Another Day by David Levithan

Summary from Goodreads:

In this enthralling companion to his New York Times bestseller Every Day, David Levithan (co-author of Will Grayson, Will Grayson with John Green) tells Rhiannon’s side of the story as she seeks to discover the truth about love and how it can change you.

Every day is the same for Rhiannon. She has accepted her life, convinced herself that she deserves her distant, temperamental boyfriend, Justin, even established guidelines by which to live: Don’t be too needy. Avoid upsetting him. Never get your hopes up.

Until the morning everything changes. Justin seems to see her, to want to be with her for the first time, and they share a perfect day—a perfect day Justin doesn’t remember the next morning. Confused, depressed, and desperate for another day as great as that one, Rhiannon starts questioning everything. Then, one day, a stranger tells her that the Justin she spent that day with, the one who made her feel like a real person . . . wasn’t Justin at all.

Review:

This is one of the books I attended BEA for. Every Day is one of my all time favorite books. I wasn’t expecting to like this one as much as the first –how could that be humanly possible? I’ve met the author a few times in the past, and he always comes off as so genuinely kind that I cannot help but want to read everything he has to say. Going to a signing for the companion novel of one of my all time favorite books (which I also have signed) is probably one of the best experiences a girl can have.

Why was I expecting not to like it as much? Well, I remembered Rhiannon from Every Day. She’s not the easiest person to like. I remember just not getting why she would stay with such an awful boyfriend. I remember feeling she didn’t deserve the kind, goodhearted A. And I know my opinion of her was biased because anyone in comparison to A would come off as mediocre. I mean A has no bias whatsoever in regard to gender, race, class, etc. Everyone in comparison looks bad. But, my least favorite characteristic in a character is one who can’t stand up for her/his self at all.

So, I went into reading this book with both excitement for Levithan’s excellent writing skills and trepidation for being in the head of a character who I knew had issues standing up for herself. The most surprising thing of all for me was I finished the book loving Rhiannon. I didn’t love her at first. I had all the problems with her that I knew I would have. There’s just something about her that is so real, any beyond relatable.

No one can actually be as good as A. I wish to be. I wish I could not judge a person by anything they show on the outside. I strive to be A. But Rhiannon almost justified to me that striving to be A is good enough. It’s okay to not be as good. And frankly, what she put up with and was able to handle might have been more than I could have handled. Plus, I love that Rhiannon grows to be a better person.

She learns to see that what’s inside a person is more important than what’s on the outside. She grows to see that not all people think the same way and that’s okay. And most of all, she grows to respect herself. She’s even able to finally stand up for what she wants and what she believes by the end.

This was such a strong novel. It was more “coming of age” themed than Every Day. Every Day was unlike anything I’d ever seen before or even dreamed possible. And Another Day had a lot of lot of that wow factor, but also maintained a steady realistic, contemporary, a-typical YA vibe too. Levithan weaved all these elements together to not necessarily write a new story, but to expand on an already great one.

David Levithan, can you write anything I won’t love? I devoured this novel. It surpassed my expectations. I even grew to love a character I never though I would. I give this a 10/10. I think all fans of Every Day should give this a try. I read an ARC and the pub date is August 25^th.