What’s it about?
Every Day is a unique, thought-provoking novel by David Levithan about love, identity, and what it means to truly see another person. The story follows “A,” a soul who wakes up in a different body every day—never the same person twice, never a chance to form roots—until love disrupts everything A thought was possible.
Detailed Summary
“A” wakes up each day in a different sixteen-year-old’s body, never knowing what gender, race, or life situation they will experience. A has no control over whose body they’ll inhabit, and tries to avoid interfering in the hosts’ lives. For A, existence is about adaptation, empathy, and not leaving a mark.
One morning, A wakes up in the body of Justin, a typical high school boy. But Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon, changes everything. In Justin’s body, A treats Rhiannon with a tenderness and respect she rarely receives. Rhiannon senses something different, and A is instantly drawn to her. For the first time, A wants more than just to pass through—they want connection.
The next day, A wakes up in another body, but cannot shake the memory of Rhiannon. Driven by love, A uses the new host’s life to find her again, and confesses the truth: every day, a new body, a new life, but the same consciousness. Rhiannon is skeptical, even frightened, but as A continues to visit her in various bodies—male, female, gay, straight, from different backgrounds—she begins to believe, and the two form a profound, if complicated, bond.
A’s life becomes a series of desperate efforts to spend time with Rhiannon, all while respecting the boundaries and obligations of each host. Some bodies make it easy—close to Rhiannon, similar age, even similar interests. Others present challenges: distance, language, addiction, or depression. A navigates bullying, secrets, and even a brush with suicide, always striving to be kind to the person whose life they borrow.
As A and Rhiannon grow closer, both must confront questions of identity, gender, and the limits of love. Can Rhiannon truly love someone whose form is always changing? Can A ever have a life of their own? Meanwhile, complications arise when Nathan, one of A’s hosts, begins to suspect he was possessed and starts a campaign to track down the mysterious entity.
A tries to do good, often helping their hosts with family, school, or self-acceptance. But the struggle to stay connected to Rhiannon takes its toll on both. Rhiannon wrestles with her feelings—sometimes she can almost see only A, sometimes the host’s body is too much of a barrier. Both realize the impossibility of a “normal” relationship.
In the climax, A makes a selfless choice: realizing the toll their connection takes on Rhiannon and the impossibility of truly belonging, A arranges for Rhiannon to move on, gently pushing her toward a new relationship with someone stable—letting her go, even though it breaks A’s heart. A chooses to leave Rhiannon’s life so she can be happy, and A continues their journey—alone, still searching for meaning and connection.
The novel ends with A’s acceptance of their fate: living each day as fully and kindly as possible, embracing difference and change, and loving from afar. Every Day is a meditation on empathy, love without boundaries, and the beauty and pain of impermanence.