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salonisharma's review against another edition
3.0
This is ironic, because I complain about the lack of boys and girls just being friends, but to me this book's relationships seemed underdeveloped.
rhi's review against another edition
2.0
almost DNF because of time taken, not a bad premise but didn't really deliver. pg41 annoyed me TO NO END, and julia was kinda feral and awful.
sweetcreature89's review against another edition
2.0
So the story of me and this book begins when the book was first published. My husband, my daughter, and I were in the mall and, as usual, decided to look around Barnes and Noble. Suddenly, over the intercom, they announced that the book signing for Adi Alsaid was to begin in ten minutes. It's safe to say that I freaked out. Prior to this, I had never met an author or gone to a book signing. I'd always wanted to go to a book event but, for financial reasons, it had never been possible. I awkwardly met Alsaid and purchased this book as well as Let's Get Lost, excited to add them to my shelves.
Because of this, I was super excited when it came time for me to read the book. I've been on an audiobook kick lately, listening so much easier when I'm running after a five year old, a one year old, and keeping my household in check, so I borrowed the audiobook from my library and began listening.
Right off the bat, I was unhappy with the narrator. The descriptive text wasn't so bad by the dialogue was horrendous. All the females sounded like 10 year old valley girls and it was practically impossible for any character to sound anything other than sarcastic. I grabbed my hardback copy to cross reference the conversations to see if the author intended for every line to sound like it did, not surprised to find that he didn't. So, main tip if you're thinking about reading this book; READ it. Don't listen to it.
My other complaint with this book is the characters. Dave, though a promising character, is a little spineless and kind of got on my nerves with how he almost refused to stand up for himself. Julia is just a terrible person, in my honest opinion. She's rude, ungrateful, and rarely seems to do anything for anyone else besides herself. She's constantly talking bad about others and putting them down and she never gives Dave the slightest bit of romantic attention until he's finding happiness with someone else.
I wanted to love this book. I really did. From the way that I came into possession of the book, to the promise of a light, fun high school read. The story itself had great possibility and could've been great. The characters just didn't work. Also, how many times can the word cliche be used in one book?
Rating: 2 Stars.
Because of this, I was super excited when it came time for me to read the book. I've been on an audiobook kick lately, listening so much easier when I'm running after a five year old, a one year old, and keeping my household in check, so I borrowed the audiobook from my library and began listening.
Right off the bat, I was unhappy with the narrator. The descriptive text wasn't so bad by the dialogue was horrendous. All the females sounded like 10 year old valley girls and it was practically impossible for any character to sound anything other than sarcastic. I grabbed my hardback copy to cross reference the conversations to see if the author intended for every line to sound like it did, not surprised to find that he didn't. So, main tip if you're thinking about reading this book; READ it. Don't listen to it.
My other complaint with this book is the characters. Dave, though a promising character, is a little spineless and kind of got on my nerves with how he almost refused to stand up for himself. Julia is just a terrible person, in my honest opinion. She's rude, ungrateful, and rarely seems to do anything for anyone else besides herself. She's constantly talking bad about others and putting them down and she never gives Dave the slightest bit of romantic attention until he's finding happiness with someone else.
I wanted to love this book. I really did. From the way that I came into possession of the book, to the promise of a light, fun high school read. The story itself had great possibility and could've been great. The characters just didn't work. Also, how many times can the word cliche be used in one book?
Rating: 2 Stars.
shivalikaaa's review
4.0
4/5 stars
Check out my review on my blog: https://browneyedmusings.wordpress.com/2016/01/25/never-always-sometimes-book-review/
I started off my year with a great book: Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid. It’s a stand-alone that I’d heard a lot about, and I’d bought it in my haul in Bombay. It’s about two friends who spend all of high school going against the crowd, not doing what high school students normally do. They list out all the high school cliches, and during senior year, they decide to take part in all the things they’d promised they wouldn’t do.
Never date your best friend. Always be original. Sometimes rules are meant to be broken.
Let’s start with the overall story. It was cute, and I really enjoyed it. Some bits of the story were a little impractical and hard to believe would happen in real life. But, I thought Alsaid did a good job and his writing style was quirky and cute. I also like how he divided it into three parts based on point of view; the first part was from Dave’s POV, the second from Julia’s and the third from a third person POV.
Now, the characters. The two main characters are best friends Dave and Julia, where straight-up we find out that Dave is madly in love with Julia. He keeps it hidden to preserve his friendship with Julia. Personally, I liked him more than Julia. He was more relatable and seemed more real than Julia. He’s a great friend, and he has another romance within the book, which I loved. It was super cute and super real. He’s also more open about his feelings but is not as vocal as Julia is. He also seems like a great boyfriend, but (spoiler alert!) he does cheat. However, I don’t hate him for the cheating because you’re kind of rooting for it from the beginning.
Next we have Julia. She has got issues in life, and I did not like her for major portions of the book. She was immature, loud, impractical and selfish. Honestly, she was the complete opposite of Dave. Her reasons for carrying out this list are purely selfish and she doesn’t actually do it to experience high school. I really liked the scene where Dave called her a cliche for trying to fight high school cliches. You go, Dave! She’s always in shorts and flip-flops, and oddly enough, she reminded me of Alaska from Looking For Alaska. They both had similar personalities and I didn’t like either of them. She’s also really rude to Dave, who was only ever nice to her. She teases him for his crush on Gretchen, and calls the whole thing immature. All in all, Julia was a horrid person.
Lastly, we have Gretchen. She was a supporting character, and Dave’s main love interest. The whole build-up to their relationship was adorable, and I felt so bad for her when Dave cheated on her. She was the most genuine character in this book, and I absolutely loved her. She also brought out the best in Dave, and he was really happy with her. They made a cute pair, and I shipped them through out.
I enjoyed this book, and I’m so glad I started my year with this book. I recommend this book to all of you guys. If you’ve read it, let me know down below what you thought of it, I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments.
Check out my review on my blog: https://browneyedmusings.wordpress.com/2016/01/25/never-always-sometimes-book-review/
I started off my year with a great book: Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid. It’s a stand-alone that I’d heard a lot about, and I’d bought it in my haul in Bombay. It’s about two friends who spend all of high school going against the crowd, not doing what high school students normally do. They list out all the high school cliches, and during senior year, they decide to take part in all the things they’d promised they wouldn’t do.
Never date your best friend. Always be original. Sometimes rules are meant to be broken.
Let’s start with the overall story. It was cute, and I really enjoyed it. Some bits of the story were a little impractical and hard to believe would happen in real life. But, I thought Alsaid did a good job and his writing style was quirky and cute. I also like how he divided it into three parts based on point of view; the first part was from Dave’s POV, the second from Julia’s and the third from a third person POV.
Now, the characters. The two main characters are best friends Dave and Julia, where straight-up we find out that Dave is madly in love with Julia. He keeps it hidden to preserve his friendship with Julia. Personally, I liked him more than Julia. He was more relatable and seemed more real than Julia. He’s a great friend, and he has another romance within the book, which I loved. It was super cute and super real. He’s also more open about his feelings but is not as vocal as Julia is. He also seems like a great boyfriend, but (spoiler alert!) he does cheat. However, I don’t hate him for the cheating because you’re kind of rooting for it from the beginning.
Next we have Julia. She has got issues in life, and I did not like her for major portions of the book. She was immature, loud, impractical and selfish. Honestly, she was the complete opposite of Dave. Her reasons for carrying out this list are purely selfish and she doesn’t actually do it to experience high school. I really liked the scene where Dave called her a cliche for trying to fight high school cliches. You go, Dave! She’s always in shorts and flip-flops, and oddly enough, she reminded me of Alaska from Looking For Alaska. They both had similar personalities and I didn’t like either of them. She’s also really rude to Dave, who was only ever nice to her. She teases him for his crush on Gretchen, and calls the whole thing immature. All in all, Julia was a horrid person.
Lastly, we have Gretchen. She was a supporting character, and Dave’s main love interest. The whole build-up to their relationship was adorable, and I felt so bad for her when Dave cheated on her. She was the most genuine character in this book, and I absolutely loved her. She also brought out the best in Dave, and he was really happy with her. They made a cute pair, and I shipped them through out.
I enjoyed this book, and I’m so glad I started my year with this book. I recommend this book to all of you guys. If you’ve read it, let me know down below what you thought of it, I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments.
erinlynn1989's review against another edition
3.0
Disclosure: An advance copy (ARC) of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This review was originally published on my blog, The Hardcover Lover. Please consider stopping by if you enjoyed this review. :)
Meet Dave and Julia. They made a list of rules to follow the day before they started high school. Now they're seniors, and everything is about to change.
The first thing you should know about this book is that it's narrated by a third-person omniscient narrator. It's also divided into three parts:
Part One: Dave
Part Two: Julia
Part Three: Dave and Julia
The three parts show many of the different feelings that teens are accustomed to, but one theme that is constant throughout all three is longing. Other than that, there is a lot to be said about Adi Alsaid's sophomore novel. I enjoyed the section about Dave the most. It's hilarious! I found myself laughing out loud as I quickly read about Dave and all of his thoughts on high school and what he thinks it's like to do everything he and Julia once said they never would do. Towards the end of his section, Alsaid lets on that there's going to be a shift, and then the reader finds himself/herself reading all about Julia, but the time progression keeps going. (You don't go back or forward in time.) Julia's section read a bit slower to me, and I didn't like it as much. It picked up again in the Dave and Julia section, but the last two-thirds of the novel, while entertaining and though-provoking, didn't appeal to me as much as the first section.
Onto the characters... To be honest, this is the first contemporary YA book I've read in a while that didn't drive me crazy because I liked all of the characters. Don't get me wrong... there are definitely a few cringe-worthy moments, but that's YA. Characters are supposed to mess up and learn from it. The two main characters have had their fair share of horrible life events, and I really think that these two will appeal to a different group of readers. Dare I say the unwilling-to-read high school crowd?
Dave just seems like the most chill and down-to-earth kid on the planet. I would love to have him as a best friend, and I can unquestionably see what Julia sees in him. He's just the perfect pal. Then there's Julia. She's the one who I thought I would dislike, and she has her moments, but all in all, I liked her. I just wish Alsaid would have explored her past a little more because it would make helping understand her anger and frustrations a little better. And then there's Gretchen. She's more of a minor character because we don't see her views, but she's just such a sweet character. You'll feel for her when you read this book.
I don't want to spoil anyone, but there are a lot of common tropes in Never Always Sometimes that I know a lot of YA readers don't like. So I'm just warning you that if you aren't a fan of some of the many common things we readers find in YA romances, you might want to stay away from this book. Alsaid handles the situations well and realistically, and I respect him for that, and to be honest, the situations didn't really bother me. I don't know if that's because it's a piece of fiction or if it's just because Adi makes these things seem like they could happen to you or one of your friends.
So... what's the final decision on this book? Never Always Sometimes is a good book. It had the potential to be a great book, but fell just a wee bit flat towards the middle. I am questioning those last few lines, though, Mr. Alsaid... Could we possibly see more of these two? I'd be down for it!
Would I recommend it? Yes, because it represents a different sort of high school experience, but one that will make readers laugh and cry. It's definitely a book that you should read before school goes back in a few weeks.
This review was originally published on my blog, The Hardcover Lover. Please consider stopping by if you enjoyed this review. :)
Meet Dave and Julia. They made a list of rules to follow the day before they started high school. Now they're seniors, and everything is about to change.
The first thing you should know about this book is that it's narrated by a third-person omniscient narrator. It's also divided into three parts:
Part One: Dave
Part Two: Julia
Part Three: Dave and Julia
The three parts show many of the different feelings that teens are accustomed to, but one theme that is constant throughout all three is longing. Other than that, there is a lot to be said about Adi Alsaid's sophomore novel. I enjoyed the section about Dave the most. It's hilarious! I found myself laughing out loud as I quickly read about Dave and all of his thoughts on high school and what he thinks it's like to do everything he and Julia once said they never would do. Towards the end of his section, Alsaid lets on that there's going to be a shift, and then the reader finds himself/herself reading all about Julia, but the time progression keeps going. (You don't go back or forward in time.) Julia's section read a bit slower to me, and I didn't like it as much. It picked up again in the Dave and Julia section, but the last two-thirds of the novel, while entertaining and though-provoking, didn't appeal to me as much as the first section.
Onto the characters... To be honest, this is the first contemporary YA book I've read in a while that didn't drive me crazy because I liked all of the characters. Don't get me wrong... there are definitely a few cringe-worthy moments, but that's YA. Characters are supposed to mess up and learn from it. The two main characters have had their fair share of horrible life events, and I really think that these two will appeal to a different group of readers. Dare I say the unwilling-to-read high school crowd?
Dave just seems like the most chill and down-to-earth kid on the planet. I would love to have him as a best friend, and I can unquestionably see what Julia sees in him. He's just the perfect pal. Then there's Julia. She's the one who I thought I would dislike, and she has her moments, but all in all, I liked her. I just wish Alsaid would have explored her past a little more because it would make helping understand her anger and frustrations a little better. And then there's Gretchen. She's more of a minor character because we don't see her views, but she's just such a sweet character. You'll feel for her when you read this book.
I don't want to spoil anyone, but there are a lot of common tropes in Never Always Sometimes that I know a lot of YA readers don't like. So I'm just warning you that if you aren't a fan of some of the many common things we readers find in YA romances, you might want to stay away from this book. Alsaid handles the situations well and realistically, and I respect him for that, and to be honest, the situations didn't really bother me. I don't know if that's because it's a piece of fiction or if it's just because Adi makes these things seem like they could happen to you or one of your friends.
So... what's the final decision on this book? Never Always Sometimes is a good book. It had the potential to be a great book, but fell just a wee bit flat towards the middle. I am questioning those last few lines, though, Mr. Alsaid... Could we possibly see more of these two? I'd be down for it!
Would I recommend it? Yes, because it represents a different sort of high school experience, but one that will make readers laugh and cry. It's definitely a book that you should read before school goes back in a few weeks.
mbarnes9's review against another edition
3.0
I felt like I was forcing myself to finish this book. I didn’t want to give up because it sounded like something I would really enjoy, so I kept trying. There wasn’t anything memorable about this.
annabelledejesus's review against another edition
2.0
Sigh this was alright I guess. If anything it's the beginning that was good, but the middle dragged you through stuff you didn't want to read, and the end wasn't that accurate.
booksandpops4000's review against another edition
4.0
More like 3.5 But i really liked this book. It was a strong book that made me love both the main characters. i REALLY enjoyed the boy POV MORE but i liked how the book started out being framed by the list but became about so much more. It did some things i did not expect and like who the couple was in the end. Nice story and a very quick red.
emilyanddeb's review against another edition
3.0
More like a 3.5
This wasn't bad, but it wasn't my favorite. It definitely had some cute aspects and moments. Other moments were just too cheesy. I also wish the ending had been longer. It was wrapped up very quickly and I would've loved to read more about Julia's love resolution.
This wasn't bad, but it wasn't my favorite. It definitely had some cute aspects and moments. Other moments were just too cheesy. I also wish the ending had been longer. It was wrapped up very quickly and I would've loved to read more about Julia's love resolution.