Summary
A wakes up in the body of Vic, and A immediately likes him. Vic is a transgender man, and A deeply admires Vic’s ability to live unapologetically in his truth. A feels a kinship with Vic, viewing their situations as somewhat similar. Accessing Vic's memories, A learns that Vic has a date planned for that evening with his girlfriend, Dawn. A decides to keep this date and visit Rhiannon during the day.
Although Rhiannon is clearly in a bad mood, she agrees to go to lunch with A. The lunch, however, turns out to be awkward and tense. When A talks about ditching Vic’s school day, Rhiannon asks if it was fair for A to do so. Rhiannon then suggests that the host lives should take precedence over A’s desires, as A is only a “guest” in these bodies. This comment is very hurtful to A, who always tries to respect the lives of the hosts. A challenges Rhiannon’s reasoning, asking why it would be out of the question for A’s desires to ever come first. Apologizing, Rhiannon explains that she didn’t mean to imply that A was not important. Rhiannon then says that A is the person she loves most in the world, even if she is upset with A at the moment. A returns the sentiment, but the tense atmosphere of the lunch does not improve by much.
Back in Vic’s town, A prepares for the date with Vic’s girlfriend, Dawn. Accessing Vic’s memories, A learns that Dawn is a loving and devoted girlfriend who truly sees Vic for who he is. A becomes slightly envious of Vic and Dawn’s relationship, wishing that Rhiannon was able to see A the way Dawn sees Vic. A ends up having a great time on the date with Dawn, except for a moment when A accidentally calls Dawn “Rhiannon.” A quickly diffuses the situation, claiming it was a reference to Fleetwood Mac’s song of the same name. That night, an apologetic email waits from Rhiannon. At the end of the email, Rhiannon admits that she is having a hard time seeing how her relationship with A will work, but she hopes that it will.
The next day, A's host is a boy named Marc. Marc's mother wakes A up, and she appears to be deeply sad. A sees a dark suit hanging on the closet door and realizes that Marc’s grandfather has died, which means A will be attending a funeral for the first time. Marc’s mother tells A that Marc’s father is having a particularly hard time and to give him room.
After emailing to update Rhiannon, A drives with Marc’s family to the funeral. A is surprised to see so many people in attendance. Everyone seems to have cared deeply for the man who passed away. When Marc’s father steps in front of the audience to speak, A becomes surprisingly emotional. A begins to weep, but not out of grief. As A watches the funeral attendees cry, laugh, and comfort each other, A feels deeply alone and excluded. A reflects on the fact that this type of human connection is impossible for someone who lives life the way A does. On the way home, A tries to imagine being Marc, but the exercise feels hollow.
The next morning, A wakes up in the body of a boy named Finn. A estimates that Finn weighs about 300 pounds, a fact that will make navigating Finn’s life more difficult. Although A typically tries not to be judgmental of the hosts, A has a hard time feeling sympathy for Finn’s situation. As A moves through the school day, teachers and peers wear undisguised looks of disgust. The only people who are kind to A are Finn’s best friends, Ralph and Dylan, who do not judge Finn based on his weight.
A decides to ask Rhiannon to meet, despite fears about how Rhiannon will react to Finn’s body. Worried about the precarious state of their relationship, A buys Rhiannon roses and takes her to the movies. Although A and Rhiannon try to enjoy the date, Finn’s weight proves to be an issue. A becomes self-conscious about crowding Rhiannon in the movie theater and decides to move over a seat, so that an empty seat remains between them. Rhiannon tries to hold A’s hand, but she eventually pretends to have an itch and pulls away. At dinner, Rhiannon confesses that Finn’s appearance bothers her, explaining that she can usually see past the hosts' appearances to see A within, but she cannot in Finn's case. A is understands and affirms Rhiannon’s feelings, saying that it is an unusual situation. Rhiannon agrees that it may just be an “off night.”
The next day, A is relieved to wake up in the body of a thinner person named Lisa. This makes A feel slightly guilty. Before meeting Rhiannon, A never cared about the world’s perception. Now, A worries about whether or not Rhiannon will be attracted to each host's appearance. A checks for emails and sees a message from Rhiannon. At first, A is excited to see that Rhiannon has reached out, but this excitement quickly shatters. Rhiannon has asked to meet, writing that she and A need to talk.
A meets Rhiannon at the park by Rhiannon’s school. At first, A tries to delay the inevitable, making casual conversation, but Rhiannon soon cuts A off. A’s fears prove to be true, and Rhiannon ends the relationship. Although Rhiannon admits that she loves A deeply, she says that there are too many insurmountable obstacles to their relationship. Rhiannon explains that she wants to be able to discuss A with her friends, to wake up next to A in the morning, to be able to be with someone who has one consistent appearance. In a particularly painful moment, Rhiannon tells A that she would probably love A forever, if “the inside was the outside.” A attempts to change Rhiannon’s mind, offering up an illustration of what a relationship could look like in the future. In A’s fantasies, the two of them have an apartment together in New York City. A imagines coming home to the apartment every day, spending time with Rhiannon, and then leaving before midnight to switch into a new body. In A’s mind, this would make the relationship entirely possible, but Rhiannon still disagrees. Rhiannon concludes that she needs to stop derailing her life for A. Rhiannon does claim that she still wants to be A's friend, so they tentatively agree to talk again soon. Devastated, A returns to Lisa's house and sleeps for the rest of the day.
Analysis
Levithan continues his career-long commitment to LGBTQ representation with the inclusion of Vic, a transgender male character. A feels an immediate kinship with Vic, drawing comparisons between Vic's ability to live "within the definition of his own truth" and A's own ability to do the same (253). A expresses admiration that Vic "knows who he wants to be" and that he has chosen "to go through the initially painful and ultimately comforting process of finding" his truth (253). Accessing Vic's memories and understanding his journey leads A to reflect on their own non-binary gender identity:
"There were days I felt like a girl and days I felt like a boy, and those days wouldn't always correspond with the body I was in. I still believed everyone when they said I had to be one or the other. Nobody was telling me a different story, and I was too young to think for myself. I had yet to learn that when it came to gender, I was both and neither." (254)
In his work, Levithan consistently decides to tell the "different story" that A never heard as a child, centering the experiences of LGBTQ teens, affirming and normalizing their life experiences in the process. A and Vic are just two of many of Levithan's LGBTQ characters, but they represent an enduring theme throughout his work: the acceptance and affirmation of people of all gender identities and sexual orientations.
After accidentally calling Dawn by Rhiannon's name, A comes up with a quick, believable cover story: it was simply a reference to Fleetwood Mac's 1975 hit song, "Rhiannon." One of the most popular, iconic, and ubiquitous songs of the seventies, "Rhiannon" is likely to be familiar to most readers. Many fans of the song may not be aware, however, that "Rhiannon" has a deep connection to a major theme in Every Day: possession. A Rolling Stone article entitled "Fleetwood Mac's 50 Greatest Songs" reveals that a novel entitled Triad inspired Stevie Nicks to write the song. According to the article, Triad tells the story "of a Welsh woman who believes she's been possessed by another woman, named Rhiannon." After reading the novel, Nicks wrote "Rhiannon," turning the titular character into "an old Welsh witch" who was a "very mystical woman that finds it very, very hard to be tied down in any kind of way." Given the subject matter of Every Day, this thematic connection is a telling one. Stevie Nicks's character Rhiannon, a mystical, free-spirited woman who defies categorization and disdains being tied down, appears to have much in common with Levithan's character A, a disembodied spirit who never stays in one place longer than 24 hours. At this point in the novel, however, A is trying to reject the unmoored, inconsistent life of a disembodied spirit, attempting instead to build a more stable, rooted life with Rhiannon. The unlikelihood of A's success in this endeavor becomes more and more clear as the novel draws to a close, and Levithan's reference to Fleetwood Mac's "Rhiannon" serves as a reminder that A too is destined to be "taken by the wind," rather than tied down.
A's reaction to Finn's weight reveals a surprising and uncharacteristic lack of empathy. Throughout Every Day, A consistently demonstrates the ability to understand, appreciate, and empathize with hosts from vastly different circumstances. This makes A's reaction to Finn's appearance particularly jarring. Although A does seem to feel some disapproval for the cruelty of Finn's teachers and classmates, who display "undisguised disgust" toward Finn, A ultimately shares in their prejudices (271). In one particularly problematic and distressing moment, A remarks, "While I'm sure if I access deep enough I will find some well of humanity, all I can see on the surface is the emotional equivalent of a burp" (270). This statement diverges completely from the empathy and kindness A has exhibited throughout Every Day, and it hints at some of the more negative effects of A's relationship with Rhiannon. In the past, the appearance of any given host body did not have a personal effect on A, allowing A to exhibit a less judgmental attitude toward them. Now, A's concern about Rhiannon's perception leads to a less forgiving attitude. When A remarks, "I don't want Rhiannon to see me like this," A is thinking only of the effects Finn's weight has on A's personal relationship. While focusing on this, A forgets that Finn is not just a host, but also a person, whose feelings would certainly be hurt as a result of such an insensitive comment.
Finn's appearance also forces A and Rhiannon to confront an uncomfortable reality: Rhiannon might not be attracted to every host body A occupies, even though she is attracted to A's spirit. In the preceding chapters, Levithan slowly reveals the fissures in A and Rhiannon's relationship, bringing the tensions to a climactic boiling point in this chapter. Looking at A, Rhiannon says, "I can't see you inside. Usually, I can. Some glimmer of you in the eyes. But not tonight" (274). This pronouncement has serious implications for the state of A and Rhiannon's relationship, as Rhiannon's ability to recognize A behind the hosts' eyes had previously been an indication of the strength of her feelings for A. Rhiannon's inability to feel attraction to Finn is the latest item on an ever-growing list of insurmountable obstacles, and it proves to be too much for Rhiannon.
