2015 Reading Challenge [Closed] discussion

Every Day by David Levithan




I just finished this one. There was a lot I liked about it, although there were a few things that really bothered me. It's a very interesting concept, and a good story, although it's not really a sunshine-and-rainbows happy story. Worth a read, though. I know I'll be thinking about it for a while.

I'm reading this right now. I'm only at around page 100 and haven't decided what I think of the book yet, but it's a bit weird with this A "person".

Marina wrote: "I'm reading this right now. I'm only at around page 100 and haven't decided what I think of the book yet, but it's a bit weird with this A "person"."

It's definitely a little weird. I'll be curious to know what you think of it when you're finished.

I finished it yesterday, but I have to admit I wasn't impressed. There may be spoilers from here on!

I think the author has left too many unanswered questions about A and this leaping from person to person. And Levithan definitely hasn't focused on detail. For an example, at first A doesn't know, what the person who's body he's hosting remembers the day after, but later he's capable of planting false memories in the hosts mind.
I was also a little annoyed with A just doing as he pleased without considering the host and his/hers life. I felt like the author wanted us to feel sorry for A, but I felt more sorry for the persons who lost control of their lives eventhough it was just for a day. Just take Nathan - he was right when he said he had been possessed but people laughed at him and found him crazy, and A saw how it affected Nathan, but didn't give Nathan any answers for a really long time.
Ohh, and the ending. First of all, what now? The ending was too open for my liking. And that idea of A finding a guy to Rhiannon. It was just too much!
I know the author probably wanted the story to be about why we fall in love, what makes us who we are and questions like that... But all of the things mentioned above took away my focus from those questions.

I think the author took a risk when writing this book, and he tries to make us look at the human condition in a different way. I appreciate that.

I agree with pretty much everything you said.

Also, *spoilers*.

I didn't post my full review here, but I was going to post in it in "Progress Post" thread when it came up - my biggest problem with the book was the way that A just completely disregarded the bodies's lives after he met Rhiannon. He had all these rules about how he didn't interfere with their lives and then once he meets her, he has them skipping school and exams, lying to their families and significant others, ditching on a family's trip to Hawaii (!)... it was just too much. I hated A when he did those things. At least Rhiannon called him out on it once or twice.

I think that he knew he could plant memories, but he didn't know if a host would remember anything weird about the day. It wasn't until the twins that he knew figured out for sure that the host wouldn't usually remember anything... Which is what made Nathan's story throw him off. But he also knew he screwed up with Nathan - didn't clear his e-mail and, you know, left him on the side of the road. *smacks head*

I agree the ending was open, but I don't think it could have ended any other way. There is no happy ending for A. And yes, him setting Rhiannon up with that guy was a little weird.

I guess overall I liked the book, but there was still a lot about it that really bugged me. I actually rated it 3 1/2 stars, but I always round up on here when I'm counting half stars. But there were definitely some seriously frustrating moments.

I am reading right now Two Boys Kissing from the same author, so far I am really enjoying it, but he has a little peculiar way to tell the story

Kate, I think we had the same thoughts about most of the book.

*spoilers alert*
I can see why the ending was so open, because as you say, there is no happy ending for A. I thought about early in the book, that this was going to be a difficult story the end. I thought about different scenarios like A finding a way to stay in one person's body, but it would have been to cheesy.

I thought about given it 3 stars, but according to Goodreads that means I liked the book, and for me it was just ok. So I ended at 2 stars.

Silvia wrote: "I am reading right now Two Boys Kissing from the same author, so far I am really enjoying it, but he has a little peculiar way to tell the story"

I've read Boy Meets Boy also by Levithan, and I enjoyed it. But yes, he is a peculiar author. It looks like a lot of people really like him. For me he's sort of a hit or miss author. I've also read Will Grayson, Will Grayson and that wasn't a hit either. But I appreciate the fact that Levithan tries new things and takes some chances.

Yeah, I tend to rate books a little high, but mostly because I have a hard time rating a book below 3 stars if there were aspects of it that I really liked. I thought there was too much "good" about this book, and that the "good" outweighed the "bad". Does that make sense? Anyway, if you look at my ratings, you'll see that it takes a lot for me to rate a book below 3 - and again, if I rate something with a half-star on my blog, I round up here on Goodreads. So, this book was a 3.5 star book for me. But I completely get your point, rating-wise.

I've read Will Grayson, Will Grayson - which I liked, but didn't love - and Two Boys Kissing - which I really liked. I agree with your point (again) - Levithan takes a lot of chances in his writing, and I like that. I like that he writes really good, interesting books for teens, especially GLBT teens, and that they're not just your normal, cookie-cutter YA lit. Sometimes it's a miss for me, but more often than not even in the misses I can find redeeming aspects.

I actually have an ARC of Another Day, which is the companion to Every Day, told from Rhiannon's point of view. I wasn't sure I would want to read more from this storyline, but I really liked the character of Rhiannon, and I'm kind of curious to see the story from the point of view of a character that doesn't frustrate me so much. So we'll see. It was free, so I figured why not. ;) I have a few other books to finish up first, and then I'll read it. I'll let you know what I think.

I read about "Another Day" just after finishing "Every Day". I wasn't sure if I wanted to read it either, but I would like to hear what you think of it. I'll probably read it at some point :)

Okay ...

I read Another Day.

I really liked it, for the most part. It was basically Every Day, but without the annoying parts. It actually led me to downgrade my rating of Every Day to 3 stars from 4. I'm still keeping it at 3 1/2, but it was a weal 3 1/2, where Another Day is a strong 3 1/2 to 4.

Only problem is... I did NOT like the ending. I won't give you details in case you want to read it, but I was basically with it and enjoying it until the very last page and then the last page pissed me off.

So, I guess worth reading, because while a lot of it was a retelling of the first book, it was a retelling from a better point of view. Plus I really liked getting Rhiannon's impressions of the whole thing. She's a much more likable character than A. But the ending still pisses me off. :(

I think I'll give it a go sometime, but right now I can't borrow it as an e-book, so I'll probably wait till it's available.
In Every Day I liked Rhiannon more than A, so I'm curious to hear the story from her view. And now I'm curious to find out how it ends :-) Please, don't tell me she is getting together with that boy A picked out!!

You gals are gonna disagree with me, but I think IF you can buy into the idea of A as a character, then his straying from his own moral code is an understandable plot line.

He has to be so accommodating to his hosts. I thought his character had quite a mature outlook on how to best leave his host with little to no change in life the day after he inhabits their bodies.

I thought it was completely reasonable to give him a crisis/conflict of character. Don't we all experience that at least once in life? I mean, especially when our emotions are in the mix.

His wrong actions and risk taking became quite desperate as his crisis escalated and he wanted to hold onto any semblance of normal (a lasting relationship).

I thought the ending was intriguing. Who knows if the relationship will work or not, but A did his best as a lover, in light of the fact he knew he had to leave her, to take care of her for the rest of her life. As the male in that relationship, it would have been utmost in his mind to provide for and protect her the best way he could.

All in all, it was a bizarre story.