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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.
magicgardener's review against another edition
2.0
i cant believe i liked this book enough to keep it on my shelf for 2 years. i read it when it came out and really liked it. lets say i have matured enough to see how cheesy it is. no to mention we dont get any closure at the end. the book didnt seem to have much point to it because i doubt anyone was rooting for Gretchen. who seems like un unrealisticly nice girl. no one is that nice. why does she always play the victim card as well. she is always getting cheated on and shit like that.
rpych2's review against another edition
1.0
This was basically trying to be a John Green book without all the likable characters or fun plot, so everything that makes them great. Not a fan, can't really find much to say about it because nothing really stuck out as being that good or even horribly bad for that matter. A book that was just kind of there.
nklosty's review against another edition
4.0
The List is not only a cool idea for a book, but something that I wish I would have thought of as I was entering High School. I like how real Dave and Julia's relationship seems. I wonder what I would have put on my list. 91
ameserole's review against another edition
4.0
I adored Julia in this book. She is hilarious and unique. Her friendship with Dave is totally relatable, especially when in high school. Together they are adorable. I get that people didn't like the ending because Dave and Julia don't end up together--but I loved that! The love that they had...it just seemed more like friendship then relationship to me. I wish there was more to the book...like if Julia ever got with Brett?!? What exactly happened after prom?!? What happened with her real mom?!? I just want answers to my questions :( I need another book!!!
uwuramengirl's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
So boring, literally put me in a reading slump. Julia always mentioning she was barefoot was an ick, & I knew they should not be together & so happy they didn't end up together.
beccaxbelz's review against another edition
3.0
i do not know how to feel about this one, i may or may not come back with more articulated thoughts
lisawreading's review against another edition
4.0
A light, fun read about best friends who may be more -- but should they be? I didn't necessarily love every element of the plot or how it all worked out, but I did really enjoy the writing and found some of the plot twists quite interesting and thought-provoking. (I wrote a full review here.)