Another Day by David Levithan
Another Day
Pros
- Diverse and Original
- Character growth and depth
- Productive Struggle
Cons
- Not as good as original
- Still unanswered questions
- Potentially Unsatisfying Ending
Title: Another Day
Author: David Levithan
Original Publication Date: 2015
Original Publisher:Knopf Books
for Young Readers
Queer Representation: A (queer/genderfluild?) love interest, multiple lesbian, gay, bi, trans embodied characters, one gay friend
Page Length: 336 pages
The companion novel to Every Day, told from the perspective of Rhiannon.
Memorable Quote:
“Part of the problem is words. The fact that there are separate words for HE and SHE, HIM and HER. I’ve never thought about it before, how divisive this is. Like maybe if there was just one pronoun for all of us, we wouldn’t get so caught on that difference.”
REVIEW:
Rhiannon thought that she was content with her life. Sure she and her boyfriend Justin had their issues, but so does every couple. Besides, she knows that he loves her and that he really can be sweet at times. Then, Justin does something that surprises Rhiannon, cutting school with her and taking her to the beach. It is the best day that Rhiannon has had with Justin in a long time, but the only problem is that it wasn’t really Justin; it was A.
Every day of A’s life, A wakes up in a different body. After 24 hours A is whisked away from one person and into the next. There seems to be no order or pattern to who A borrows except that it is never the same person twice, always around the same age that A is, and never too far from the last one. Over the years, A has developed a series of rules to follow so as to not mess up the life of whoever A is inhabiting: A will not interfere and try to leave as little trace as possible. Until A meets Rhiannon that is. But as Rhiannon begins to fall for A in all these different forms, the two of them must try to find a way to make their relationship work.
In Every Day, Levithan gave readers the story of A and Rhiannon in A’s perspective, and now we get to see what happened through Rhiannon’s eyes. While this is certainly something that fans of Every Day will appreciate, the novel adds very little to our understanding of A and Rhiannon’s world. The insight into Rhiannon’s friends and family will certainly be appreciated by readers who, like A, fell in love with her in Every Day, but I think it would be difficult to find any fan who prefers this companion to the original. While I still believe that Another Day is well worth picking up, readers should be sure to read the original first.
