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aishwaryadeengar's review against another edition
1.0
DNF at 28%
This was so bad. I saw it listed with Made You Up by Francesca Zappia and The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavemder by Leslye Walton and guessed this might be great as well. I was so disappointed. The author was just trying to rub it on our faces that clichés are great but it wasn't so. The main characters are boring and unrelatable 'teenagers'. Im just glad that I wont have to go through this anymore.
This was so bad. I saw it listed with Made You Up by Francesca Zappia and The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavemder by Leslye Walton and guessed this might be great as well. I was so disappointed. The author was just trying to rub it on our faces that clichés are great but it wasn't so. The main characters are boring and unrelatable 'teenagers'. Im just glad that I wont have to go through this anymore.
pallasreads's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I was worried that Dave and Julia embracing cliches would lead to a very cliche ending, but I found the last third of this book to be filled with surprises (and of course, a few good high school cliches). It’s got quite a few strong lines that made me nostalgic for the end of high school as well as infinitely glad I’ll never have to do that again.
valeriianavarr's review against another edition
2.0
I dont know if it is the plots fault that I hated the book or the writing itself wasn't good.. Couldnt tell
bananax's review against another edition
3.0
Its a cool book, about pining and stuff the twist is nice but not the type of book I really like, for short it’s not the fault in our star-ish.
emjrasmussen's review against another edition
Never Always Sometimes made me so nostalgic for high school, even though it's been less than a month since graduation and my own last few weeks were nothing like Dave's and Julia's (except for their prom king campaign). This one's so much fun and perfect for post-senior-year reading.
nrdespain's review against another edition
3.0
A bit slow here and there. And even though I liked the ending, the conflict made me like the main character less.
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
3.0
Finished reading: January 10th 2016
“Human beings are more or less formulas. Pun intended. We are not any one thing that is mathematically provable. We are more or less than we are anything. We are more or less kind, or more or less not. More or less selfish, happy, wise, lonely.”
Spoiler
For a novel that has been mentioned a lot last year, Never Always Sometimes has quite a low goodreads rating. I have been doubting whether to read it, but curiosity won over and I picked up a copy of this novel by Adi Alsaid anyway. I have to say that after reading it, I'm having mixed thoughts about this story. At first glance it's a fast read and quite entertaining. The 'playful' friendship between Dave and Julia makes for quite a few funny moments and I like the fact that they decide to fight the high school cliches by actually doing every single one of them on their Never list. BUT. And now comes the big but: what is supposed to be them fighting cliches and being original actually turns out in quite a cliche plot and character development. And then I'm not even talking about the love triangle OR the ending. The love triangle is annoying and kind of ruins the original chemistry between the two main characters. And the ending... I don't want to spoil things, but let's just say it was completely unsatisfying. Would I recommend Never Always Sometimes? Maybe, but only as long as you like the genre, don't set your expectations too high and aren't allergic to crappy love triangles.
Dave and Julia have been best friends for years. Before starting high school, they vowed to never end up as cliche high school kids and made a list of Nevers: things they shouldn't do during their high school years. Never sit at the same lunch table, never dye your hair a color of the rainbow, never hook up with a teacher... Some of these rules are simple, but what about never pining secretly after someone or never dating your best friend? Dave has a secret Julia doesn't know anything about: he has been in love with her for as long as he can remember. So when Julia suggests to do every Never on the list, Dave sees a chance to maybe finally confess his feelings to her. And not only that: they both discover they might actually have been missing out on high school by not doing all those cliche things...
I liked the general idea behind Never Always Sometimes and the friendship between the two main characters Dave and Julia. Their interactions in the first part of the book are quite funny, especially Julia who doesn't have a clue Dave is in love with her. But as an overall this book was too much of a cliche for me, the love triangle was really annoying and the ending was not satisfying at all. Slightly original, yes, but I don't think I'm the only one who wished the story would have been over after the roadtrip.
P.S. Find more of my reviews here.
charmaineac's review against another edition
4.0
I would pay good, good money to read about The Always in college. Seriously, I bet this would be hilarious.
Personally, I found this book to be a good way to reminisce about the same old high school clichés that we all participate in. Promposals? Road trips? Pining after someone (silently)? Sign me up! Well actually... no, I'm glad to be past all that now; to be done with those all-important dramas in the microcosm of high school. The senioritis alone made me feel molasses in my bones. A rational moment (to take a quiz!) relaxed a pervasive issue I had—did these kids every do anything school-related?!
For the most part, I was satisfied with the way the romance was played out in this book. Dave needed a chance to explore something new, something old, and ultimately realize what he wants. I kind of wish that reconciliation didn't happen at the end though. He's moving on to UCLA, with totally new people and experiences. Mess up, move on. If anything, I wish he had come to a decision himself (maybe with a cheesy boom box outside the window, à la Say Anything?). Also: glad this story subtly raised awareness of systemic sexism. Hello, why is the girl here being painted as a man-stealing vixen? The masses need to redirect their dirty looks!
As for Julia, I wish we got more closure from her. Is she destined to wander the world alone? I wish we got to see a glimmer of her making new friends. I also totally called a certain movie theatre scene, except I wanted it to go further.
As for the friendship, it was a dream come true. THIS is the type of best-friends-turned-more(-maybe) book I've always wanted to read. This is how I wanted Better Off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg to go. Super funny quips, inside jokes, strange codependency, mind-reading, habits, and any unrequited sexual tension dialed down a bit in favour of a stable and glorious platonic relationship. I adored Dave and Julia's shenanigans. The road trip had that invincible quality to it, as though being a teenager could be the best thing ever. The beach scene was exuberant and fitting. The hair dye was unfortunate but hilarious. And the TREEHOUSE! Could I please become friends with these people?
The adult figures in this book were fantastic as well (minus a certain maternal influence). I laughed appreciatively at a well-timed wink and while watching dads fail to reprimand properly. I like how teacher-student relations were handled here (with maturity!). All too often, novels devolve into fanciful tales of illegal debauchery. I'm glad this one didn't. Some of Julia's ploys were creepy and stalkerish, but definitely funny in their creativity and ridiculousness. She definitely needs help reigning in her spontaneity though — Dave is totally an enabler.
Still, this story made me feel heady, giddy, and happy. Adi Alsaid can leave this world knowing he made it a little better than he found it, thanks to this story.
(I tried really hard with that wordplay.)
Personally, I found this book to be a good way to reminisce about the same old high school clichés that we all participate in. Promposals? Road trips? Pining after someone (silently)? Sign me up! Well actually... no, I'm glad to be past all that now; to be done with those all-important dramas in the microcosm of high school. The senioritis alone made me feel molasses in my bones. A rational moment (to take a quiz!) relaxed a pervasive issue I had—did these kids every do anything school-related?!
For the most part, I was satisfied with the way the romance was played out in this book. Dave needed a chance to explore something new, something old, and ultimately realize what he wants. I kind of wish that reconciliation didn't happen at the end though. He's moving on to UCLA, with totally new people and experiences. Mess up, move on. If anything, I wish he had come to a decision himself (maybe with a cheesy boom box outside the window, à la Say Anything?). Also: glad this story subtly raised awareness of systemic sexism. Hello, why is the girl here being painted as a man-stealing vixen? The masses need to redirect their dirty looks!
As for Julia, I wish we got more closure from her. Is she destined to wander the world alone? I wish we got to see a glimmer of her making new friends. I also totally called a certain movie theatre scene, except I wanted it to go further.
As for the friendship, it was a dream come true. THIS is the type of best-friends-turned-more(-maybe) book I've always wanted to read. This is how I wanted Better Off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg to go. Super funny quips, inside jokes, strange codependency, mind-reading, habits, and any unrequited sexual tension dialed down a bit in favour of a stable and glorious platonic relationship. I adored Dave and Julia's shenanigans. The road trip had that invincible quality to it, as though being a teenager could be the best thing ever. The beach scene was exuberant and fitting. The hair dye was unfortunate but hilarious. And the TREEHOUSE! Could I please become friends with these people?
The adult figures in this book were fantastic as well (minus a certain maternal influence). I laughed appreciatively at a well-timed wink and while watching dads fail to reprimand properly. I like how teacher-student relations were handled here (with maturity!). All too often, novels devolve into fanciful tales of illegal debauchery. I'm glad this one didn't. Some of Julia's ploys were creepy and stalkerish, but definitely funny in their creativity and ridiculousness. She definitely needs help reigning in her spontaneity though — Dave is totally an enabler.
Still, this story made me feel heady, giddy, and happy. Adi Alsaid can leave this world knowing he made it a little better than he found it, thanks to this story.
(I tried really hard with that wordplay.)