Summary
When A wakes up the next morning, no messages are waiting from Rhiannon. A sends another apology and thanks Rhiannon for the day, but A can feel the distance between them. A also sees that the coverage of Nathan’s story on the internet is continuing and expanding. A is inhabiting the body of a diabetic male student named AJ for the day. Because A has inhabited the bodies of diabetics before, it is familiar territory, but A is still cautious in order to protect AJ’s health.
At school, AJ is shocked to see Nathan Daldry walking down the hall. Through accessing AJ’s memories, A learns that Nathan and AJ used to be close friends and are still on good terms. As Nathan walks down the hall, A sees the students giving judgmental looks and ridiculing Nathan. It seems clear that Nathan’s story has caused difficulties in his social life. At lunch, A decides to go over to Nathan’s table and talk to him. Nathan is used to sitting alone, so the company surprises him. A can tell Nathan is eager to talk to someone, so A begins to ask questions about the “devil possession.” Nathan recounts the events of the day A spent inhabiting Nathan’s body. Large chunks of Nathan’s memory from that day remain blank, but he recalls feeling out of control of his body. Nathan is certain that the devil is responsible, even when A tries to suggest that there may be another explanation. Reverend Poole has apparently supported this view. Now, Nathan believes that he is prepared for any further attacks from the devil and would know what to do if the devil was ever near again. A reflects on the fact that Nathan is entirely unaware that “the devil” is sitting right across from him. When A gets home from school there are still no messages from Rhiannon. Desperate, A sends Rhiannon a single line: “I have to see you again.”
When A sees that there is still no message from Rhiannon the next morning, A decides to get in the car and drive to Rhiannon’s school. A is inhabiting the body of Adam Cassidy for the day, but A is too focused on Rhiannon to learn anything about Adam’s life. When A arrives at Rhiannon’s school, Rhiannon inexplicably recognizes A immediately. A and Rhiannon then make their way to an empty classroom to talk, and Rhiannon says that she is still conflicted about the possibility of a relationship with A. Although Rhiannon feels a romantic connection, she cannot get past the uncertainty that comes with A’s situation. Rhiannon asks A to refrain from showing up unannounced again, limiting their relationship to email exchanges for the moment. A is disappointed in the way their conversation goes, realizing that Rhiannon won’t allow herself to give the relationship a fair chance.
The next day, A inhabits the body of a girl named Chevelle. Despondent over the interaction with Rhiannon, A pretends to be sick and stays home for the day. Throughout the day, A receives no emails from Rhiannon.
The following day, A wakes up in the body of a girl named Valeria. A soon learns that Valeria, who is 16 years old and thus underage, works illegally as a maid. Valeria’s sister, who also works as a maid, accompanies A into a van filled with coworkers. The van drops pairs of maids off at houses, eventually leaving A and Valeria’s sister at a house together. After cleaning the first house, A is distressed to learn that there are four more homes to clean. A has terrible cramps throughout the day, so Valeria’s sister ends up helping with A’s tasks. This kinship touches A. At the end of the day, A heads straight to bed, as emailing Rhiannon is not an option.
The next morning, A wakes up as a cross-country runner named Sallie Swain. When A checks for messages, an email from Rhiannon is waiting. In it, Rhiannon says it was good to see A the other day, but it was also difficult. Rhiannon also writes that taking a break to think about things is the best course of action. A is despondent but doesn’t skip school because Sallie has a big cross-country meet. During the meet, A allows the physical act of running to distract from thoughts of Rhiannon.
The next day, A wakes up in the body of Daniel Stevens. Daniel has a very happy family that enjoys spending time together. Because it is a Saturday, the Stevens family spends the entire day doing fun activities. The Stevenses go to an art museum, an aquarium, and a movie. They finish the day with a dinner at a nice seafood restaurant. A feels grateful that it is a good day, rather than a bad one, because this helps distract from thoughts of Rhiannon. However, A still feels disconnected from the family’s happiness and spends much of the day reflecting on this feeling of solitude.
The next morning, A wakes up in the body of a boy named Orlando. It is Sunday, which causes A to think of Reverend Poole. After doing an internet search, A sees that Reverend Poole has set up a website for people who believe they have experienced demon possession. Combing through the posts, A sees the stories of several “nutjobs,” but there are also stories that are disturbingly sincere. A looks for posts from teenagers, hoping not to find any posts from previous hosts. One post by a teenager in Montana catches A’s eye. The teenager claims to have experienced a singular day of not being in control of his body. Although A has never been to Montana and is not responsible for this teenager’s story, the similarities are concerning. A then checks for new emails, and a message from Nathan Daldry is waiting. Nathan accuses A of being the devil yet again and includes a link to Reverend Poole’s page. Nathan suggests A “get help.” A also receives an email from Rhiannon, but the exchange is surface-level and vague. This distresses A, who tries to sleep for the rest of the day.
Analysis
The interaction between Nathan and A presents an instance of dramatic irony. Believing A to be his old friend AJ, Nathan has no inkling that the "devil" he fears is sitting right across from him. In other words, Nathan understands his situation to be different from the situation in which the reader knows him to actually be. This conversation also reveals just how mistaken Nathan is about A. Believing A to be a malevolent demon, Nathan is certain that he would know if A was "anywhere near" him. In truth, A is not a villainous agent of the devil, so Nathan is entirely unable to detect that he is talking to A, not AJ. The scene reinforces one of Every Day's main themes: closed-mindedness and a narrow perspective can lead to grave miscalculations.
Several much shorter and less detailed chapters follow the chapter A spends as AJ. These chapters represent A's declining mood following the fight with Rhiannon. Despondent over this fight, A makes less of an effort to learn about each host or enjoy each day, resulting in short, uneventful chapters. Before meeting Rhiannon, A always found something interesting about each host, making each day worth living. The introduction of Rhiannon into A's life causes a newfound dissatisfaction, and A becomes less and less able to enjoy each day if Rhiannon isn't around. Although A's love for Rhiannon is largely a positive force in the book, these chapters hint at the negative consequences of Rhiannon's presence in A's life.
When A comes to visit Rhiannon at school, Rhiannon immediately recognizes A. This should not be possible, as A is occupying an unfamiliar host body, but Rhiannon is able to look past the body's physical appearance to see A within. This is one of Every Day's definitions of true love: the ability to see beyond the physical to appreciate the essence of a person. Previously, when A visited Rhiannon's school as Amy Tran, Rhiannon did not recognize A. On that day, A wished Rhiannon was "able to see behind this body, to see [A] inside" and realize A was "the same person she spent an afternoon with on the beach" (55). Now, Rhiannon immediately recognizes A within Adam's body, presenting a direct contrast to her inability to recognize A in Amy's body. As the relationship between A and Rhiannon develops, Rhiannon acquires the ability to see A within each host body, hinting at the deepness of her feelings.
The name "Orlando" could be a reference to Virginia Woolf's novel of the same name. In Orlando, Woolf tells the story of a centuries-old being who, in the course of their long life, switches sex from male to female. Woolf's Orlando is perhaps the most famous representation in classic literature of a character who exists outside the typical bounds of human gender, which suggests that Levithan's use of the name is no accident. Like Orlando, A is a character who defies gender norms, whose relationship to masculinity and femininity is not fixed, but expansive and ever-changing. Because of these similarities, it is entirely possible that Orlando served as an inspiration for Every Day.
