finished reading every day by david levithan yesterday, here are my (disorganised) thoughts
(i am not a professional book critic i just like reading and yapping)
spoilers ahead
- great book. not perfect, pacing can be a little off, but it's a nice read. i love how the switching bodies works. the contradictory "a never ends up in the same body twice" and "a can get into a previously borrowed body, just several years after" confuses me though
- a's internal monologue is so insightful and empathetic. and it's pretty sad to think about how alone they were. they'd make a great poet tbh
- rhiannon is boring asf ngl. never understood what a saw in her. she was likable in a few scenes but her character isn't rlly memorable for me
- the leslie wong chapter is my favourite. tbh if she were shown as a separate character after a left her body, she'd be my favourite character overall. i need to see more of leslie asap i am in love with her
- appreciate the lgbtq rep so much, but the constant usage of "he or she" rather than singular "they" was disappointing
- i like how there was a chapter where a was in the body of a trans guy. i love trans girls but ftm dudes need more representation because they get ignored so often. i wish the language used was a bit less on the nose though tbh. also rhiannon used she/her for him despite already being told that he's a guy which adds to my dislike of her. a please get better taste, you deserve better and rhiannon deserves better but that doesn't mean you deserve each other.
- to the readers: STOP USING EXCLUSIVELY HE/HIM PRONOUNS FOR A. a is EXPLICITLY genderfluid. i use she/they for her a lot to combat it because goddddd yall are so annoying. not every gender neutral character is a guy.
- ending felt rushed. i think it's very fitting but it needed more buildup imo
- the reverend poole plotline should've just been resolved in the first book instead of getting a whole sequel imo. i haven't read someday but i don't really see the point in leaving that thread open just for the sake of making a trilogy. i would've liked it if every day had a few rhiannon pov chapters so i could understand her defense of justin more. that way, another day wouldn't have to exist either. also i just wish she was written differently
- a is weirdly possessive. they're very kind and open minded but the scenes with them trying to seduce justin to test him and show rhiannon that he isn't loyal or convincing rhiannon to be with them felt so out of character. i like flawed protags but there are much better ways to execute them
- the fatphobic chapter is garbage. comparing its absolute lack of empathy to the kelsea chapter feels like night and day. a was also very fucking out of character in this one. rhiannon is very judgemental and this chapter made me dislike her more.
- lowk would've preferred if a didn't have a name tbh... idk there was a certain mystery feel about them being nameless for the first half of the book that kinda fell apart when they told rhiannon that they had one. but then again the message of the book is that she still has an identity regardless of how much it outwardly changes every day (hehe every day) and they want to be seen as a person. they want to be understood so badly. rhiannon is doing a very shit job at that
- ok i know this review is making the book look really bad but trust me it's still very enjoyable. i like this book, i'm just used to picking things apart.
- the best thing in every day is a's internal monologue, like i said. i forgot a lot of it and don't have the book with me rn (it's borrowed and i can't take it out of the school premises) but it's really really worth reading. the author's strongest suit imo is writing thought provoking commentary about how different people's lives are and how we take several things for granted. and a's life is just overall very tragic and i like how it was handled. the way they talked about how no one would grieve them in the funeral chapter hurt like a truck and is one of my favourite parts of the book.
- the kelsea chapter is probably where i liked rhiannon the most. i wish that quality of her strongly wanting to help others was emphasised more. maybe then i would understand a's devotion to her
- srry if it sounds like i hate rhiannon. i don't, i just don't like her either. i think she had so much potential
- i'm not gonna talk about justin. he's a flat and boring abusive bf (a and rhiannon both have garbage taste in partners. maybe that's what they had in common all along) and i don't think he's worth analysing lmao
- obligatory leslie wong mention (again) because i love love love her chapter. ik it wasn't driving the plot forward at all but goddamn it was fun. tbh i wish she were the love interest deuteragonist and/or the protagonist instead. or a recurring side character. idc just feed me more leslie wong scenes please. maybe my fanfic writing and fanarting skills will come in handy for this.
- SOUTHERN COLOUR BY MITSKI FITS THIS BOOK. rhiannon as the verses and a as the chorus. oh and maybe even goodbye my danish sweetheart
Weird print error has the title of this book doubled on both the cover and spine.
@sizzlingsandwichperfection-blog I think they’re misprinting your stuff. Anyhow, this will be book 2 of my “reading famous YA while I work on a YA novel after the wallflower one. So far quite fun-
