}
Rhiannon is a major character in the novel. Rhiannon is guienly nice, even to strangers. Rhiannon was uncomfortable when A was in a female body, and she set boundries with A, realving that she is actually very timid. She couldn't explain why she was with Justin. There were so many reasons not to be but she stayed with him regardless. Maybe she was afraid to face being alone, "Putting up with the fear of being with the wrong person because you can't deal with the fear of being alone." or maybe because she felt an obligation to be with him. "She has been hanging on to the hope of him for so long that she doesn't realize there isn't anything left to hope for." Rhiannon told A that deep down she loved him, he responsed with "Deep down? That sounds like settling to me. You shouldn't have to venture deep down in order to get to love." The truth was, Rhiannon knew this, but couldn't seem to let Justin go. “There are many things that can keep you in a relationship,' I say. 'Fear of being alone. Fear of disrupting the arrangement of your life. A decision to settle for something that's okay, because you don't know if you can get any better. Or maybe there's the irrational belief that it will get better, even if you know he won't change.”
evaluation
Overall Every Day is a great book. The concept is unique and well thought out. It is obvious that David Levithan put great effort into thinking out the idea and the plot. The story line keeps you engaged and is entertaining to read, while still having deep meaning thoughout the story. There are so many great quotes in this book, many of which can relate to the readers lives. It is remarkable how the author can relate to the lives of the readers even with a story that is so unrelatable on the surface, below the fictitious idea that someone can change bodies every day there is a deeper meaning to the story about overcoming obstacles and acceptance in love.