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.
Every day, A has to figure out how far away he is from Rhiannon, and how he can get to see her. And each time they meet, A is someone different. He's the same inside, but his body can be female or male, fat or thin, healthy or unhealthy, light skin or dark skin. He might be blind, speak Chinese or have to walk with crutches. The only thing he knows for sure is that he will always wake up in a body that is close to his age (16yrs).
Each chapter deals with A waking up in a different place, in a different body. The first thing A does is access memories of the person's life. Are they happy, sad, suicidal, angry, timid ? How do they feel about their family and friends? What's going on in their life today, that he has to know about? Do they have a test at school, do they have a boyfriend or girlfriend, do they have access to a car? Because each chapter deals with a full day, I was very aware of the impermanence of A's life. Sometimes, when his "host body" was in a dysfunctional and unhappy family, it was a relief to know he would be leaving that house. But other times, it was heartbreaking to know that A would never experience living with the same people for more than a day. No one would know his past. In fact, A could only live with others in the present. There was no one he could share the past or future with. This was an unbearable fact, once he fell in love with Rhiannon.
I had so many questions after reading this book. What do other people's lives teach you? If A could choose to actually live any of those people's lives, which one would he choose? Could you really love someone who changes every day? Sure, they might be the same on the inside - but is that really enough? What is it that you love about someone? What kind of changes could you handle in someone that you love? A never messed up the person's life. He really respected what was going on for them, and wanted to leave the person's life the way he entered it. How hard would it be to not interfere, especially if you thought it would help?
This is one of my favourite novels of 2012. It's about selflessness, courage and heartbreak. The ultimate love story! Gr 8+
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