This past week one of my favorite authors, David Levithan, had his newest book published, Every Day, over in the United States.
Historically speaking, I would now be excited, in the abstract, order the book, then have to wait for me and the book to unite, whether via a visiting friend’s suitcase or me making the trek over the north Atlantic.
Thanks to my e-reader, I can say that I’ve read the book.
And I love it.
It’s a wonderfully whimsical story about somebody who changes bodies every day – inhabiting the life of his (her?) host – whether it’s living as a hugely overweight male, or a girl contemplating suicide. The guest (the easiest way to identify the character), is roughly 16 years old and he only inhabits bodies of people roughly his age – consequently, he’s going to school on weekdays, save for the day that he’s an illegal immigrant working as a maid. (See the New York Times Book Review for a more analytical review, as opposed to my worshiping review)
David Levithan, for me, is an author who either really hits the target or misses by a wide mark.
My favorite book written by him is Boy Meets Boy – where the main character is gay and there’s nothing especially startling about it, it’s just a fact, and the rest of the story is about him trying to woo a young man to be his boyfriend.
Another one of this books, Wide Awake, ranks among my favorites because it captures the tension between right and left in American politics and how people can make a difference.
David’s book, Love is the Higher Law, is an amazing piece tied into 9/11 – capturing what it was like to be a New Yorker, living in The City, on 9/11.
Where he misses the mark, at least for me, are his poetry efforts – for example, the realm of possibility. I didn’t get it. I still don’t get it – but, in his defense, this might be more because I generally speaking do not get poetry. Whenever I sit down to read poetry it ends up being work – and not pleasurable work, but really hard work. The kind of work I try to avoid by doing alternative things like, oh, vacuuming the apartment, hanging pictures, or watching grass grow.
Reading his newest book made my week – I started reading it Wednesday after work, and took it with me to work Thursday and finished it over an early lunch – I was left with a very happy feeling, and once again in awe of people who write quality fiction.
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