Review: Another Day by David Levithan

Another Day

Author: David Levithan
Series: Every Day #2
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers 
Genre: YA Contemporary
Format: ebook
Release Date: August 25, 2015
Source: egalley received from publisher via NetGalley
Rating: 4 Stars
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***I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way changed my opinion of the book. The review below is my open and honest opinion.***

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Every day is the same for Rhiannon. She has accepted her life, convinced herself that she deserves her distant, temperamental boyfriend, Justin, even established guidelines by which to live: Don’t be too needy. Avoid upsetting him. Never get your hopes up.

Until the morning everything changes. Justin seems to see her, to want to be with her for the first time, and they share a perfect day—a perfect day Justin doesn’t remember the next morning. Confused, depressed, and desperate for another day as great as that one, Rhiannon starts questioning everything. Then, one day, a stranger tells her that the Justin she spent that day with, the one who made her feel like a real person…wasn’t Justin at all.

In this enthralling companion to his New York Times bestseller Every Day, David Levithan tells Rhiannon’s side of the story as she seeks to discover the truth about love and how it can change you.

My Review:

I really need to read more of David Levithan’s books. This is only the second book of his I have read, but his writing is amazing. A companion to Every Day, a story of a person, named A, who wakes up every day in a different body. When A falls in love with a girl, he tries to figure out a way to be with her. This book is told from that girl’s POV. It’s essentially the same story as Every Day, but from Rhiannon’s POV. Which is why I’m really happy that I read this years after Every Day. I don’t really remember too much from that book, so it was nice to revisit and get all the details, but through someone else’s eyes.

The one thing I remember loving about Every Day is the message that David Levithan is sending and that remains true with this book. It begs the question, do you love the car or the driver? Do you love a person because of their outward appearance or do you love a person for who they are? Their soul. If your significant other was in a different body, even one of the opposite gender, would you still love them? Would you still be able to be with them? What makes a person who they are? And even after reading both of these books, I still don’t have an answer. I want to say that yes, I would love Phil no matter what he looked like. If he was a man or a woman, I would still love him. If he was a tiny stick or a big guy. But the truth is, I don’t know that I would. I think I would still love the person. But I’m not sure that I would be able to be with him. Because humans are inherently vain. We see the exterior and that’s what matters to us. We can all pretend to be self-righteous and that we only see what’s on the inside, but if we are truly honest with ourselves, the outside matters almost as much as what’s on the inside.

I loved seeing Rhiannon struggle with this concept. She loves A. That much you can see. I love that she can recognize A no matter what body he/she is in. She can see the person within the body. But she still struggles. She can love A and be with him if he’s the cute Asian kid or the slightly dorky red-head. But she’s not sure if she can handle A as a drop-dead gorgeous super model. Or a huge, overweight guy. Her struggle was painful to read about, but it was also beautiful and so interesting.

Not only is Rhiannon falling in love and trying to figure out what that means, she’s also trying to get out of a bad relationship. I loved seeing this aspect of the story. She’s been with her boyfriend for over a year and deep down she knows it’s not a good relationship anymore, but when you’re with someone for that long, it’s hard to leave. Because once you end it, it’s over and then you enter uncharted territory. Will you find someone else? Or is that person it? Your one chance at lifelong companionship? I loved watching Rhiannon learn that she can be independent. That not having a man isn’t necessarily a bad thing and that she will be okay on her own.

This is one of the most unique books I’ve ever read and I highly recommend them to anyone looking for a different kind of love story or a book that will really make you stop and think. This would be a great book club book or even one to be taught in schools. David Levithan forces his readers to ask some difficult questions. His words are beautiful and his story will stay with you for days and weeks after finishing the last page.

Have you read this book yet? What did you think of Rhiannon's POV?