By
Sometimes we discover a book that makes us laugh. We read books that make us cry. And there are those books that cause us to think--to pause--and question the smallest experiences. What might a single moment might feel like, if we were another person?
The main character in David Levithan's Every Day--named, simply, A. Every day, A wakes up in the body of another person and lives that life for only a single day. A is genderless, bodiless, and forever orphaned. Yet not having these things makes A unequivocally human and so very needful of a lasting connection. For interpersonal history. For love.
The novel starts on Day 5994 of A's life. You might cry for A on Days 6005 and 6024. And you might laugh aloud on Days 6007 and 6015. This books somehow provides that much-needed pause, which is just one reason why it has been selected as our favorite teen book of September and one of our Best Books of the Month for September. And the ending is remarkable.
So what happened to A before Day 5994? Author David Levithan has shared an exclusive prequel, Day 5909, with us.Here's a taste of what it's like for A to be Hamilton Keyes, a teenage boy who wakes up each morning at 4:44 a.m. to work out before school:
I am defensive on his behalf. I want to answer every teacher's question, just to show them that they should not judge a person based on a body. But if I do that now, Hamilton will only have to uphold it in some way tomorrow. It may feel, in the moment, like I am doing him a favor, but really I'll just be chaining him to an aberration.
Download the exclusive prequel to Every Day: Day 5909
