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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
Devastatingly beautiful. I nearly forgot how much I love Levithan and his writing...
I’m currently crying as I’m writing this. I finished reading about ten minutes ago and gave myself time to cry it out and feel the emotion. I truly loved this book. I absolutely hate romance, it’s always unrealistic and doesn’t show the reality of them and when they do it can be super tragic. This book brought up those questions of what gender and sexuality even mean and how that can play into identity. A wakes up in the bodies of a gay teen who goes to pride with his bf, a lesbian who wakes up in the arms of her gf, a trans teen who goes on a precious date with his gf. It’s so wholesome and felt so real. A is so precious. I don’t know if I want to read the other books, this ending felt so complete and I don’t want to change it. Read this book. It’s short and easy to read and so beautiful. I thought I was done with YA but gave this book a chance and I’m so glad I did.
The concept behind this book is brilliant. The protagonist awakens every day in a different person’s body, and lives that day in that person’s life. But our protagonist, A, doesn’t have his or her own body or life, and has lived in this transitory state his/her whole life. I’m just going to refer to A as “her” to avoid having to say “his or her” so many times. I’m enough of a feminist to use the female pronouns as a generic rather than the male pronouns. I haven’t read a book with this premise, and it presents unlimited opportunities for the author to explore different lives while having a consistent protagonist and an ongoing storyline between A and Rhiannon, and it is done really well.
The closest premise to this that I’ve read is Stephenie Meyer’s The Host in which an alien being occupies a human body, with the plot centering on two main characters: a human and an alien, fighting for control in the same body. Also similar is Rick Yancy’s The Fifth Wave books in which aliens (again) lay dormant in their human hosts’ bodies for two decades and then awaken and take over. So having read both of these books, I assume that A is an alien and just doesn’t realize it. Which also reminds me of the plot of the movie “Muppets from Space” a little know Muppet film from 1999 in which we find out that Gonzo is actually an alien, that there is a whole planet of Gonzos who are looking for him. This movie features an awesome musical sequence to The Commodore’s “Brick House”. I digress.
I love the premise of A occupying a different person’s body and life every day. She wakes up and the person whose body she is in may be male or female, any race, gay or straight, any types of disabilities or other challenges. This is a wonderful opportunity for A to experience other people’s realities and for our readers to experience empathy. Setting this as a young adult book with the character consistently being 16 years old gives the book a built in audience, and also a good opportunity to gives its readers a chance to consider what it would be like to live life a someone very different from yourself. A spends a day as a drug addict, struggling the whole time trying to avoid going out and getting a fix. A spends another day as a girl on the verge of suicide, and mentions a day spent as a girl who is blind. This is all done with tact and grace, as A tries to balance the needs of the bodies she occupies with the needs she has as a person who wants to do things for herself, i.e. meeting up with Rhiannon.
The characters of A and Rhiannon are both well drawn and sympathetic types. A seems more mature than a typical 16 year old, but that may be attributable to her life experiences and having to be independent because she doesn’t have a consistent family. Rhiannon shows more typical teen behavior, but it is obvious that she is a good person who cares about others. Both A and Rhiannon are likable, compelling characters. The romance between them isn’t instantaneous, as A feels an attraction the first day she meets Rhiannon, but spends several other days (through several other teenagers) getting to know Rhiannon before she decides to spill the beans about her odd existence. Rhiannon debates the merits of A and her current beau, Justin. While Rhiannon’s waffling feelings about A vs. Justin may frustrate young shippers, it seems very realistic for a teen girl, particularly given A’s constantly changing appearance and inability to commit to even being somewhere at a future date.
I’m giving this book 5 stars based on its awesome premise, it’s commendable execution of this premise including likable characters, and the fact that I’ve been running around telling people to read this book (the hallmark of a 5 star book for me). I’ve also read the companion novel, Another Day, so you can check out my review of that book as well.
The closest premise to this that I’ve read is Stephenie Meyer’s The Host in which an alien being occupies a human body, with the plot centering on two main characters: a human and an alien, fighting for control in the same body. Also similar is Rick Yancy’s The Fifth Wave books in which aliens (again) lay dormant in their human hosts’ bodies for two decades and then awaken and take over. So having read both of these books, I assume that A is an alien and just doesn’t realize it. Which also reminds me of the plot of the movie “Muppets from Space” a little know Muppet film from 1999 in which we find out that Gonzo is actually an alien, that there is a whole planet of Gonzos who are looking for him. This movie features an awesome musical sequence to The Commodore’s “Brick House”. I digress.
I love the premise of A occupying a different person’s body and life every day. She wakes up and the person whose body she is in may be male or female, any race, gay or straight, any types of disabilities or other challenges. This is a wonderful opportunity for A to experience other people’s realities and for our readers to experience empathy. Setting this as a young adult book with the character consistently being 16 years old gives the book a built in audience, and also a good opportunity to gives its readers a chance to consider what it would be like to live life a someone very different from yourself. A spends a day as a drug addict, struggling the whole time trying to avoid going out and getting a fix. A spends another day as a girl on the verge of suicide, and mentions a day spent as a girl who is blind. This is all done with tact and grace, as A tries to balance the needs of the bodies she occupies with the needs she has as a person who wants to do things for herself, i.e. meeting up with Rhiannon.
The characters of A and Rhiannon are both well drawn and sympathetic types. A seems more mature than a typical 16 year old, but that may be attributable to her life experiences and having to be independent because she doesn’t have a consistent family. Rhiannon shows more typical teen behavior, but it is obvious that she is a good person who cares about others. Both A and Rhiannon are likable, compelling characters. The romance between them isn’t instantaneous, as A feels an attraction the first day she meets Rhiannon, but spends several other days (through several other teenagers) getting to know Rhiannon before she decides to spill the beans about her odd existence. Rhiannon debates the merits of A and her current beau, Justin. While Rhiannon’s waffling feelings about A vs. Justin may frustrate young shippers, it seems very realistic for a teen girl, particularly given A’s constantly changing appearance and inability to commit to even being somewhere at a future date.
I’m giving this book 5 stars based on its awesome premise, it’s commendable execution of this premise including likable characters, and the fact that I’ve been running around telling people to read this book (the hallmark of a 5 star book for me). I’ve also read the companion novel, Another Day, so you can check out my review of that book as well.
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The concept was super interesting but wasted on the context of a teen romance. Pros: original idea, protagonist’s view of gender, easy to keep reading. Cons: love interest was nothing special and didn’t make sense for the plot. She’s also transphobic which is not addressed. Both characters are vile in their fat phobia. Also I like that they don’t have sex, but they should have been able to be honest about it. Aaaand i think A is creepy for their obsession with R in the beginning.
Overall the plot with Nathan was much more interesting than the romance and should have been more of a focus. A was creepy. R was annoying. And while a huge range of human experiences were explored, they felt very “written by a cis white man”…. I’ll have to look into this author to see if that’s the case. Best handled subplot was suicide. Worst handled subplot is a tie between the trans kid and the fat boy.
Overall the plot with Nathan was much more interesting than the romance and should have been more of a focus. A was creepy. R was annoying. And while a huge range of human experiences were explored, they felt very “written by a cis white man”…. I’ll have to look into this author to see if that’s the case. Best handled subplot was suicide. Worst handled subplot is a tie between the trans kid and the fat boy.
Not rally into the teen romance - but the sci-fi concept was fun
This book was great up until the ending. Seemed like the author just gave up, got tired of what he was writing or couldn't think of what would happen next. The concept was cool but there were too many unanswered questions. Hope the sequel answers those questions somewhat, but I definitely think this book dropped the ball.
Back when I read this, this book was my whole personality (2013 ish?). After reading a few more reviews, I remembered more aspects and agree with some. Though I don't mind the lack of answers for the logic of the universe, I mind A's personality a lot more now. It's not a bad story, it's unique with flawed romance I'd say.
“How did you know it was me?
-The way you looked at me... It couldn’t have been anyone else”
-The way you looked at me... It couldn’t have been anyone else”
This is a book I've heard about and was interested in, so I'm glad I finally got a chance to read it. Now, according to the rating system a three means "I liked it". Were there problems with it? Sure. But I thought the concept was intriguing and there were a lot of parts done very well.
I think I'm going to touch on the parts done well first. As I said, the concept was intriguing. Since this is in A's perspective, the reader doesn't get much by way of "how" or "why" the daily body-hopping happens. There is a hint at the end there might be explanations, but honestly I don't see why it's necessary. I feel like the book could survive as a stand-alone. I also think the way A describes A's experiences in the different bodies is pretty believable. From describing depression to the aftermath of drinking or drugs. It's too bad we didn't see A in maybe a quadriplegic's body or in an autistic person.
I also really, really liked Nathan's reaction. So maybe the whole "demon possession" thing was not the most flattering light, but I love how persistent for answers he was and how he called A out on what A had done to him. I'm honestly surprised nothing like this happened before, especially if as Poole stated A wasn't the only one out there.
Sadly, there are a lot of problems in this book. A as a character is extremely judgmental, labeling people a certain way after knowing them only one day. Gender and sexuality is a huge thing for A, which in a way I understand since A can be either a physical male or physical female. But the way A got angry for Rhiannon not sharing that view was not okay. The same is true about people's religions and beliefs. I understand what the author was trying to say, but A could've been less condescending about it.
Once you get past the intrigue of the concept, it is hard to forget that the execution is actually pretty horrible. Whatever A might think, what happens is a form of possession: these people don't have control of their bodies or wills for an entire day, and often don't retain clear memories of it afterward. That's horrific even when A was following certain "rules" about being a guest. But once A started breaking them and interfering in the host's life, it got really sketchy. All for the love of a girl. Yeah, it's not hard to see that as stalker behavior. The incident where A tries very hard to get Justin to cheat on Rhiannon is particularly disgusting.
Also, the ending really bothers me. A actually appears to consider keeping a body longer for a day. This brings up a whole list of problems, one A already thought of: what happens to the host? And how A pretty much decided how Rhiannon would move on after this was bad, too.
After all that complaining, you'd wonder why I gave this a three-star at all. But I did like it, and I do think some parts of it were done very well. The pieces were good, just not enough to save it from the pieces that were bad.
I think I'm going to touch on the parts done well first. As I said, the concept was intriguing. Since this is in A's perspective, the reader doesn't get much by way of "how" or "why" the daily body-hopping happens. There is a hint at the end there might be explanations, but honestly I don't see why it's necessary. I feel like the book could survive as a stand-alone. I also think the way A describes A's experiences in the different bodies is pretty believable. From describing depression to the aftermath of drinking or drugs. It's too bad we didn't see A in maybe a quadriplegic's body or in an autistic person.
I also really, really liked Nathan's reaction. So maybe the whole "demon possession" thing was not the most flattering light, but I love how persistent for answers he was and how he called A out on what A had done to him. I'm honestly surprised nothing like this happened before, especially if as Poole stated A wasn't the only one out there.
Sadly, there are a lot of problems in this book. A as a character is extremely judgmental, labeling people a certain way after knowing them only one day. Gender and sexuality is a huge thing for A, which in a way I understand since A can be either a physical male or physical female. But the way A got angry for Rhiannon not sharing that view was not okay. The same is true about people's religions and beliefs. I understand what the author was trying to say, but A could've been less condescending about it.
Once you get past the intrigue of the concept, it is hard to forget that the execution is actually pretty horrible. Whatever A might think, what happens is a form of possession: these people don't have control of their bodies or wills for an entire day, and often don't retain clear memories of it afterward. That's horrific even when A was following certain "rules" about being a guest. But once A started breaking them and interfering in the host's life, it got really sketchy. All for the love of a girl. Yeah, it's not hard to see that as stalker behavior. The incident where A tries very hard to get Justin to cheat on Rhiannon is particularly disgusting.
Also, the ending really bothers me. A actually appears to consider keeping a body longer for a day. This brings up a whole list of problems, one A already thought of: what happens to the host? And how A pretty much decided how Rhiannon would move on after this was bad, too.
After all that complaining, you'd wonder why I gave this a three-star at all. But I did like it, and I do think some parts of it were done very well. The pieces were good, just not enough to save it from the pieces that were bad.