David Levithan’s “Every Day,” and the sequel “Another Day,” are about the life of a soul, who calls itself “A.” It lives in a different body each day, taking over the life of who it is occupying, no matter if  they are male or female. Every Day is told from A’s point of view, telling its story about falling in love with a girl, Rhiannon, and the struggles of being in love, but knowing that there can never be  definite tomorrow with her. The chapters are days in A’s life starting on day 5994, when A first meets Rhiannon, to day 6034. Another Day is told from Rhiannon’s point of view, describing her feelings and emotions towards A, and the struggles she has to face because of the fact that A is never in the same body.
What is really interesting about the books is the plot and storyline. The idea that what we see on the outside is just a body, that what we have to learn about and truly see is on the inside of a person, beyond the biology and chemistry of the body. One theme is that looks and gender really shouldn’t matter if you truly love and care about someone, and I think that Levithan captured this theme very well. In Every Day, we see life being told from 40 different perspectives. A spends days in the life of a severely depressed girl, a homosexual boy, a transgender, a girl that could be a model, and many more, but A never changes. It’s emotions and tendencies, never change, it is always the same. Feelings however can change, based on the biology of the body. Like when A was in the body of the depressed girl, it felt the depression, the hopelessness, that she felt everyday. A recognized that these feelings weren’t his own but the body’s. It made me wonder, which feelings are actually my own, and which feelings are the ones that my body is given to me. Levithan knows how to sympathize and empathize, and he shows it in this book.
In Another Day, Levithan explains Rhiannon’s struggle well, making the reader feel like they are actually there with Rhiannon experiencing everything with her. We get an even better look at A because now we can see A from a different perspective, not just it’s own. Levithan makes you feel what Rhiannon is feeling, the fear, confusion, the love. It makes you think about what it is that really matters, the soul that inhabits a body, or the body itself. Rhiannon struggles with this, she has trouble looking beyond the face, beyond the persons image, to see what A is really like, who A really is. This I believe is a struggle for many people, trying to see past the body and look at the soul, this is why I believe the book is so good. Levithan makes the story personal, makes you think about if you are really looking at your friends, your significant others, as bodies alone or as actual people.
Both of the books were well written. From the very first page, to the last, I loved it and I still wanted more. They have a very unique plot, one that I think is one of its kind. They had everything a young adult novel should have: humor, love, heartbreak. All the while making the reader think and feel what the characters were feeling. I recommend these books to everyone. They can teach you lessons about yourself, but also about others. Every Day and Another Day were great books, and I will be going back and reading them for many years.