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daynosaur's review against another edition
3.0
The summary and the first half of the book all led me to believe that this was a cute little story about how two long time best best friends eventually find out they're soulmates etc, etc. I love that stuff! So, I kept on expecting it to happen. Well, it didn't. It was practically the big goal of the main characters to not be cliche. I should have realized their story wouldn't be cliche! Anyways, since I was expecting it, I was disappointed. But after I got over my disappointment of expectations not being met, I realized the book wasn't that bad. My takeaway message; this is no modern fairy tale, this is real life.
fictionalkate's review against another edition
2.0
In an effort to avoid being just another cliche, Dave and Julia make a list before starting high school of ten things they will never do. They won't be defined by where they eat lunch. You will never see either one of them at a drunken party and so on. Fast forward to senior year where the two teens find themselves bored and desperate for entertainment. Upon rediscovering the list they decide to do each of the things they vowed never to do.
I was a huge fan of Adi Alsaid's debut novel, Let's Get Lost, and I was looking forward to Never Always Sometimes. Conceptually - I love the idea. There's bound to be drama, trouble, romantic entanglements and all sorts of fun where you have two characters following a list of somewhat ridiculous teenage cliches.
But this book fell short of my expectations. Dave and Julia, despite hating teenage stereotypes, were the typical lovesick best friend and manic pixie dream girl. I feel like this was intentionally ironic as an attempt to show that by rejecting cliches the characters became one themselves but I didn't understand the characters' motivations. I didn't connect with either of them and found the plot rather predictable. I think this book was trying to capture the whimsy and bittersweetness of a John Green novel yet it slightly missed the mark.
This book took a very long time to get interesting. I found my attention drifting up until I got three-quarters of the way in. I enjoyed where the story when in the last few chapters but it took a little too long to get there. Having all ten rules on the Never list stated so early in the novel left the reader knowing what to expect. It wasn't until things started to get a little messy and different that Dave and Julia came into their own. There were some nice touches which made me laugh but there were also times where I thought the characters took things a little too far.
I still consider Adi Alsaid to be an author to be on the look out for but Never Always Sometimes left me a little cold.
Thanks to Harlequin Teen Australia and NetGalley for the review copy.
I was a huge fan of Adi Alsaid's debut novel, Let's Get Lost, and I was looking forward to Never Always Sometimes. Conceptually - I love the idea. There's bound to be drama, trouble, romantic entanglements and all sorts of fun where you have two characters following a list of somewhat ridiculous teenage cliches.
But this book fell short of my expectations. Dave and Julia, despite hating teenage stereotypes, were the typical lovesick best friend and manic pixie dream girl. I feel like this was intentionally ironic as an attempt to show that by rejecting cliches the characters became one themselves but I didn't understand the characters' motivations. I didn't connect with either of them and found the plot rather predictable. I think this book was trying to capture the whimsy and bittersweetness of a John Green novel yet it slightly missed the mark.
This book took a very long time to get interesting. I found my attention drifting up until I got three-quarters of the way in. I enjoyed where the story when in the last few chapters but it took a little too long to get there. Having all ten rules on the Never list stated so early in the novel left the reader knowing what to expect. It wasn't until things started to get a little messy and different that Dave and Julia came into their own. There were some nice touches which made me laugh but there were also times where I thought the characters took things a little too far.
I still consider Adi Alsaid to be an author to be on the look out for but Never Always Sometimes left me a little cold.
Thanks to Harlequin Teen Australia and NetGalley for the review copy.
madhatter360's review against another edition
3.0
I'm happy with how the SUPER CREEPY plotline about trying to seduce the teacher ultimately went. Gretchen is awesome.
debi_g's review against another edition
3.0
This book has far more dialogue than most. The repartee is exhaustively written, and a bit exhausting to read at times.
YA novels often falter by way of condescending to teens or by featuring precocious teens with overly-informed tastes in music, books, or art. Never, Always, Sometimes falls into the second category. I certainly appreciate the references to books and songs and bands, but it's a challenge to accept that the characters are invested in them. The trope of the nevers list is a difficult sell, since incoming freshmen rarely have the sort of perspective required to recognize and sneer at cliched high school behavior.
The plotline with the math teacher makes me cringe. The slam poem, however, is near-genius.
All in all, this is a carefully written book and I do believe it will captivate readers and lead them to discover some great music and ways of thinking. I'm simply not the target audience.
YA novels often falter by way of condescending to teens or by featuring precocious teens with overly-informed tastes in music, books, or art. Never, Always, Sometimes falls into the second category. I certainly appreciate the references to books and songs and bands, but it's a challenge to accept that the characters are invested in them. The trope of the nevers list is a difficult sell, since incoming freshmen rarely have the sort of perspective required to recognize and sneer at cliched high school behavior.
The plotline with the math teacher makes me cringe. The slam poem, however, is near-genius.
All in all, this is a carefully written book and I do believe it will captivate readers and lead them to discover some great music and ways of thinking. I'm simply not the target audience.
tatumreads's review against another edition
4.0
The many negative reviews on this book seem a bit harsh. Although the dialogue and character traits of Julia and Dave were unrealistic at times, it was refreshing to read witty conversations that were unique and interesting. However, I do agree that the ending lacked closure. The storyline between Dave and Julia seemed a bit too back and forth, ending in a very unclosed way that was unsettling. The quirky way the characters interacted made up for the storyline, though. I would be interested to read more of Adi Alsaid's books.
sandrareilly513's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting realization of how our teenage years are a roller coaster ride of clichés, even if we try our hardest to avoid them. While we always want to believe we are unique, that no one else could possibly think or feel as we do individually, the truth is that we are all alike in so many ways -- maybe especially so as young adults.
Julie is hell-bent on not being your typical high school girl, to be "original" and to avoid as many of the usual high school clichés we all know and love. What she doesn't realize until near the end of the novel -- and with help from BFF/love-of-her-life Dave -- is that that makes her one big walking cliché herself. Then there's Dave, the boy who would do just about anything for his best friend, the girl he's been secretly in love with for years. Honestly, Dave is likeable but kind of wimpy because he just follows Julia's lead. Julia is definitely not as likeable. She is incredibly un-self-aware (so not a word, but you get the idea), yet acts as though existentialism is her driving force. It was refreshing to see Dave pull away and come into his own a bit, but cringe-worthy to watch the love triangle that ensues.
While I must say that the relationships are portrayed quite well and I honestly didn't know who would "get the boy" in the end, the story was not screaming with originality. I enjoyed how Alsaid explores the clichés and stereotypes of adolescence, and also that they exist for a reason, but I very much liked his first novel, Let's Get Lost, more. This is still a sweet teen romance for HS library collections, but most adults who like to dive into the YA book world will find this story a bit superficial.
Julie is hell-bent on not being your typical high school girl, to be "original" and to avoid as many of the usual high school clichés we all know and love. What she doesn't realize until near the end of the novel -- and with help from BFF/love-of-her-life Dave -- is that that makes her one big walking cliché herself. Then there's Dave, the boy who would do just about anything for his best friend, the girl he's been secretly in love with for years. Honestly, Dave is likeable but kind of wimpy because he just follows Julia's lead. Julia is definitely not as likeable. She is incredibly un-self-aware (so not a word, but you get the idea), yet acts as though existentialism is her driving force. It was refreshing to see Dave pull away and come into his own a bit, but cringe-worthy to watch the love triangle that ensues.
While I must say that the relationships are portrayed quite well and I honestly didn't know who would "get the boy" in the end, the story was not screaming with originality. I enjoyed how Alsaid explores the clichés and stereotypes of adolescence, and also that they exist for a reason, but I very much liked his first novel, Let's Get Lost, more. This is still a sweet teen romance for HS library collections, but most adults who like to dive into the YA book world will find this story a bit superficial.
raeanne's review against another edition
2.0
I don't know how I feel about this one. I'll have to come back to it later.
Content Warning: Cheating, Stalking, Breaking & Entering
>>Took awhile to get into because Dave is just so sappy in love with Julia and I found them boring and pretentious. It wasn't until the other Love Interest and Brother got involved that I was emotionally invested at all. I'm sure if I read it when I was in my John Green phase I would've feel better about it.
>>The dialogue and banter is better than similar YA novels like John Green's.
>>Did not find Julia's jokes about Dave's name funny though. Too many white people play that shit straight.
>>The teacher subplot is...horribly unacceptable and not funny. Poor guy. :/
>>Skimmed over all the physically cheating parts, because I found it really awkward and in bad taste. I was internally screaming and cringing. It's a sore spot for me, admittedly.
>>Wish Julia had more character progression and resolution
>>Totally saw the Brother's secret coming from a mile away.
>>I'll still be trying out Alsaid's other novels. I think I should've done more research and picked a different one given the content.
Content Warning: Cheating, Stalking, Breaking & Entering
>>Took awhile to get into because Dave is just so sappy in love with Julia and I found them boring and pretentious. It wasn't until the other Love Interest and Brother got involved that I was emotionally invested at all. I'm sure if I read it when I was in my John Green phase I would've feel better about it.
>>The dialogue and banter is better than similar YA novels like John Green's.
>>Did not find Julia's jokes about Dave's name funny though. Too many white people play that shit straight.
>>The teacher subplot is...horribly unacceptable and not funny. Poor guy. :/
>>Skimmed over all the physically cheating parts, because I found it really awkward and in bad taste. I was internally screaming and cringing. It's a sore spot for me, admittedly.
>>Wish Julia had more character progression and resolution
>>Totally saw the Brother's secret coming from a mile away.
>>I'll still be trying out Alsaid's other novels. I think I should've done more research and picked a different one given the content.
lissajean7's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars. I did enjoy the first section a lot. I liked the second section. I hated the third. I struggled to like Julia after the first half of the book. There were moments where she was pretty awesome in the second section, but... She definitely had a mean streak in her. Very self-absorbed. She just...bothered me.
agrutle's review against another edition
2.0
Thanks to Harlequin Teen and Net Galley for the book in exchange for a honest review.
I've thought long and hard about how to express my thoughts on this book and I'm still coming up blank. I had high expectations, from reading the blurb for it. It let me down. I was expecting one thing and I got something different. I thought Julia was abrasive and sometimes downright rude. Dave was meek and backwards at times. I know that I sound like all I'm doing is bashing it but I just can't find anything that I loved about the book. They tried to be so far away from cliche that they ended up being more than weird.
If you read it let me know what your thoughts are. I'm interested how others will receive this book.
I've thought long and hard about how to express my thoughts on this book and I'm still coming up blank. I had high expectations, from reading the blurb for it. It let me down. I was expecting one thing and I got something different. I thought Julia was abrasive and sometimes downright rude. Dave was meek and backwards at times. I know that I sound like all I'm doing is bashing it but I just can't find anything that I loved about the book. They tried to be so far away from cliche that they ended up being more than weird.
If you read it let me know what your thoughts are. I'm interested how others will receive this book.