Every day

“Every Day” is a book that invites the reader to question the ideas and conceptions that one holds about love, identity, and reality. It makes the reader question these preconceived notions while drawing them into a story for these characters that is beautifully written and, for the most part, engaging.

A is a character that I understood and got into. A is a person who switches into the lives of a different individual every day. Because he has done this since he was born, he has no idea of his own personal identity. He considers himself both a girl and a boy, and he loves both girls and boys regardless of what sex he is or what sex they are. With that said, this book makes a good argument for homosexuality. That is to say that it isn't what the person's sex is that counts, but it is the love that matters. A lacks his own identity, but also manages to exist in this world that he calls his life, and through that develop an identity. While it is true that he may be unique, he does fall in love with the main love interest, and that is all that seems define him. I suppose that, because A switches bodies and lives of different people, this soon becomes the only thing memorable about him. This is somewhat sad, but forgivable, given the novels premise.

Rhiannon is the main love interest in the story. She represents the constant person in A's life. For him, he loves her not just because of he beauty on the outside, but because of the girl that he knows she could be when she isn't around her controlling-boyfriend Justin. She shows what it would be like for us to have to deal with this reality for the outside looking in and makes a good argument for what love is like and why physical characteristics matter in a relationship. Those physical characteristics are not just those that one thinks are pretty, but also that are familiar. Without that familiarity, the love that is there can be marred by a sense of loss, and misunderstanding. Unfortunately, without this message behind it, there is nothing memorable about this character. I sadly, do not remember anything specific about her. I will get into why in just a moment.

I stated above that A and Rhiannon both represent different values and ideas of love and little else. Their characters and description are few and far between, with most of the novel consisting of dialogue, and writing about the feeling of love from A's point of view.I think that the reason for this is because that the author writes feelings best in this novel, and is a little lax on description. This is the first novel that I have read by him though, so i cannot say for certain.It didn't take away from the novel too much, but if you are a person who likes descriptive novel, then beware that this book's descriptive prose is few and far between.

There are a few more problems with the novel. One is that it is going to have a sequel. I feel that this is a mistake. This novel is so unique, it is so interesting that it shouldn't have a sequel tied to it. Yes, there are elements to suggest that there could be more like A, but my question is why should there be? The story itself is unique and deserves to stand on it's own, rather than have another novel attached to it. Also, the 2nd novel is expected to be published in 2015, which seems to be a tad long to write between books. Another problem is that,although there are some great stories relating to those lives of the people that A inhabits in the beginning of the novel, they tend to fall by the wayside in the 2nd act, and then pick back up in the 3rd act. These stories are interesting, and kept me involved in them despite the fact that they last only 24 hours of time, which i think shows the talent of the author. During the 2nd act, the story somewhat devolves for me into “A meets Rhiannon, and Rhiannon tells him she love him, but then says that she can't deal with him existing like this”. This is a common scene that occurs multiple times in the book, and it does drag for me.

Also, I have a question related to how his powers work. If A switches bodies at midnight and he goes into a random person, why is it that that person is always sleeping at midnight? A is sixteen years old, and he has to go into the body of someone who is his age. I can remember when I was that age and there were plenty of times when I stayed up until midnight, and past that, as I'm sure many of my friends did. That said. why doesn't A fall asleep in one body, and wake up in another person at midnight who is driving or playing video games or something? It is an unlikely occurrence in the novel, and it makes me disbelieve this story could actually be taking place in the real world.

I am very torn on this novel. It was a good read, with an interesting premise, and a good source of conflict. But nothing really stuck with me personally. I think i will forget the major characters in a week, and I've already forgotten the love interests name at this point. I'd say, if you are interested in this book, get it from your local library or a friend. That is what i did. The premise got me into the book, but there was nothing to make me stay, or go back to it again, and so for the reason, i give it 3.5 out of five.