Book Review: Six Earlier Days

Six Earlier Days
By David Levithan
Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2012
Reviewed from e-book
Audience: Grades 10 and up
ISBN:  9780449819296
Publication Date:  November 26, 2012


In this prequel to Every Day, A takes us through six days in his life.  These days are sporadic in nature as some of them occur when he is young, and others seemingly right before Every Day picks up.  The reader learns a little bit more about how A navigates his life and the lives of those he inhabits for one day.  A has to reach into the memory of his host to find out how to function, and if he doesn't do this quickly enough, it's trouble for everyone.  Also, he has to learn how to not cause harm by committing his host to something, most often romantic in these stories, that they may not want to be a part of.  While this story is ultimately entertaining, it does little to further the original story.  I'll just have to wait for Rhiannon for more detailed information.  

Due to the spawn of ebooks, authors writing additional stories has become quite the trend.  Often these are stories that didn't quite make the cut for the original book (see also Night of Cake and Puppets, and The Julian Chapter).  Sometimes it's to tell the story from another characters point of view (see Free Four and others in the Four saga).  And sometimes it's to tell what's going on between books (see The Lunar Chronicles).  

When done right, it's almost like fan fiction.  It's the author giving you a little taste of the rest of the story that they worked out in their head.  When done poorly, it feels like a cheap play for more sales. I wouldn't say that Six Earlier Days was on the cheap side, but I was a little let down by it.  I wanted something a little more sensational I guess.  Like I said though, it was entertaining, and I do love being back in A's headspace, so all things considered, it wasn't a bad way to spend $2 and a hour of my time.  

But this does leave me wanting Rhiannon all the more.  And with an expected publication of 2015, I'll be waiting a while.

Happy Reading!