Every Day was new.

I hope I mentioned somewhere in this blog that I love David Levithan. I finished his latest, Every Day, weeks ago but it was late and I didn't get to write about it until now. I made some notes immediately after reading it. Here they are: "Stunning and heartbreaking. Unfair. Mind existing without body. Time Traveler's Wife-ish. Cried. Cried after I already cried. Doomed to wander forever? Wanted to make it last. Read the last third of the ARC in one go."
Every Day is the story of A, who wakes up in a different body every day of his life. It's clear that (he? she?) is used to this as it has been happening since (he? she?) was born. I'll refer to A as "he" from now on because he's a he when we first meet him. A wakes up in the body of a guy named Justin and spends the day with his girlfriend Rihannon. A is connected to Rihannon but is never the same person twice, so how can he make it work? Levithan explores the idea of being connected on a cerebral level, no matter what. A wakes up in bodies of those similar in age to himself, but sometimes he's a girl or a boy, popular or a loner, pretty or ugly. He's able to "access" key information about who he is that day in order to make it through, but he has no home for his soul. After meeting Rihannon, though, A wants to get to know her. He does all he can to get back to her (he wakes up in roughly the same geographical area as long as the body he's in doesn't travel). He meets her in many of his different forms in hopes that their connection can transcend the physical. But will Rihannon feel the same?

It blew my mind. Go read it.

Ex libris,

Marissa

In which I profusely apologize for blog neglect and name some MUST READS.

Dear blog, I am sorry for neglecting you. I will not make excuses for my behavior. Just know that I am sorry.

I read 76 books in 2009, and now, almost halfway through 2010, I'm up to around 30. Here's the best so far, January through May.

1. Going Bovine by Libba Bray. This book won the Printz award this year, and rightfully so! I laughed, cried, sang Man of La Mancha, and gained new respect for yard gnomes. Libba talks about the book here.
2. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Teens fight to the death in a gigantic arena. Dystopia, scifi, romance all in one, plus it's a trilogy, so the amazingness is not confined to one book! The third in the trilogy, Mockingjay, comes out in August. Kudos to Suzanne for not drawing this series out longer than it needs to be.
3. Little Brother by Cory Doctorow. Another YA dystopia novel. Actually, this whole list is YA because that's one of the courses I took this past semester, and YA literature is AMAZING right now. In this one, there is a terrorist attack and San Francisco becomes a police state. Marcus, a tech-saavy teenager, has to bring down the Department of Homeland Security. There is a lot of tech-speak in here, but it is fascinating. Cory Doctorow allows his book to be downloaded for free and this guy Bill Clementson has created a hyperlinked version of the bibliography which you will appreciate once you finish the book!
4. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan. Two of the greatest YA authors + two boys named Will Grayson + a chance meeting = GOLD. I so don't want to give anything away, so I won't, but go read this nownownow.
5. Gentlemen by Michael Northrop. I feel that this book has flown a bit under the radar, but it's definitely one of the best I've read so far this year. What would you do if you thought your teacher had murdered your best friend? The three protagonists of this book suspect their English teacher of kidnapping their friend and stuffing his body in a barrel after the teacher starts acting strangely toward them. The power of suggestion looms large in this mystery. A great read.