David Levithan's YA novel evokes appreciation for the little things

     Imagine this: everyday you wake up in the body of someone different.  It’s always someone who is the same age as you, but besides that, it could be anyone.  Age, gender, race, sexual orientation, family, lifestyle; it all depends on the day.  You also never inhabit the same body twice.  That’s the case of our nameless narrator, who later refers to themselves as A in David Levithan’s novel, Everyday.  A has been living like this for their entire life and has always tried their best not to alter or influence their person’s life too much.  That is until he takes over Justin’s body for the day and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon.  A tries to push the boundaries of their situation as well as the boundaries of love in order to be with Rhiannon.  But what is the price of loving someone when things change everyday?
    I was very intrigued by the description of this book so I figured “What the heck? Let’s try it out!”  I have also read a few of Levithan’s other works, which I’ve enjoyed, including Will Grayson, Will Grayson which he co-wrote with John Green.  I’ll admit, taking a 3-4 month break while reading this book (due to and excessive amount of school work) probably didn’t help me at all; however, this book didn’t satisfy me with the feel-good ending I was looking for.  Don’t get me wrong, it kept me interested and it was overall a good read! ** SPOILER ALERT ** I just was hoping for some big traumatic event to happen that caused A to wake up in their own body and that way they could be with Rhiannon forever but maybe I’m just a hopeless romantic? ** SPOILER OVER **
    Aside from the plot, the beliefs that Levithan preaches throughout the novel are carried throughout the novel effectively.  The idea of acceptance can be seen through A’s inhabiting teenagers dealing with different issues and lives.  We see A live an an obese boy, a drug addict, a transgender kid, and a suicidal girl, among many others.  The idea that there are different types of people who are going through different things and that sometimes it can’t be seen on the outside is a valuable thing to teach.  There is a “finding your place in the world” theme that gets a little cliche in the novel.  A finally begins to realize what it means to have some sort of roots or constants in one’s life and feels like they are missing out on something.  It’s a nice reminder to be grateful for what you have in this world, but also such a redundant message in YA novels.  That being said, there’s a reason why YA novels are so popular: because they are relatable.  Because most of the people reading them are still trying to find their place in the world.  So I can’t blame Leviathan too much for adding that theme in there.
    Overall, I found the ending to be good since it wrapped up most things nicely, but I was just hoping for a little bit more from this novel.  I know there have been sequels written so maybe I will give those a try to see if it wraps up the story a little bit more?  I would still recommend the book to friends, but it’s a middle-of-the-pack book for me in terms of YA novels.

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