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bookdevouringmisfit's review
Things that I hated about Never Always Sometimes:
(THERE'S NOTHING TO LOVE) (Sorry not sorry)
1.) The blurb:
...two best friends, a boy and girl, make a list of the cliché things they will never do their senior year.
LOLOLOLOLOL. This book sounds so cliché already.
2.) Two "characters" who are so hell bent on embracing their "individuality" that in the end, they just came out fake and unrealistic for me:
Seriously, they do not even resemble the guys I went with in high school. I CANNOT RELATE. I NEEDS TO RELATE. They are worse than the characters of a John Green novel. I know JG's characters can be a bit pretentious sometimes but at least, I get them.
3.) This and many more vomit-inducing quotes:
"If the lights ever went out in her presence, Dave was pretty sure the brightness of her eyes would be more useful than a flashlight."
I'd rather take the flashlight. Thx.
PUKE.
3.) Every single chapter of Dave reminding us that he loves Julia. Again, puke.
4.) IT HAS A LOVE TRIANGLE:
That love triangle came out of nowhere. One night of flirting and suddenly, Dave can't get Gretchen out of his mind. DUUUDE, I THOUGHT YOU WERE IN LOVE WITH JULIA O_o
I'm sure there's a lot more but I only reached the 36% mark before I decided that I've had enough. In short, this book is an utter waste of my time. I could've been studying for my midterm exams next week, walking my dog, learning another language (French maybe?), or travelling the word. Instead I settled for this piece of s***. This is a new low for me, I'm sorry self for treating you like this. I deserve better.
Maybe I'll pick this up again later. Maybe not. But I've got a feeling that I WON'T.
An ARC was provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
(THERE'S NOTHING TO LOVE) (Sorry not sorry)
1.) The blurb:
...two best friends, a boy and girl, make a list of the cliché things they will never do their senior year.
LOLOLOLOLOL. This book sounds so cliché already.
2.) Two "characters" who are so hell bent on embracing their "individuality" that in the end, they just came out fake and unrealistic for me:
Seriously, they do not even resemble the guys I went with in high school. I CANNOT RELATE. I NEEDS TO RELATE. They are worse than the characters of a John Green novel. I know JG's characters can be a bit pretentious sometimes but at least, I get them.
3.) This and many more vomit-inducing quotes:
"If the lights ever went out in her presence, Dave was pretty sure the brightness of her eyes would be more useful than a flashlight."
I'd rather take the flashlight. Thx.
PUKE.
3.) Every single chapter of Dave reminding us that he loves Julia. Again, puke.
4.) IT HAS A LOVE TRIANGLE:
That love triangle came out of nowhere. One night of flirting and suddenly, Dave can't get Gretchen out of his mind. DUUUDE, I THOUGHT YOU WERE IN LOVE WITH JULIA O_o
I'm sure there's a lot more but I only reached the 36% mark before I decided that I've had enough. In short, this book is an utter waste of my time. I could've been studying for my midterm exams next week, walking my dog, learning another language (French maybe?), or travelling the word. Instead I settled for this piece of s***. This is a new low for me, I'm sorry self for treating you like this. I deserve better.
Maybe I'll pick this up again later. Maybe not. But I've got a feeling that I WON'T.
An ARC was provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
saritaroth's review against another edition
4.0
This book is a young adult novel told from the perspective of Julia, a quirky, high school senior, and Dave, her best friend who, unbeknownst to Julia, has been in love with her for years. When they were freshmen, Julia and Dave made a list of things that they swore they would never do during their time in high school because they were cliche; they called this list the Nevers List. Fast forward to senior year, and Julia and Dave decide to do everything on the list before they graduate. One item on the list is: Never pine silently after someone for the entirety of school, something that Dave is already guilty of doing. Once Dave has given up all hope of having his unrequited passion returned, he meets another girl, Gretchen, and starts dating her. As is expected, Julia sees how Dave is slipping away from her and, only then, realizes that she is in love with him. She is left with two options: go after what she wants or give him up.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book; it was very well-written. I did have a couple of problems with the book, however. First of all, even though, presumably, both Dave and Julia had parents, it was inconsistent at best as to how much the teenagers were disciplined. For example, when Julia throws a party (Item #4 on the Nevers List) and ends up trashing the house, her dads are very upset with her and ground her. But where is that discipline when she takes a road trip with Dave (Item #9 on the Nevers List) and they don't get back from the road trip until the following day? And, while Julia's dads and absent mom are mentioned sporadically, Dave's parents are hardly mentioned at all. He does have an older brother, Brett, but the brother doesn't seem like much of an authority figure, and Dave's dad is maybe mentioned once. It reminds me of the Charlie Brown comics, where the kids seem to wander around with very little supervision. Granted, Dave and Julia are seniors in high school, but they still need supervision. Otherwise, they destroy their house and have sex on the beach (two references to the book). Maybe, I'm just coming at it from the perspective of a mother of teenagers, but it seemed irresponsible of the parents to be so inconsistent.
I also got quite annoyed with Julia. She didn't seem to realize that Dave was pining after her for so long and didn't even seem to want him until she couldn't have him. Then, all of a sudden, it was "I'm in love with him." Then they went on a road trip and had sex on a beach and then, even though Dave was obviously feeling guilty about cheating on Gretchen, it took Julia a whole chapter to realize what was wrong with him. At first, Gretchen didn't even enter her mind, which I thought was quite irresponsible and selfish of her. Of the two main characters, Dave was definitely my favorite; at least, he seemed redeemable.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book; it was very well-written. I did have a couple of problems with the book, however. First of all, even though, presumably, both Dave and Julia had parents, it was inconsistent at best as to how much the teenagers were disciplined. For example, when Julia throws a party (Item #4 on the Nevers List) and ends up trashing the house, her dads are very upset with her and ground her. But where is that discipline when she takes a road trip with Dave (Item #9 on the Nevers List) and they don't get back from the road trip until the following day? And, while Julia's dads and absent mom are mentioned sporadically, Dave's parents are hardly mentioned at all. He does have an older brother, Brett, but the brother doesn't seem like much of an authority figure, and Dave's dad is maybe mentioned once. It reminds me of the Charlie Brown comics, where the kids seem to wander around with very little supervision. Granted, Dave and Julia are seniors in high school, but they still need supervision. Otherwise, they destroy their house and have sex on the beach (two references to the book). Maybe, I'm just coming at it from the perspective of a mother of teenagers, but it seemed irresponsible of the parents to be so inconsistent.
I also got quite annoyed with Julia. She didn't seem to realize that Dave was pining after her for so long and didn't even seem to want him until she couldn't have him. Then, all of a sudden, it was "I'm in love with him." Then they went on a road trip and had sex on a beach and then, even though Dave was obviously feeling guilty about cheating on Gretchen, it took Julia a whole chapter to realize what was wrong with him. At first, Gretchen didn't even enter her mind, which I thought was quite irresponsible and selfish of her. Of the two main characters, Dave was definitely my favorite; at least, he seemed redeemable.
christiana's review against another edition
2.0
Sorry to be a jerk, but this was forgettable and disappointing.
mlhighfield's review against another edition
3.0
Looking for an easy read? This is it. I needed something to read while waiting on a book in another series and this seemed like a good choice.
I really enjoyed the beginning of the story. The main characters were quite likeable right from the get go and their friendship was really sweet. However, once Gretchen was introduced I honestly couldn't differentiate much between the two girls and started to get irritated with the plot near the end.
All in all, I wouldn't say it was terrible, but I also wouldn't say it was great.
Good for a mindless read.
I really enjoyed the beginning of the story. The main characters were quite likeable right from the get go and their friendship was really sweet. However, once Gretchen was introduced I honestly couldn't differentiate much between the two girls and started to get irritated with the plot near the end.
All in all, I wouldn't say it was terrible, but I also wouldn't say it was great.
Good for a mindless read.
jackiehorne's review against another edition
3.0
In the prologue, best friends Dave & Julia create a list of "nevers," clichés from movies and novels about high school that they vow never to do, such as take an epic road trip or have an affair with a teacher. But by March of senior year, senioritis is setting in, and when they re-discover the forgotten list, unconventional Julia convinces Dave that the ultimate irony will be for them to do everything on the list. Going to a beer party, getting Dave on the ballet for prom king, and holding a beer party of their own lead to Dave discovering that he might have had more friends throughout high school if he'd not spent all his time hanging with (and secretly crushing on) Julia. Julia's discoveries are rather more painful: jealousy at Dave's budding romance with fellow senior Gretchen; embarrassment at her stalking of her poor math teacher; and above all, disillusionment with her globetrotting, unconventional mother who is never really there for her.
The first third of the novel is told from Dave's third-person POV; the second third, from Julia's after she realizes that her feelings for Dave might be more than just platonic; and the third, after from their alternating POVs.
Part of me really liked the idea of a novel about a fairly passive adolescent boy who starts to realize that his devotion to one dynamic female friend has led him to miss out on a lot of other opportunities in high school. But another part of me felt like this was one of those YAs written by a guy that was about punishing the girl back in high school whom he was crushing on, but who never really liked him back.
The first third of the novel is told from Dave's third-person POV; the second third, from Julia's after she realizes that her feelings for Dave might be more than just platonic; and the third, after
Spoiler
Julia declares her feelings for Dave and the two begin an ill-fated sexual liaisonPart of me really liked the idea of a novel about a fairly passive adolescent boy who starts to realize that his devotion to one dynamic female friend has led him to miss out on a lot of other opportunities in high school. But another part of me felt like this was one of those YAs written by a guy that was about punishing the girl back in high school whom he was crushing on, but who never really liked him back.
lisa_sutto's review against another edition
3.0
I'm probably leaning more towards a 3.5 on this. I liked this book. I really did. It had a good pace and I often thought about it when I wasn't able to read it, questioning where it would go but I thought it would get better and better and in the end I feel like it didn't really have much in the way of a good ending.
Regardless of all that, I loved how the author split the book. Dave's view then Julia's then started to wrap up the book with the both of them written simultaneously. It really made me understand Julia's character more once I got in her head. But in saying that, Julia was conceited and most definitely a cliche. And that threw me off a bit. Her total disregard for both dave's and gretchen's feelings and the way she acted like the cat that got the cream really made me question her like-ability. And I think that is what stuck in my head. The fact that she had the emotional range of a 12 year old..
So overall a reasonably pleasant read and I will honestly still recommend to my friends. We all take something different from a book and I'd love to hear what other people thought.
Regardless of all that, I loved how the author split the book. Dave's view then Julia's then started to wrap up the book with the both of them written simultaneously. It really made me understand Julia's character more once I got in her head. But in saying that, Julia was conceited and most definitely a cliche. And that threw me off a bit. Her total disregard for both dave's and gretchen's feelings and the way she acted like the cat that got the cream really made me question her like-ability. And I think that is what stuck in my head. The fact that she had the emotional range of a 12 year old..
So overall a reasonably pleasant read and I will honestly still recommend to my friends. We all take something different from a book and I'd love to hear what other people thought.
amanda_the_librarian's review against another edition
4.0
Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid was a fantastic book about friendship, love, and heartbreak. This was such a cute novel and would be great for anyone looking for a John Green read alike.
nicolemhewitt's review against another edition
5.0
3.5/5 Stars
This review and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Never Always Sometimes is a YA contemporary romance with a bit of a twist. It’s the type of romance where you’re not exactly sure how things will end. Will Dave and Julia end up together or are they truly better as friends? It’s not a simple answer, and this isn’t a simple romance.
What I loved:
Dave and Julia.
I really loved the relationship between Dave and Julia. They fit with each other and had a sort of easy friendship, even though Dave was hoping for more. Dave and Julia understood each other on a level that no one else seemed to. They spent all of their time together, and they liked it that way – until they decided to try to complete their Never list.
Never always sometimes.
The concept of the list of things that Dave and Julia were never supposed to do was really fun – even if it did feel a bit pretentious at times. But that was kind of the point. Julia spent her life trying to prove something to her biological mother, who was living but a typical, ordinary life. Julia wanted to feel a kinship with her mother, so she strove to avoid normality. It made sense. I could see why Julia struggled with being a typical teenager when she felt like her mother would much more easily love her if she was atypical. So when Dave and Julia decide to actually live out their Never list, it’s interesting to see how the results are not exactly what they expected – especially for Dave, who was kind of always living this unordinary life for Julia anyway. Dave starts to realize that maybe the fact that he was fixated on Julia caused him to miss out on other people and experiences – even if those experiences are “typical.” I liked this aspect of the story.
Dave and Gretchen.
While I loved Dave and Julia together as friends, I was kind of rooting for Dave and Gretchen as a couple. Gretchen is a girl that Dave gets to know once he starts actually interacting with other people. While Gretchen was sometimes almost a little too good to be true, it was hard not to want happiness for her – and for Dave, with her.
Family ties.
I loved the fact that this book explored the relationship between Julia and her dads (who she adored) and her birth mother (who she sort of worshipped in a way). Julia had so much yearning when it came to her mom, but that didn’t take away from the positive relationship that she had with her dads. I loved the complexities of these relationships.
The negatives:
Not sure which romance to root for.
My only issue with the book was that it was hard to know which couple I should be rooting for. On the one hand, Julia and Dave had history and really understood each other. But once Dave started to get to know Gretchen better, she seemed to make him really happy, and I started to think that maybe Julia limited him a little bit. I really liked the first half of the book, but once things switched to Julia’s POV (in the second half), I kind of felt torn and I wasn’t sure whether I could really get behind Julia and Dave OR Dave and Gretchen. Since this book was a romance (of sorts) that left me feeling conflicted – and I wasn’t enjoying the book as much. I will say that everything worked itself out in a way that I was happy with in the end, but I wasn’t always sure about the journey there.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, even if it wasn’t perfect. I liked the characters and I appreciated the message. I give this one 3.5/5 stars.
***Disclosure: This book was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
This review and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Never Always Sometimes is a YA contemporary romance with a bit of a twist. It’s the type of romance where you’re not exactly sure how things will end. Will Dave and Julia end up together or are they truly better as friends? It’s not a simple answer, and this isn’t a simple romance.
What I loved:
Dave and Julia.
I really loved the relationship between Dave and Julia. They fit with each other and had a sort of easy friendship, even though Dave was hoping for more. Dave and Julia understood each other on a level that no one else seemed to. They spent all of their time together, and they liked it that way – until they decided to try to complete their Never list.
Never always sometimes.
The concept of the list of things that Dave and Julia were never supposed to do was really fun – even if it did feel a bit pretentious at times. But that was kind of the point. Julia spent her life trying to prove something to her biological mother, who was living but a typical, ordinary life. Julia wanted to feel a kinship with her mother, so she strove to avoid normality. It made sense. I could see why Julia struggled with being a typical teenager when she felt like her mother would much more easily love her if she was atypical. So when Dave and Julia decide to actually live out their Never list, it’s interesting to see how the results are not exactly what they expected – especially for Dave, who was kind of always living this unordinary life for Julia anyway. Dave starts to realize that maybe the fact that he was fixated on Julia caused him to miss out on other people and experiences – even if those experiences are “typical.” I liked this aspect of the story.
Dave and Gretchen.
While I loved Dave and Julia together as friends, I was kind of rooting for Dave and Gretchen as a couple. Gretchen is a girl that Dave gets to know once he starts actually interacting with other people. While Gretchen was sometimes almost a little too good to be true, it was hard not to want happiness for her – and for Dave, with her.
Family ties.
I loved the fact that this book explored the relationship between Julia and her dads (who she adored) and her birth mother (who she sort of worshipped in a way). Julia had so much yearning when it came to her mom, but that didn’t take away from the positive relationship that she had with her dads. I loved the complexities of these relationships.
The negatives:
Not sure which romance to root for.
My only issue with the book was that it was hard to know which couple I should be rooting for. On the one hand, Julia and Dave had history and really understood each other. But once Dave started to get to know Gretchen better, she seemed to make him really happy, and I started to think that maybe Julia limited him a little bit. I really liked the first half of the book, but once things switched to Julia’s POV (in the second half), I kind of felt torn and I wasn’t sure whether I could really get behind Julia and Dave OR Dave and Gretchen. Since this book was a romance (of sorts) that left me feeling conflicted – and I wasn’t enjoying the book as much. I will say that everything worked itself out in a way that I was happy with in the end, but I wasn’t always sure about the journey there.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, even if it wasn’t perfect. I liked the characters and I appreciated the message. I give this one 3.5/5 stars.
***Disclosure: This book was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
mmeagan's review against another edition
3.0
This was a charming book. It was contemporary in a way that wasn't over-the-top or felt like it was trying to hard. The characters were fun, although they weren't as fully fleshed out as they could have been. I enjoyed reading from both Dave and Julia's perspectives. The plot took a couple turns that I wasn't expecting, and I was pleasantly surprised with the bittersweet ending and the way Alsaid guided the reader to that point.
I'm happy to have discovered the author and look forward to reading more of his novels.
I'm happy to have discovered the author and look forward to reading more of his novels.
rybread13's review against another edition
3.0
Going into Never Always Sometimes, I really just expected a cute contemporary. I wanted to be able to sit back and relax while reading instead of the high paced novels that I’ve been reading lately. Unfortunately, this just wasn’t the one that I was looking for. This book reminds me of The Beginning of Everything mixed with Since You’ve Been Gone and I don’t know how I feel about that.
The story or characters didn’t wow me enough to make me want to read it again. No, I don’t read every book I thought was good unfortunately. Although usually, after completing a book I enjoyed, I always have the sense of starting it over from the beginning. I didn’t get that feeling from this book at all. I’ve seem all of these characters and some of the plot points in other stories. Maybe that was the point, being a book about chiches, but it wasn’t enough to pull me in for a second time. In fact, it was just enough to get me through it the first time.
The characters were cute and funny like most contemporary books but I couldn’t connect to them. The overall book felt very disconnected which was really reflected in the way the characters-and-reader-chemistry. I couldn’t mash well with any character and often times found myself zoning out during the internal dialogue and only being entertained when Julia was making a joke or Dave was messing around with Julia, which honestly wasn’t super interesting in itself.
Never Always Sometimes was written in dual third person limited perspective. It was definitely a different experience for me seeing as though I don’t read a ton of dual perspectives in the first place. The first half is written in Dave’s POV while the second half is written in Julia’s POV. This may have been yet another reason why the story felt very disconnected for me. I couldn’t focus enough on the characters because I was too focused on the way the scenes and the POVs were written. It takes away from the story itself and doesn’t give the story the credit that it deserves.
Overall, Never Always Sometimes was a “meh” book. It was short so it wasn’t a time commitment or anything of the sorts. If it was any longer, I may not have finished it. Definitely not a must read but a good story to read if you need something quick and to the point.
The story or characters didn’t wow me enough to make me want to read it again. No, I don’t read every book I thought was good unfortunately. Although usually, after completing a book I enjoyed, I always have the sense of starting it over from the beginning. I didn’t get that feeling from this book at all. I’ve seem all of these characters and some of the plot points in other stories. Maybe that was the point, being a book about chiches, but it wasn’t enough to pull me in for a second time. In fact, it was just enough to get me through it the first time.
The characters were cute and funny like most contemporary books but I couldn’t connect to them. The overall book felt very disconnected which was really reflected in the way the characters-and-reader-chemistry. I couldn’t mash well with any character and often times found myself zoning out during the internal dialogue and only being entertained when Julia was making a joke or Dave was messing around with Julia, which honestly wasn’t super interesting in itself.
Never Always Sometimes was written in dual third person limited perspective. It was definitely a different experience for me seeing as though I don’t read a ton of dual perspectives in the first place. The first half is written in Dave’s POV while the second half is written in Julia’s POV. This may have been yet another reason why the story felt very disconnected for me. I couldn’t focus enough on the characters because I was too focused on the way the scenes and the POVs were written. It takes away from the story itself and doesn’t give the story the credit that it deserves.
Overall, Never Always Sometimes was a “meh” book. It was short so it wasn’t a time commitment or anything of the sorts. If it was any longer, I may not have finished it. Definitely not a must read but a good story to read if you need something quick and to the point.