Happy Monday, dear Readers! It's been a while since I went to the list of books you call provided to me, the lovingly named Slumplist, and gave one of them a try. Since I had to read a stupid work book (which actually wasn't too bad, just nothing I feel like reviewing) and I just started The Silkworm, A View from Page Thirty* post seems just what we need today!
Today, I am actually reading the beginning of something that I put back on my To-Read list on Goodreads in September 2012. It was suggested on the Slumplist post by Rachel saying that it had "that addictive quality" that I was requesting to get out of my slump.
The Book: Every Day by David Levithan
Release Date: August 2012
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Genres: Contemporary YA, Fantasy
Release Date: August 2012
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Genres: Contemporary YA, Fantasy
Series: I thought it was a stand alone, but apparently book two comes out this summer.
Summary:
Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl.
There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.
It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day
A View from Page Thirty:
Well, those first two chapters went by fast! This book starts off right into the action. This person has an interesting life in that every day he wakes up as a different person. The author jumps right away into a decent enough explanation without getting too bogged down in the details from page one. Since his first body that I read about was a guy, I am going to call him a guy and use male pronouns, but the book says he can be either guy or girl though always around the age of how old he would actually be if he were a stationary person.
Anyway he ends up being this kid Justin and we get a glimpse into how his day usually works. How do you figure things out about a person without letting any of the people in their life know that somethings is off? It's quite a balancing act... and one that you would never get a day off from.
He meets Justin's girlfriend, Rhiannon, and ends up breaking all of his rules and forming an attachment to her. They actually have a really sweet afternoon together, but soon night comes and he wake as Leslie.
Leslie's brother and thus family is not having a good day, which makes it harder for the main character. Even harder still because he can't stop thinking of Rhiannon. But he navigates his way though the waters, trying to do things that seem like the would be Leslie's actions without trying to change the course of her life too much.
What I am Loving:
This concept is outstanding. I keep wondering off thinking about all of the consequences of living a life like this - no possessions, no family, no ties, no real sense of self. It truly sounds like an awful existence. I love that he gave himself a "possession" in the form of an email address. That's smart! I also wonder how this life would work as an adult with having to figure out jobs and how that would work. Urg, so much stress in this life!
I am curious about how he is going to cope with this attachment that he has made even though it broke his "don't interfere too much" rule. Is he going to start altering other people lives just to get to her? These are the big questions that suck you in!
What I am Unsure of
I don't know how I feel about the narrator. I get his life is horrible, but I am a little worried at how much I will be able to connect. But I am still curious to see where and how the story play out. Will he get to see and explain everything to Rhiannon?
Another thing is that I am fearful this could turn into a story that I have read before (boy meets girl, boy has problems getting to girl, YA drama, love triangle, etc) and thus lose site of the awesome concept.
Final Verdict:
I am definitely going to keep going on this. It seems it's only a few hungered digital pages long. I like the concept and I think it has a lot of potential, but I am a little concerned that it may turn into every other YA model love story and the concept will fall to the wayside...
So have you guys read this? Should I keep going? Try to keep it spoiler free for me if you will. :) Also if you have any books you want me to read for the Slumplist or this feature, please feel free to suggest some!
*For those not familiar with a View from Page Thirty, basically it is me giving my thirty page first impression of a book. I have a personal rule that every book I start gets at least thirty pages. If I am not feeling it by then, time to move on. So I figured it would make a fun feature.
I love love loved this book! Keep going!<3 Bee @ Bee Reads Books
ReplyDeleteI liked this book, but didn't love it because I had a few problems with the instalovey nature of the A-Rhiannon thing and thought some of the message was too heavy-handed. However, from what you have written here, I think you should continue on because David Levithan does a lot of things right with it and addresses a lot of the issues you mention.
ReplyDeleteThis book has been on my TBR for aaages. Glad you're liking it! I'll definitely be reading your review, if you're writing one. :)
ReplyDeleteI read it and liked it. Didn't love it because I didn't ever get what was supposed to be so awesome about Rhiannon. But it's a really cool concept, and I love how A has this amazing understanding and empathy towards all kinds of people because of this weird unstable life he lives. It's definitely worth finishing.
ReplyDeleteThis is a fun feature! I might try it sometime :)
ReplyDeleteI read Will Grayson Will Grayson recently, and liked Levithan's writing in it. I'll probably read more books by him in the future.