  | Full Text Reviews: Booklist - 06/01/2015 *Starred Review* Rhiannon has a love-hate relationship with her acerbic boyfriend, Justin. Yet one wonderful day, it’s all about love between them, and hate isn’t even a blip on the horizon. But then she meets a stranger who explains what—however improbable—has happened to make that one day so perfect. The stranger is A from Levithan’s earlier novel Every Day (2012), the boy who inhabits a different body and persona each day. He has fallen in love with Rhiannon, who gradually begins to return his feelings. But how, given A’s condition of being, can they ever be together? What kind of future can they have? And how does Justin fit in? Everything about relationships is examined in this thoughtful, insightful novel of ideas and identities. While this could have been nothing but an offbeat premise, it is so much more—a richly developed story that takes readers deep into its coprotagonists’ beings. Though Levithan considers this to be the earlier novel’s “twin,” it has a separate, deeply satisfying identity and can be read on its own. Readers will be grateful for that while hoping to hear more about Rhiannon and A, for whom they will surely have developed a deep affection. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: A sequel to the best-selling Every Day will already be on to-buy and to-read lists; the publisher’s extensive promotional plan will push it to the top. - Copyright 2015 Booklist. School Library Journal - 07/01/2015 Gr 10 Up—In Every Day (Knopf, 2012), Levithan presented the story of A, a teenager who wakes up daily in other teens' bodies. During one of those "hops," A meets Rhiannon, the beautiful but insecure girlfriend of a boy who treats her as nothing more than an object for his needs. This companion novel gives readers the story from Rhiannon's point of view and her growing affection for A (who she is most attracted to when inhabiting a male body, despite the character not identifying as male or female). Rhiannon's character development is solid: she goes from a needy doormat who thinks that because Justin does not hit her or cheat on her that he is a good boyfriend into a person who goes after what she wants. Things do not go smoothly along the way, as she finds ways to meet A, which destroys her relationship with Justin and impacts her reputation. Still, she and A fall for each other, and though the story ends with a resolution that A thinks is best for her, in this volume's conclusion we see that she may not accept that decision so readily. Although much of the novel is a repeat of the first work, readers who have not read Every Day will be lost. The action moves at a leisurely pace but not so much that the narrative becomes boring. Frequent episodes of underage drinking and sex makes this title more suitable for older teens. VERDICT Purchase where A's original story is popular.—Suanne B. Roush, formerly at Osceola High School, Seminole, FL - Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Loading...
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