Book Description
Publication Date: August 28, 2012
Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl.
Every morning, A wakes in a different person’s body, a different person’s life. 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.
With his new novel, David Levithan has pushed himself to new creative heights. He has written a captivating story that will fascinate readers as they begin to comprehend the complexities of life and love in A’s world, as A and Rhiannon seek to discover if you can truly love someone who is destined to change every day.
Every morning, A wakes in a different person’s body, a different person’s life. 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.
With his new novel, David Levithan has pushed himself to new creative heights. He has written a captivating story that will fascinate readers as they begin to comprehend the complexities of life and love in A’s world, as A and Rhiannon seek to discover if you can truly love someone who is destined to change every day.
About the Author
I am in awe of this story. The imagination of the author that plays out through this book is just amazing. I know that all teens wish they could change lives and/or bodies and even some adults wish that they could just toss everything aside even for a day, but to be forced to change that much on daily basis would be overwhelming. Levithan does a credible job all the way through this book conveying the angst and wishing for normalcy that A craves. I really hope that there is another book to tie up the few loose ends and questions that this book left me with.
DAVID LEVITHAN is a children's book editor in New York City, and the author of several books for young adults, including Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist and Dash & Lily's Book of Dares (co-authored with Rachel Cohn); Will Grayson, Will Grayson (co-authored with John Green); and Every You, Every Me (with photographs from Jonathan Farmer). He lives in Hoboken, New Jersey.
SOURCE: AMAZON VINE
MY THOUGHTS
ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT
++++slight spoilers++++
++++slight spoilers++++
Just for the sake of clarity, I am using the the masculine pronouns for A, even though there is no gender assigned to this character.
Twilight Zone Worthy.
A wakes up in a different body every day and this is the way it has been since he can first remember. It can be female or male, a different ethnicity, size or shape. Each life is unique and A just exists, moving day to day through someone else's life, accessing that person's memories, just enough to survive. And that is all A is doing, not living, just surviving. Until he meets Rhiannon and falls in love. He wants what he cannot have and pines for the common and daily routines most people have. Rhiannon develops feelings for him as well even though she knows that it can't work out. They manage to meet and connect even though A morphs into a new body daily. Some appearances are more successful than others with Rhiannon and A tries to leave each body as he finds.
A craves what each of us takes for granted -- continuity. Those little things that you can count on daily like a school routine, the same friends, making plans for the weekend. He tries to create this a bit for himself by creating an email account to remind him about things he likes, music and books he enjoys. He knows what it is like to be physically disabled, to have empathy for the kid with a rough home life. Even though he can't change a life, he does manage to save one of a severely depressed girl by giving her diary to her father and asking for help. So as A becomes more in love with Rhiannon and begins to depend on her for his own continuity, he starts to slip up, creating havoc in the life of one guy's life he takes over and leaves a few memories and his body in the wrong place.
A craves what each of us takes for granted -- continuity. Those little things that you can count on daily like a school routine, the same friends, making plans for the weekend. He tries to create this a bit for himself by creating an email account to remind him about things he likes, music and books he enjoys. He knows what it is like to be physically disabled, to have empathy for the kid with a rough home life. Even though he can't change a life, he does manage to save one of a severely depressed girl by giving her diary to her father and asking for help. So as A becomes more in love with Rhiannon and begins to depend on her for his own continuity, he starts to slip up, creating havoc in the life of one guy's life he takes over and leaves a few memories and his body in the wrong place.
I am in awe of this story. The imagination of the author that plays out through this book is just amazing. I know that all teens wish they could change lives and/or bodies and even some adults wish that they could just toss everything aside even for a day, but to be forced to change that much on daily basis would be overwhelming. Levithan does a credible job all the way through this book conveying the angst and wishing for normalcy that A craves. I really hope that there is another book to tie up the few loose ends and questions that this book left me with.
Details
- Reading level: Ages 12 and up
- Hardcover: 336 pages
- Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (August 28, 2012)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0307931889
- ISBN-13: 978-0307931887
I am such a fan of David Levithan - I'm never disappointed (though, of course, there is a spectrum of "greatness," even within his works, which are all good!).
ReplyDeleteI really look forward to reading this one - it's an interesting premise. I just need to find the time!
Thanks for your thoughts.