Scan barcode
hannahlv's review against another edition
5.0
A beautiful story of cliches and romance. Sometimes cliches can actually be an amazing thing.
djc16's review against another edition
4.0
Dave is best friends with Julia. At the start of high-school, they make a list of things to never do in high-school; a list of clichés, like never dye your hair, never have a keg party etc. They all chime true to Dave and Julia as they remain best friends, but with one exception to the list of nevers. Never date your best friend. And Dave is in love with his best friend.
Never Always Sometimes is a clever commentary on the clichés and stereotypes that have emerged in high-school pop culture and the inevitability of finding yourself falling into some of those same stereotypes. As Dave and Julia consciously break the nevers list as a kind of social experiment, it becomes a will-they-won’t-they as the reader starts to grow exasperated with Dave’s seeming inability to tell his best friend how he feels.
There are strong supporting characters revolving around the main pairing also, like Dave’s brother and Julia’s dads. Another interesting character is an absentee one, Julia’s mother, a figure she worships, perhaps unwisely so.
To say any more would spoil a lot of the plot, but suffice to say Never Always Sometimes is a good read, with plenty of highlights, plenty of willing the main characters to act, and lots of funny dialogue, particularly Julia’s sparkling input.
Never Always Sometimes is a clever commentary on the clichés and stereotypes that have emerged in high-school pop culture and the inevitability of finding yourself falling into some of those same stereotypes. As Dave and Julia consciously break the nevers list as a kind of social experiment, it becomes a will-they-won’t-they as the reader starts to grow exasperated with Dave’s seeming inability to tell his best friend how he feels.
There are strong supporting characters revolving around the main pairing also, like Dave’s brother and Julia’s dads. Another interesting character is an absentee one, Julia’s mother, a figure she worships, perhaps unwisely so.
To say any more would spoil a lot of the plot, but suffice to say Never Always Sometimes is a good read, with plenty of highlights, plenty of willing the main characters to act, and lots of funny dialogue, particularly Julia’s sparkling input.
greenvillemelissa's review against another edition
5.0
Book #97 Read in 2015
Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid (YA)
Right before they enter high school, best friends Dave and Julia make a list of things to not do during the high school tenure. Fast forward to the spring semester of their senior year. Both are bored and not really motivated, as their college acceptances have already happened. Julia comes up with the idea of doing what was on their never list...things like Dave running for Prom King, dying their hair etc. This decision broadens their social circle (which was basically just the two of them) with both good and bad results. This book has lots of humor and romance in it and high school girls would love it. Dave and Julia are both interesting, intelligent and realistic characters. I received a copy of this book from the Amazon Vine program in exchange for a honest review.
http://melissasbookpicks.blogspot.com
Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid (YA)
Right before they enter high school, best friends Dave and Julia make a list of things to not do during the high school tenure. Fast forward to the spring semester of their senior year. Both are bored and not really motivated, as their college acceptances have already happened. Julia comes up with the idea of doing what was on their never list...things like Dave running for Prom King, dying their hair etc. This decision broadens their social circle (which was basically just the two of them) with both good and bad results. This book has lots of humor and romance in it and high school girls would love it. Dave and Julia are both interesting, intelligent and realistic characters. I received a copy of this book from the Amazon Vine program in exchange for a honest review.
http://melissasbookpicks.blogspot.com
rmpenny247's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 Stars. This was good, but nothing more than just good. I really love Dave and Julia's friendship and humor. The book just lacked some at the end for me. I found myself aggrivated at some times. I kind of knew it was going to end the way that it did, I just didn't want it to.
trisha_thomas's review against another edition
4.0
I'm so completely torn by this book
First, I got to see [a:Adi Alsaid|4505164|Adi Alsaid|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1386961263p2/4505164.jpg] at a book talk last year in Georgia and he was adorable. And I loved his first book so I went in to this book with really high hopes.
And the book REALLY exceeded my expectations! It was so cute and funny, I laughed so hard that I had to put the book down at times. I can't tell you how many witty quips I read out loud to friends and family around me at the time of reading it.
It completely sucked me in and woo'd me into loving Julia and Dave.
But the end - I just....couldn't love it. I spent the whole book rooting for 1 thing - I was literally the #1 fan of this one thing happening. I just couldn't switch teams at the end. But it was so worth the whole book to get there.
First, I got to see [a:Adi Alsaid|4505164|Adi Alsaid|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1386961263p2/4505164.jpg] at a book talk last year in Georgia and he was adorable. And I loved his first book so I went in to this book with really high hopes.
And the book REALLY exceeded my expectations! It was so cute and funny, I laughed so hard that I had to put the book down at times. I can't tell you how many witty quips I read out loud to friends and family around me at the time of reading it.
It completely sucked me in and woo'd me into loving Julia and Dave.
But the end - I just....couldn't love it. I spent the whole book rooting for 1 thing - I was literally the #1 fan of this one thing happening. I just couldn't switch teams at the end. But it was so worth the whole book to get there.
lisamparkin's review against another edition
2.0
I think many readers will enjoy this book but it wasn't "my" kind of book. It involves A LOT of pining and love triangles. Plus there wasn't a huge underlying thread that was deeper to hold on too.
kimching232's review against another edition
4.0
I was given an ARC by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Note that all quote mentioned here were taken from the ARC copy, not the final version.
Actual rating: 4.5 stars
Oh wow, this book is amazing! I didn't think that I would like this book when I started reading it since it felt kind of boring to me. I mean, I enjoyed the writing and the actual conversations, but in terms of the story, nothing was happening at first. But after I finished the last page of this book, all that was in my mind was "Wow!" over and over again.
Never Always Sometimes' story is brilliant, just brilliant! I am now convinced of how amazing Adi Alsaid is! You know, if this plot had been transferred to another book in another writing style, I am almost certain that I would hate every moment of it (I won't say more about what happened because it's a spoiler). But with Adi Alsaid, the way he walked me through the story, everything felt like a new discovery - a way of learning about oneself and others. The way it was written was just amazing, and it had a way of forcing me to love it even if I didn't think I would at first.
The plot of this book was brilliant in such a way that all the "turning around" (I have no idea how to say it in English, but in Tagalog, it's "pasikot-sikot) had a point. That is the main reason why I didn't hate this book - not one bit. It's one thing to think of a plot like this one, it's another to be able to execute it well, and Adi Alsaid did both!
One of my faovrite things from this book was how the title and the cover made sense. I always love learning about why a book is called such, and if I see part or the whole title inside the story. But in this one, the words weren't said together; they were mentioned separately and they just made so much sense.
The ending of this book was the perfect closing of the book, which I can only say for really, really few books. It made me smile so much to the point that my cheeks were already hurting. At first I was only going to give this book 4 stars, but as I was writing my review I realized just how much I loved the book, so I'm bumping it now to 4.5 stars.
I definitely recommend this book, and I look forward to reading more of Adi Alsaid's books! I haven't read his debut novel yet though, so for the mean time I have that to read while I patiently wait for his next book.
Actual rating: 4.5 stars
Oh wow, this book is amazing! I didn't think that I would like this book when I started reading it since it felt kind of boring to me. I mean, I enjoyed the writing and the actual conversations, but in terms of the story, nothing was happening at first. But after I finished the last page of this book, all that was in my mind was "Wow!" over and over again.
"A little better than you found it." "The Best you can ever do is to leave the world a little better than you found it."
Never Always Sometimes' story is brilliant, just brilliant! I am now convinced of how amazing Adi Alsaid is! You know, if this plot had been transferred to another book in another writing style, I am almost certain that I would hate every moment of it (I won't say more about what happened because it's a spoiler). But with Adi Alsaid, the way he walked me through the story, everything felt like a new discovery - a way of learning about oneself and others. The way it was written was just amazing, and it had a way of forcing me to love it even if I didn't think I would at first.
"We like to think that we're formulas that even out exactly, that we are perfect matches with each other. But we're not. We match up with lost of people, more or less."
The plot of this book was brilliant in such a way that all the "turning around" (I have no idea how to say it in English, but in Tagalog, it's "pasikot-sikot) had a point. That is the main reason why I didn't hate this book - not one bit. It's one thing to think of a plot like this one, it's another to be able to execute it well, and Adi Alsaid did both!
One of my faovrite things from this book was how the title and the cover made sense. I always love learning about why a book is called such, and if I see part or the whole title inside the story. But in this one, the words weren't said together; they were mentioned separately and they just made so much sense.
"There was no greater proof of an underlying connection than the universal hatred of Monday mornings."
The ending of this book was the perfect closing of the book, which I can only say for really, really few books. It made me smile so much to the point that my cheeks were already hurting. At first I was only going to give this book 4 stars, but as I was writing my review I realized just how much I loved the book, so I'm bumping it now to 4.5 stars.
I definitely recommend this book, and I look forward to reading more of Adi Alsaid's books! I haven't read his debut novel yet though, so for the mean time I have that to read while I patiently wait for his next book.