Every Day written by: David Levithan
“Every Day,” is a New
York Times Bestseller written by David Levithan. Levithan’s book tells the story of A. A is a person, neither permanently male nor
female, who changes body forms on a daily basis. Every morning at 12 AM, A’s body form and
world as he/she knows it, changes. Every
day a different life, a different plan, with only a few brief memories of prior
experiences in previous bodies. Although
every day could be seen as new and exciting for A as he/she never knows what
they will find when they open their eyes and peer into a mirror, A begins to view
life as mundane. A is unable to maintain
a closeness to people and intentionally goes through life knowing not to allow
an attachment to people, as tomorrow they will be out of his/her life. On the day A inhabits Justin’s body, he/she
meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon.
What
is it about the moment you fall in love? How can such a small measure of time
contain such enormity? I suddenly
realize why people believe in déjà vu, why people believe they’ve lived past
lives, because there is no way the years I’ve spent on this earth could
possible encapsulate what I’m feeling.
The moment you fall in love feels like it has centuries behind it,
generations-all of them rearranging themselves so that this precise, remarkable
intersection could happen. In your
heart, in your bones, no matter how silly you know it is, you feel that
everything has been leading to this, all the secret arrows were pointing here,
the universe and time itself crafter this long ago, and you are just now
realizing it, you are just now arriving at the place you were always meant to
be. (page 19)
A’s life suddenly had a
new sense of meaning and purpose, to spend as much time in contact with
Rhiannon. This was A’s first experience
of truly not wanting to fall asleep, a fear of losing the one person that had
given him/her a sense of belonging, a reason to live. A describes this new sensation, “I feel
something I have never felt before. A
closeness that isn’t merely physical. A
connection that defies the fact that we’ve only just met. A sensation that can only come from the most
euphoric feelings: belonging.” (page 19)
With A’s new found love, he/she becomes quickly obsessed with how to
contact Rhiannon and even how to see her in a new body form. In the body of Nathan Daldry, a young boy
known to be a rule follower and very academically motivated, A visits a party
in order to spend time Rhiannon. Unlike
any other body A had spent time inhabiting, Nathan sensed his body was out of
his control and attributed it to a demonic possession. Nathan shared his story with his family, classmates,
and the authorities, immediately instilling fear in A. A feels his/her life spiraling out of control
with other people now being involved and negatively affected by A’s everyday
life. Through somewhat constant feelings
of anxiety about his/her life ahead, A takes the audience through an
inspirational story of attempting to navigate love through seemingly
unsurmountable obstacles.
“Every Day,” is a fascinating story about the complexities
of A’s life and growing view of love.
David Levithan did an amazing job writing an unbelievably creative story
unlike anything I have read before. I
believe this would be a great book to use when teaching high school students
concepts such as: the effects of drug use, homosexuality, acceptance, feelings
of alienation and depression, as well as a search for happiness. These concepts, although relatively adult in
nature, are undoubtedly relatable to each and every high school student
throughout the world. Disengaged
learners, in hopes, will be intrinsically motivated by reading topics that they
can relate to and may openly discuss with their peers and teachers during book
talks.
References
Levithan, David. 2012. Every Day. New York, New York: Random
House Children’s Books.
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