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A review by coco_lolo
Every Day by David Levithan
2.0
I hadn't heard too much hype about this particular book, but David Levithan? Yes, I'd heard quite a bit of good about him. And the more I researched this, the more interested I became, until I finally got a chance to pick it up and see what was so impressive.
I did not find this impressive quality.
Every Day came across as very underwhelming for me - I just never felt that spark, experienced that moment when I knew I would love this book. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either.
Let's begin with what I did like. A was a very interesting protagonist: they had no definite gender, instead being both and yet neither, and I sympathized with them so much and the struggle they went through each and every day. Imagine never having a stable home, family, life - this is what A was forced to experience, and I cannot imagine the kind of strength required for this - maybe it was because this had been happening their entire life and they simple had to adapt, but it was such a sad, lonely existence. I loved getting to see all these different lives A hijacked for a day, the diversity of these people and the lives they lead, but this left me with so many questions that were deliberately left unanswered - What is A? Are there others like A? How can these individuals control the amount of time they inhabit a body? Even though I received no real clarification, this didn't honestly bother me.
What bothered me was A and Rhiannon together. Yes, the romance.
I found nothing likeable about Rhiannon; there was no individuality about her, nothing to set her apart and make her a distinct character, and I could not figure out why (or how, for that matter) A managed to fall for her so quickly - maybe because of the way A had to live their life that they were able to feel a connection with Rhiannon, but it felt too much like insta-love. I could have accepted this had it not been for the fact that I just disliked Rhiannon so much - she was bland both personality wise and appearance wise (and I mean this literally, the only description of the way she looked was her eyes), and I couldn't feel her falling in love with A.
The writing style...meh. There were a few brief moments that made me feel, made me wonder, but otherwise, it felt generic.
Overall, this book was just really disappointing; it wasn't gripping like I had thought it would be, and though the ending depressed me in a positive way (I cried a bit), I got nothing out of this and will not carry these characters, not even A, with me.
I did not find this impressive quality.
Every Day came across as very underwhelming for me - I just never felt that spark, experienced that moment when I knew I would love this book. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either.
Let's begin with what I did like. A was a very interesting protagonist: they had no definite gender, instead being both and yet neither, and I sympathized with them so much and the struggle they went through each and every day. Imagine never having a stable home, family, life - this is what A was forced to experience, and I cannot imagine the kind of strength required for this - maybe it was because this had been happening their entire life and they simple had to adapt, but it was such a sad, lonely existence. I loved getting to see all these different lives A hijacked for a day, the diversity of these people and the lives they lead, but this left me with so many questions that were deliberately left unanswered - What is A? Are there others like A? How can these individuals control the amount of time they inhabit a body? Even though I received no real clarification, this didn't honestly bother me.
What bothered me was A and Rhiannon together. Yes, the romance.
I found nothing likeable about Rhiannon; there was no individuality about her, nothing to set her apart and make her a distinct character, and I could not figure out why (or how, for that matter) A managed to fall for her so quickly - maybe because of the way A had to live their life that they were able to feel a connection with Rhiannon, but it felt too much like insta-love. I could have accepted this had it not been for the fact that I just disliked Rhiannon so much - she was bland both personality wise and appearance wise (and I mean this literally, the only description of the way she looked was her eyes), and I couldn't feel her falling in love with A.
The writing style...meh. There were a few brief moments that made me feel, made me wonder, but otherwise, it felt generic.
Overall, this book was just really disappointing; it wasn't gripping like I had thought it would be, and though the ending depressed me in a positive way (I cried a bit), I got nothing out of this and will not carry these characters, not even A, with me.