kricketa's review against another edition
4.0
best book i read on vacation, hands down. every day of his/her life, our genderless bodiless narrator "A" wakes up in a different body. s/he's able to access enough of their brain to get through the day, and then s/he's on to the next "host." (generally in the same geographic area.) it's the only way of living A has ever known, but while inhabiting the body of an unworthy teen boy named justin, A falls in love with justin's put-upon girlfriend, rhiannon. is love even possible in these circumstances?
beautiful. david levithan is amazing with unique book premises, but sometimes executing them can be tricky. i think this is one of his best. really well done.
beautiful. david levithan is amazing with unique book premises, but sometimes executing them can be tricky. i think this is one of his best. really well done.
kaeliesreads's review against another edition
5.0
This book is also a book that I chose for free reading time at my school in 10th grade.
jaime_scott's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed the story and overall concept. It was cool to think about identity and gender in the context of this story.
lucerez's review against another edition
1.0
Great premise, but continuously missed opportunities. I spent most of the book not liking A, not liking the pairing, and eventually not liking the author, either.
It had a very white male perspective on the diversity of experience. I could feel it emanate from words, in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. The first time was when the. I suspect this was because, from a "progressive white male" perspective, race shouldn't matter. So, he made a point of it "not mattering" to A. But it DOES matter, because of safety concerns. Is it safe to go outside? Will I be harassed? How should I talk to people when I look like this? Women and POC must continuously monitor themselves -- speech, presentation, "showing respect" to people up the social hierarchy. That's reality. But these thoughts never made it into the text. His read on female experience is very, VERY shallow. Based mostly on appearance, rather than sexist behaviors women experience. When A is female-presenting, the author doesn't have other characters continuously doubt her, minimize her decisions, talk over her (girls get interrupted! boys don't! etc). The author and his editors didn't seem to fully grasp how much gender influences how other people treat you...
I wanted to like this, but actually it made me kind of mad because it was just a reminder of how ignorant "progressive" white men can be. At the same time, he seemed certain that he was right about our experiences. And the little snapshot of the Latina worker read very racist IMO. It felt disrespectful and dismissive, sort of like a visitor to the poor part of town, where they judge and feel sorry, but don't actually care. It's not like A every thought about her again.
There is also a fatphobic section where he makes it clear how different and terrible being fat is. It was awful and maddening, like the rest of the book, but distilled into a few pages of poison.
Finally, I found the romance totally unbelievable because (A) it was instant for no reason, (B) they were actually not a match because.
It was a very engrossing read, but basically a trainwreck of whiteness and shallow male preachiness about his thoughts about the female/agender experience.
It had a very white male perspective on the diversity of experience. I could feel it emanate from words, in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. The first time was when the
Spoiler
switch happened and A didn't reflect at all on what race they wereI wanted to like this, but actually it made me kind of mad because it was just a reminder of how ignorant "progressive" white men can be. At the same time, he seemed certain that he was right about our experiences. And the little snapshot of the Latina worker read very racist IMO. It felt disrespectful and dismissive, sort of like a visitor to the poor part of town, where they judge and feel sorry, but don't actually care. It's not like A every thought about her again.
There is also a fatphobic section where he makes it clear how different and terrible being fat is. It was awful and maddening, like the rest of the book, but distilled into a few pages of poison.
Finally, I found the romance totally unbelievable because (A) it was instant for no reason, (B) they were actually not a match because
Spoiler
Rhiannon is only attracted to conventionally attractive men, which A is not - or at least, isn't on a regular basisIt was a very engrossing read, but basically a trainwreck of whiteness and shallow male preachiness about his thoughts about the female/agender experience.
coffeecozybooklover's review against another edition
3.0
I read this book thinking it was going to be another book I had wanted to read but this ended up being a good book. Very young adult like book.
Everyday in a different body. Everyday a different life. Everyday in love with the same girl.
"A" never knows who or what type of body he's going to wake up in. One day he's a handsome boy named Justin who has a beautiful girlfriend named Rhiannon. The next day he wakes up as a girl who wants to kill herself and then a guy named Nathan who A goes to a party and leaves Nathan in a car on the side of the road. "A" isn't supposed to fall in love but he falls for Rhiannon the day he meets her.
She doesn't believe him but he comes back as all these people and tries to get Rhiannon to love him but how can she? He's a different person everyday.
This was an interesting book and a quick read. I enjoyed this young adult book.
Everyday in a different body. Everyday a different life. Everyday in love with the same girl.
"A" never knows who or what type of body he's going to wake up in. One day he's a handsome boy named Justin who has a beautiful girlfriend named Rhiannon. The next day he wakes up as a girl who wants to kill herself and then a guy named Nathan who A goes to a party and leaves Nathan in a car on the side of the road. "A" isn't supposed to fall in love but he falls for Rhiannon the day he meets her.
She doesn't believe him but he comes back as all these people and tries to get Rhiannon to love him but how can she? He's a different person everyday.
This was an interesting book and a quick read. I enjoyed this young adult book.
teresa_toffel's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
notesquotesscarletmotes's review
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I found the premise of this story fascinating but ultimately it was a very juvenile love story. I have to give it some slack because it is about teenagers but it just didn't have enough depth for me to really sing its praises. I really enjoyed the exploration of gender, sexuality, and personhood, but at the end of the book I didn't actually end up liking either of the main characters overmuch. Would still recommend as an interesting read for anyone who is a little more into YA or romance than I am.