by David Levithan
To be published
on August 25, 2015
by Knopf BFYR
Source: publisher giveaway at BEA (thanks to Karen @For What It's Worth Reviews for grabbing this for me because she remembered I'd enjoyed the first book)
Synopsis: 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.My take: I really enjoyed the companion book to this one, Every Day. And I'll confess to feeling a bit disappointed when I learned that this was the same story as Every Day, but told from Rhiannon's point of view. I'm not generally a fan of that.
But I really enjoyed reading Another Day. It reminded me how interesting I found Every Day. The character A is a sort of spiritual homeless person. Every morning s/he wakes up in a different borrowed body. The story raised a lot of interesting questions about love, about the essential human qualities that unite us, in contrast to those things (gender, race, nationality, sexual preference, age...) that divide us.
In Every Day, we find out what it's like to live as A. In Another Day, we learn what it's like to fall in love with A, a person who never looks the same, yet retains the same human essence. While A's life is hard, Rhiannon's is ... complicated. She already has a boyfriend (this is how she met A -- when he was temporarily in Justin's body) and has to a) absorb the fact that during a perfect day at the beach she shared with Justin, he wasn't really himself, b) absorb the fact that the person she's fallen in love with never looks the same and c) decide how she feels about the idea of A, all while trying to hide this from Justin.
The ending of this felt very ... open. I'm not sure if this means there will be another book, or whether it means that a story like this can't have total resolution. But I found these two companion books moving, gripping and philosophically complex. If you haven't read either one, now is the perfect time to do a back-to-back read!
Huh. This is certainly different. I didn't know there was such a character in this book/series. Definitely has me intrigued now.
ReplyDeleteYes she is the love interest in the first book and this is the same story but from her perspective
ReplyDeleteI'm not a fan of books that are the same story told from a different narrator either, I would rather just have the book be dual narrated in the first book, plus I find that it rarely brings new information to light.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read Every Day (I'll add it to my list, I promise!) but I'm glad that the second book worked here, which given how different the two characters are I can see that.
I actually haven't read the first but have been thinking about it. Good to start for me when both are out
ReplyDeleteAh, I have yet to read the first book in this series- but I should really get to it! I agree with you though, I don't like having the same story told again, but by a different character.
ReplyDeleteEvery Day is on myTBR because it sounds so intriguing. Good to know the companion is pretty good as well. I often don't like it when it isthe same story form a different POV but there are alwyas exceptions! Great review!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely loved Everyday so when I heard a sequel would be coming out I had a few issues with it, I was perfectly okay with how everyday ended. I'd made me piece with it so a sequel felt a bit like a betrayal you know? Hearing that this one is more of a companion novel and that it takes place during the same time frame of Everday feels less like a betrayal but not something i'm all that interested in reading either. Hmmm I don't know about this one.
ReplyDeleteYES! Glad you really enjoyed this one Jen, even though it was the same as Every Day, but from a different character perspective. Picking this one up soon :)
ReplyDeleteHappy Reading
Patrick @ The Bookshelves
I am actually pretty disappointed that Another Day was just Every Day told from Rhiannon's POV. I remember when I finished reading Every Day, I thought it was a fascinating ending (even if it was pretty open) and for a while afterwards, I imagined what it would be like for the book to have a sequel. I was SO excited when I found out there would be one and I could imagine all the fantastic ways the story could go. .-.
ReplyDeleteI am still hoping for an actual sequel that returns to the story and expands the universe of Every Day!
BUT, I am so glad to hear that even though you had a similar reaction, you ended up enjoying Another Day! I feel like, given the chance I would enjoy the story too but I just want to know where A goes from that ending. I want to know what he learns about himself. Gahhhhhh
Lovely review, Jen! (And I am sorry for all the rambling in the comment!!)
Rashika @ The Social Potato
I'm glad to hear it's more of a companion because I don't have the first one but I have /wanted to read this one.
ReplyDeleteKaren @For What It's Worth
I have yet to read either of the Every Day books, but I am so glad that you enjoyed both! I will definitely check them out, and am excited to see how the story unfolds through the two different perspectives. Great review, Jen! :)
ReplyDeleteI am dying to read this book! I LOVED Every Day and I love David Levithan's writing. He's so awesome! I didn't know it was the same story, either, but I still want to read it asap!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your review, Jen!