Another Day (2015)

Another Day is a young adult romance and fantasy novel written by American author David Levithan. The novel was published on August 25, 2015 through Random House Children's Books. Another Day is the companion novel to Levithan's popular teen romance novel, Every Day. Every Day establishes the story line through the perspective of "A", a mystical soul who falls in love with a girl named Rhiannon. Another Day features a similar story line; however, it is retold through Rhiannon's perspective. Both books were followed up by a sequel in 2018 entitled Someday that incorporates both A and Rhiannon's perspectives in different chapters along with a multitude of other perspectives.

Plot summary

The novel starts off with what seems like a normal day for Rhiannon; she watches her boyfriend, Justin, pull into the school parking lot, hoping he still was not mad from last night's fight. Their everyday routine is broken, however, when Justin suggests getting away for the day, to which Rhiannon chooses to go to the beach. On the way to the beach, Justin is acting out of character and doing things he would not normally do. Rhiannon does not seem to mind too much; however, she is still cautious about her actions and words. Rhiannon and Justin end up sharing a romantic day, even going as far as pulling the "make out" blanket from the car trunk. The couple lounge about on the blanket, never going farther than sharing a kiss or two. While laying on the blanket, Rhiannon and Justin share childhood memories with each other that they have not shared with anyone else. At the day end, Rhiannon suggests that future days end up just like the one they shared. Justin only replies, "I don't want you to think every day is going to be like today. Because they're not going to be, alright? They can't be."

The following day, Justin has no recollection of the beach. Every time Rhiannon would mention the beach, he would get frustrated and raise his voice at her. Every now and then, Rhiannon would try to refresh Justin's memory about their day, but still to no luck, he doesn't remember specific details. A couple days later, Rhiannon and Justin go to a mutual friend's party, although Justin was annoyed at Rhiannon for asking to go in advance. At the party, she meets Nathan Daldry, a "gay" boy wearing a tie. The two dance the night away together until the cops show up, which caused the two to exchange emails, so they can continue to talk. Nathan and Rhiannon begin emailing each other a few days later. Through the emails, "Nathan" suggests meeting up with Rhiannon to explain something in person.

At the meetup, Rhiannon is approached by a girl named Megan Powell instead of Nathan. Just as Rhiannon was telling the girl the seat is reserved, Megan explains that she was sent by Nathan. Megan goes on to explain that she is actually "A", a soul who wakes up in a different body each day. "A" explains to Rhiannon that they were the one in Justin's body at the beach, they were the one in Amy's body, and they were in Nathan's body, too. "A" has multiple goals out the novel, including building a romantic relationship with Rhiannon.

The rest of the novel follows Rhiannon's journey of trying to understand "A" and how they could possibly have a relationship together, all while balancing a toxic relationship with Justin. Along the way, things get messy and Rhiannon must face the reality of her near impossible relationship with "A", while dealing with the rest of her life.

Characters

Rhiannon: Told from her point of view, Rhiannon is a teenage girl who lives her day-to-day life tiptoeing around her boyfriend, Justin, who tends to ignore her at times. The dynamics of their relationship changed one day when her and Justin skipped school to go to the beach. At their destination, Justin was acting completely out of character. Rhiannon enjoyed her time at the beach with him so much, she wanted every day to be like that one. The next day, she found out Justin does not remember anything about their time at the beach. At the same time, Rhiannon is meeting someone new almost each day. Rhiannon comes to find out that this person is "A", a soul who jumps to a new person's body each day, was in Justin's body the day they went to the beach. Rhiannon now struggles with the reality of learning more about "A" and forming a relationship with someone who is in a different body every day.

"A": An unspecified spiritual/ghostly entity who wakes up in a different body each day. One day, "A" wakes up in Justin's body and tries to go through his daily routine. "A" fails at doing this when he meets Rhiannon, Justin's girlfriend, at school. "A" develops an instant connection with Rhiannon. Throughout the novel, "A" keeps reappearing in Rhiannon's town in a different body, trying to get her to realize it was them all along in Justin's body at the beach. While "A" tries to keep the connection with Rhiannon through other people's bodies, things get messy.

Justin: Rhiannon's boyfriend who fails to show compassion towards her. Throughout the novel, Justin often tells Rhiannon she is too annoying and too clingy. Justin fails to recall anything from when Rhiannon and he were at the beach, making her feel helpless in their relationship. Conflict between him and Rhiannon forms as "A" starts to show up more often.

Amy: The first body "A" appears in after Justin's. Amy shows up at Rhiannon's school claiming she might be moving nearby and wanted to check the school out. Rhiannon shows Amy around school, quickly making a connection with her, however, the connection makes Rhiannon realize she doesn't really have any other friends besides Justin. At lunch, Amy starts to ask questions to get to know Rhiannon and Justin. She quickly directs her questions towards Justin and specifically begins to question him about the ocean and beaches. Justin gives vague answers to Amy, leaving a disappointed Rhiannon to answer Amy's questions for him.