“This was actually a pretty amazing read with a pretty intrigueing concept. It really looks at what defines us. How much does our body (genes) and our environment play in our development as an individual. A is different than everyone else. Every day A wakes up in a different body. It has always been that way. It is like he steps in at midnight and is a guest, controlling the body as if the true owner were not there. A is also always the same age as the body that is being occupied.
A is actually pretty respectful of the true owner. A has access to the owners memories to get a sense of who he or she is and what would be appropriate behavior for them. This allows A to further fit in, but it also means that A tries to respect the beliefs and behavior of the owner. For example, A (who is 16) has never had sex. A doesn't want the body to have its first experience without the owner truly being there.
All of this is true until A meets Rhiannon, a truly amazing girl. A is actually in the body of her boyfriend Justin, and the two have an incredible afternoon talking and bonding. As a result, for the first time, A doesn't want to just move on emotionally and forget the events of that day. A creates an email account so communication with Rhiannon will still be possible. This allows them to get closer and closer.
To get a sense of how much A was changed by the experience, the day spent in the body of a boy named Nathan results in real trouble. As Nathan, A borrows his parents' car so he can go to a party and hang out once again with Rhiannon. They are having so much time having fun that A transfers out of Nathan's body before it is able to get back home. Nathan ends up in serious trouble, and becomes a media darling by claiming that the Devil made hiim do it.
A is totally thrown off by this. While admitting that what happened was wrong, A wishes that Nathan could just move one. Nathan starts to email A with the hopes of getting answers that A simply can't provide.
As all of this is going on, A and Rhiannon continue to get closer. In fact, A tells Rhiannon about the nature of A's existence. This allows them to continue to get strong, but it also forces A to see that she treats him different based on the gender of the body that is being borrowed for the day. It also leads to conflict as they are falling deeper and deeper into love, but Rhiannon is not sure that she can live with the constant changing of the bodies and the fact that they will never truly be able to spend a night together.
It is really interesting watching A transfer from person to person. Readers get quite a bit of insight into each person A occupies. Some of the residents include a homeschooler, a gay teen fighting with his boyfriend, a suicidal girl, a female-to-male transgender teen, and all sorts of variations. The result is an interesting character study and a look at family dynamics.
I really found it to be an interesting page turner and was fully interested all the way to the ending, which seemed totally appropriate! I loved this one. ”
Aaron Coutu wrote this review Friday, January 18, 2013.
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