Every Day

Fiction | Novel | YA

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Chapters 34-36Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 34 Summary: “Day 5994”

After being rejected by Rhiannon, A realizes that there is someone else in the world who knows that A exists: Nathan Daldry. A emails Nathan, agreeing to meet with Nathan and answer his incessant questions. Nathan is expecting a guy, since A told Nathan that A’s name was Andrew, but today A is Kasey, a girl. When Nathan arrives at their meeting spot, a Mexican restaurant, Nathan is shocked, just as A expected. Nathan asks, “Who are you?” (283).

A tells Nathan everything and assures Nathan the possession won’t happen again to him; A has never occupied the same body two times. A also explains that maybe the reason Nathan remembers A is because A left Nathan’s body so quickly; alternately, A posits that perhaps s/he wanted Nathan to find A. Nathan seems to believe everything A says, replying, “This is huge” (285). A reminds him not to tell anyone, and they agree to meet again the next day, if A is able to. A knows better than to promise anything.

Chapter 35 Summary: “Day 5995”

Today A is Ainsley Mills, and Nathan emails A, asking them to come to his house since Nathan’s parents aren’t home: “‘So it’s really you […][i]n a different body’” (287). When Nathan goes to get A a glass of water, Reverend Poole walks in, and the mood turns ominous. A insists to Poole that A is not the devil; Poole tells A to relax because they are “on the same side” (289). When A tries to leave, Poole blocks the door, and A immediately feels threatened, especially in Ainsley’s slight body.

Poole reveals that A is not alone, that there are others like A, and that he is surprised A has not yet learned how to make the possessions last for more than a day: “You have no idea the power that you possess” (290). A realizes that this is not Poole talking, but someone who has possessed Poole. A comes up with a way to escape Poole, pretending that Poole is attacking A. A screams for help, which brings Nathan running: “And he holds the door open for me as I flee, and he blocks the reverend—or whoever he is inside—from catching me as I run out the front door and into my car” (291).

A escapes but is left with questions, tantalized and terrified at the prospect Poole has opened up: Are there others like her? And what are they like? Do they respect the bodies they inhabit? Clearly, Poole doesn’t.

Chapter 36 Summary: “Day 5996”

As Darryl Drake, A is very distracted, which is noticed by his friends, his coach, and his girlfriend. A gets online and reads Poole’s website. S/he thinks more about what Poole said, that there are others like A, and that they learn to last in a body for more than one day. This is exhilarating and scary. But A also wonders what happens to the person whose body has been taken over: “Does he or she just wink out of existence? Or is the original soul then banished to bounce from body to body—basically, are the roles reversed?” (294). A thinks it would be devastating to have had a normal life and then have to suddenly lead A’s life. At least for A, s/he has known no other life.

Nathan emails his apology for what happened with Poole; A replies that Nathan needs to stay away from Poole and move on with his life. A also tells him that this is the last email s/he will send Nathan. A then forwards their email chain to A’s new email account and closes the old account forever. A is saddened by this, as this is one of the few links s/he has to his/her past lives.

Rhiannon sends a very short email asking how A is. A responds in a similarly brief email, since s/he feels Rhiannon wouldn’t want a long email about everything that has happened over the past two days.

Chapters 34-36 Analysis

When Rhiannon rejects A, A can’t bear the idea of being alone, unknown, unloved. She is at the age when adolescents often are starting to think seriously about their futures, but A is stuck in the present, unable to plan beyond the day, isolated in a lonely life. This leads A to try to reject this fate and reach out for another connection, this time to Nathan, who, despite his ominous threats, is someone who actually knows something about the real A. Nathan is himself isolated, cut off from many of his peers who mock his claims of possession. He is desperately trying to seek answers from A.

Unfortunately, Nathan is also trying to seek answers from Reverend Poole. Poole opens up a whole new world for A when he tells A that, first, there are others like A, and second, A can make the possession last for more than one day. This is a huge temptation to A because this would allow her/him the chance to live a normal life with Rhiannon. A would love the opportunity to stay in one body, one life. And now Poole has revealed to A that it’s possible for A to take control over their fate.

But A is also aware that the power to take over a life means that s/he is denying someone else their life. S/he has always tried to respect the person’s body. Can A simply “wink” them out of existence? (294).