“Most people don't realize how important librarians are. I ran across a book recently which suggested that the peace and prosperity of a culture was solely related to how many librarians it contained. Possibly a slight overstatement. But a culture that doesn't value its librarians doesn't value ideas and without ideas, well, where are we?”
Neil Gaiman

Monday, September 24, 2012

Capturing the True Concept of Personhood




Every Day 
By David Levithan

There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.

It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.” From the Book Jacket

I have been a fan of David Levithan’s writing for some time now.  He has a beautiful style of writing for teens that captures their voice.  There has also always been a realness to his characters that transcends stereotypes of gender, race, and sexual orientation.  His characters are just people.  Aren’t we all?  With Every Day, he has truly captured that sentiment.  This novel is one of the finest novels I have read in a very long time.  If I could give it 6 stars, I would. I think that in writing this novel David Levithan has given us something to mull over that is essential to some of the biggest debates of our time period.  He has written a book not just for young adults, but for everyone.  It is beautiful.  The concept of capturing personhood by creating a character who changes bodies every day is amazing.  Could you love such a soul?  What is it that we truly love about a person?   It is a challenge for each of us to consider.  

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