2 Stars
Have you ever fought the “Battle of the Netflix” for YEARS only to feel bad that you can’t think of anything decent to get your husband for Father’s Day so you end up caving and then you find things like Napoleon Dynamite and you just can’t stop yourself from watching it over and over and over again? Me too. My advance apologies for what you’re about to experience. #voteforpedro
David Levithan is like the pied piper to my old haggy self and I can’t resist reading everything he churns out - especially when I can get them for free and months in advance of their release date . . .
That being said, I kinda had a bad feeling upon starting this book. I’m not a fan of the retelling of a story from another character’s point of view. I generally think it’s (1) a waste of time and (2) a money-grubbing scheme. But again, it’s Levithan so if anyone could have made me a believer, it’s him (or not *sad face*).
Another Day simply didn’t have the same magic for me as Every Day. Every Day earned pointsbecause I used to be nicer a couple of years ago for being original and doing a great job of getting the message across that love is love. Sadly the sequel didn’t provide me with those same kinds of feely-feels. Mostly due to my reaction to Rhiannon . . .
While she did have a few redeeming qualities:
“I know you say you love me, but you don’t really know me. You’ve known me a week.”
“Just because you trust me, it doesn’t mean I have to automatically trust you. Trust doesn’t work like that.”
She was pretty much just awful:
“This surprises me, that A was a boy in love with a boy. Maybe it’s because it’s a girl’s voice telling me this story. Or maybe because I assume girl when I hear boyfriend. Which I know isn’t right, but it’s where my mind goes.”
And it wasn’t just when A was a female. Rhiannon was about as shallow as they get. When A appeared as a hotty she was all in, but when he showed up as less than a 10 all of a sudden she had mixed emotions . . .
Not that A was any better. “Controlling, instaloving nutter” were the super intelligent notes I left for myself. Things like A not realizing that Rhiannon would not be physically attracted to him if he were in a HER body left me with the same squicky vibe as Rhiannon’s reaction to homosexuality. It was like a reverse “pray the gay away” moment. Yes, what is on the inside is what matters, but no one should force themselves into a sexual situation that makes them feel uncomfortable – and pretending to be a lesbian would definitely be one of those situations.
Another negative were both characters’ experiences. Gak! So one-dimensional. Now, there was a glimpse of A waking up for the day in a troubled body, but really if you found yourself as a new person every 24-hours wouldn’t the odds have you ending up homeless or neglected or abused or something not so freaking ordinary every day?
Same goes for Rhiannon. Here is a girl who has grown up in a not-so-healthy environment and has coped by becoming a Stage 5 Clinger to an emotionally unavailable boy. Rather than going into any details about what made her who she was, instead we got this . . .
I’m getting too old for that.
In fact, the character I was most intrigued by this time around ended up being the a-hole boyfriend. Go figure. From A and Rhiannon’s perspective, Justin was simply a superdouche (which he proved time and again), but I wanted to find out what deeper reason was behind his mood swings/disgusting views towards women. DEAR DAVID LEVITHAN, PLEASE NOTE THAT I WILL CUT YOU IF YOU WRITE THIS G.D. BOOK AGAIN FROM JUSTIN’S POINT OF VIEW.
Maybe this will finally teach me that these reiterations of a story just aren’t my cup of tea. However, I will continue drinking the Levithan Kool-Aid ‘cause the fella’s writing is pretty much the bees knees . . .
“I wonder how I can be so full of him while he’s so empty of me.”
“We stand there for a few seconds, or maybe a few minutes, hand in hand, forehead on forehead, lips gently on lips, drained entirely of longing, because everything’s been found.”
“The universe, at this moment, is romantic. And I want it. I want it so badly. I want the touch of his lips on mine. I want the way my heart is pounding. I want this nest, my body and his body. I want it because it’s that unreal kind of real.”
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
David Levithan is like the pied piper to my old haggy self and I can’t resist reading everything he churns out - especially when I can get them for free and months in advance of their release date . . .
That being said, I kinda had a bad feeling upon starting this book. I’m not a fan of the retelling of a story from another character’s point of view. I generally think it’s (1) a waste of time and (2) a money-grubbing scheme. But again, it’s Levithan so if anyone could have made me a believer, it’s him (or not *sad face*).
Another Day simply didn’t have the same magic for me as Every Day. Every Day earned points
While she did have a few redeeming qualities:
“I know you say you love me, but you don’t really know me. You’ve known me a week.”
“Just because you trust me, it doesn’t mean I have to automatically trust you. Trust doesn’t work like that.”
She was pretty much just awful:
“This surprises me, that A was a boy in love with a boy. Maybe it’s because it’s a girl’s voice telling me this story. Or maybe because I assume girl when I hear boyfriend. Which I know isn’t right, but it’s where my mind goes.”
And it wasn’t just when A was a female. Rhiannon was about as shallow as they get. When A appeared as a hotty she was all in, but when he showed up as less than a 10 all of a sudden she had mixed emotions . . .
Not that A was any better. “Controlling, instaloving nutter” were the super intelligent notes I left for myself. Things like A not realizing that Rhiannon would not be physically attracted to him if he were in a HER body left me with the same squicky vibe as Rhiannon’s reaction to homosexuality. It was like a reverse “pray the gay away” moment. Yes, what is on the inside is what matters, but no one should force themselves into a sexual situation that makes them feel uncomfortable – and pretending to be a lesbian would definitely be one of those situations.
Another negative were both characters’ experiences. Gak! So one-dimensional. Now, there was a glimpse of A waking up for the day in a troubled body, but really if you found yourself as a new person every 24-hours wouldn’t the odds have you ending up homeless or neglected or abused or something not so freaking ordinary every day?
Same goes for Rhiannon. Here is a girl who has grown up in a not-so-healthy environment and has coped by becoming a Stage 5 Clinger to an emotionally unavailable boy. Rather than going into any details about what made her who she was, instead we got this . . .
I’m getting too old for that.
In fact, the character I was most intrigued by this time around ended up being the a-hole boyfriend. Go figure. From A and Rhiannon’s perspective, Justin was simply a superdouche (which he proved time and again), but I wanted to find out what deeper reason was behind his mood swings/disgusting views towards women. DEAR DAVID LEVITHAN, PLEASE NOTE THAT I WILL CUT YOU IF YOU WRITE THIS G.D. BOOK AGAIN FROM JUSTIN’S POINT OF VIEW.
Maybe this will finally teach me that these reiterations of a story just aren’t my cup of tea. However, I will continue drinking the Levithan Kool-Aid ‘cause the fella’s writing is pretty much the bees knees . . .
“I wonder how I can be so full of him while he’s so empty of me.”
“We stand there for a few seconds, or maybe a few minutes, hand in hand, forehead on forehead, lips gently on lips, drained entirely of longing, because everything’s been found.”
“The universe, at this moment, is romantic. And I want it. I want it so badly. I want the touch of his lips on mine. I want the way my heart is pounding. I want this nest, my body and his body. I want it because it’s that unreal kind of real.”
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you, NetGalley!
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