Rotters vs. Every Day

Every Day was a quick read and I can see a lot of junior high girls especially liking this one if nothing else for the sappy love story. I may recommend it to a student as something entertaining to read but I would not use it in a class novel study or literature circle. It seems that Levithan set out to try and show that a person's identity can transcend their physical form or gender, but I don't think he goes far enough with it and A's obsession with Rhiannon completely takes over the story. I started to dislike the characters at some point. I found A annoying (maybe that's what the "A" stands for) and I didn't get why Rhiannon was so great in the first place that he had to devote his entire existence to chasing after her. I hated that there was no explanation for why he has to hop from one body to the next, and I was really hoping that Reverend Poole's character would've shed some light on this. What was the point of spending all that time creating such a threatening character only to brush him off in two sentences? Didn't A even want answers from the one person who may have been able to provide them? I sure did.

Rotters was like nothing I've ever read before. I felt like I was covered in dirt the entire time I was reading it and probably had a perpetual grimace on my face just from having to read the disgusting descriptions of the characters, both dead and alive. I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next and at the same time I wanted it to be over just so I could get the images out of my head. I agree with other bloggers that this book should've been shorter. Certain parts dragged on (specifically the crazy downward spiral of Harnett after discovering Boggs' book of polaroids, and Joey's stint with Boggs in California) and the ending was a whirlwind of action. However, the Diggers were all so vividly crafted that I could practically smell them, and the parts about Joey's experiences with his biology teacher and the bullies at school were shocking. I agree that I was glad when Woody, Celeste and Gottschalk got what was coming to them. I can see a lot of male readers getting into this book just for the "ick" factor.

Rotters wins for me, although I will never read it again due to its grossness. My zombie pick has to be Year of the Beasts. I don't think it will win (especially against The Fault in Our Stars) but out of all the other books I've read it was the one I was most disappointed to see voted out.