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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
So, I’ve been entering Goodreads giveaways for years now, sometimes two or more a day, and after winning absolutely nothing since I started, I won two book giveaways in one week! First up is Not Now, Not Ever which I was delighted to win after I so thoroughly enjoyed The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You by the same author (I also won Jane, Unlimited by Kristen Cashore, review forthcoming and then, a week later, won a giveaway from my local library for a Kindle!!! Time to buy a lottery ticket!!!)
Elliot Gabaroche has a loving, if overbearing family, and a plan. Her mother’s side is career Air Force all straight edges, iron wills and short hair, while her father and her step-mother are pushing Elliot towards a law degree with a side of summer theater to follow their interests. Elliot loves both side of her family, but wants something different, something for herself. So she hatches a plan to go to a summer camp for smart kids where she has the chance to win a scholarship to the college of her dreams to study sci-fi literature and be her own person. Her plan involves subterfuge, misdirection, and new name. Elliot becomes Ever plus her mother’s last name and with a few lies, she convinces everyone she’s somewhere else for a few weeks in order to follow her dreams, in a loose re-imagining of The Importance of Being Earnest.
Not Now, Not Ever is snappy, smart, and fun. Elliot – now Ever is thrown into a group of (fellow) genius teens and quickly makes a good friend in her roommate (who has a secret), finds a cute boy who might be a ghost or might be a fellow camper (with a secret), and discovers that this genius camp is full of super smart kids all fighting for the same scholarship and willing to do anything to win, including, as it turns out, resort to sabotage as the wacky hijinks escalate. Of course, as if the stakes aren’t high enough, her cousin turns up, sneaking out with a much less water-tight plan to fool their family and threatens mutually assured destruction if either of them rats out the other. This set up makes for a tense, peppery story, as Ever navigates the challenges of camp, doing her best to win, and sorts through what aspects of her identity she values as she steps outside of herself for these few weeks. Add in a little bit of romance (I found all the descriptions of making out immensely hilarious, not sure if that was intentional, but I hope it was), intense nerdery and references to sci-fi and fantasy favorites, plus a mystery and I was in high delight. I maybe have some quibbles with some of how Ever/Elliot decided to resolve her family’s desires for her future, but I suppose that’s my problem not hers. Overall, if The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You was a delicious chocolate cupcake, then is Not Now, Not Ever is one of those great funfetti cupcakes, you know with the little colored bits, and maybe just the right amount of frosting.
Elliot Gabaroche has a loving, if overbearing family, and a plan. Her mother’s side is career Air Force all straight edges, iron wills and short hair, while her father and her step-mother are pushing Elliot towards a law degree with a side of summer theater to follow their interests. Elliot loves both side of her family, but wants something different, something for herself. So she hatches a plan to go to a summer camp for smart kids where she has the chance to win a scholarship to the college of her dreams to study sci-fi literature and be her own person. Her plan involves subterfuge, misdirection, and new name. Elliot becomes Ever plus her mother’s last name and with a few lies, she convinces everyone she’s somewhere else for a few weeks in order to follow her dreams, in a loose re-imagining of The Importance of Being Earnest.
Not Now, Not Ever is snappy, smart, and fun. Elliot – now Ever is thrown into a group of (fellow) genius teens and quickly makes a good friend in her roommate (who has a secret), finds a cute boy who might be a ghost or might be a fellow camper (with a secret), and discovers that this genius camp is full of super smart kids all fighting for the same scholarship and willing to do anything to win, including, as it turns out, resort to sabotage as the wacky hijinks escalate. Of course, as if the stakes aren’t high enough, her cousin turns up, sneaking out with a much less water-tight plan to fool their family and threatens mutually assured destruction if either of them rats out the other. This set up makes for a tense, peppery story, as Ever navigates the challenges of camp, doing her best to win, and sorts through what aspects of her identity she values as she steps outside of herself for these few weeks. Add in a little bit of romance (I found all the descriptions of making out immensely hilarious, not sure if that was intentional, but I hope it was), intense nerdery and references to sci-fi and fantasy favorites, plus a mystery and I was in high delight. I maybe have some quibbles with some of how Ever/Elliot decided to resolve her family’s desires for her future, but I suppose that’s my problem not hers. Overall, if The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You was a delicious chocolate cupcake, then is Not Now, Not Ever is one of those great funfetti cupcakes, you know with the little colored bits, and maybe just the right amount of frosting.
Originally posted at Not Now, Not Ever
Lily Anderson’s debut is one of my favorite contemps of all time, so naturally I was over the moon to find out there would be a companion novel and it did not disappoint.
Admittedly, we got off to a rough start – it took a bit for the voice to grab me and there are a lot of characters to initially keep track of, but it finally pulled me in at about the 20% mark and I couldn’t put it down after that.
Not Now, Not Ever is a cleverly written story. The plot is engaging with an almost perfect balance between the academic competition and the mystery of whose sabotaging the campers and the very realistic (and relatable) personal struggle Ever is facing as she decides what path she wants to take & how to reconcile the differences between what she wants out of life and what her family expects.
The story is also wonderfully diverse with fantastic teens calling out other teens on the stupid things they say and YES LOVE IT GIMME MORE. Most of the characters felt fully developed, if a little stereotypical at times. I’M STILL WAITING FOR LILY TO WRITE ME A MURDER MYSTERY WITH PERLA AS THE VICTIM. I really loved the friendships that formed and THE SHIP MY GOD. SUCH CUTE AND FEELS AND PERFECTION. The ending was also one of my favorite things about the story. Nothing wraps up nicely but it’s still so realistic and satisfying.
I definitely recommend this if you like your fiction with messy characters and tons of nerdy references.
Lily Anderson’s debut is one of my favorite contemps of all time, so naturally I was over the moon to find out there would be a companion novel and it did not disappoint.
Admittedly, we got off to a rough start – it took a bit for the voice to grab me and there are a lot of characters to initially keep track of, but it finally pulled me in at about the 20% mark and I couldn’t put it down after that.
Not Now, Not Ever is a cleverly written story. The plot is engaging with an almost perfect balance between the academic competition and the mystery of whose sabotaging the campers and the very realistic (and relatable) personal struggle Ever is facing as she decides what path she wants to take & how to reconcile the differences between what she wants out of life and what her family expects.
The story is also wonderfully diverse with fantastic teens calling out other teens on the stupid things they say and YES LOVE IT GIMME MORE. Most of the characters felt fully developed, if a little stereotypical at times. I’M STILL WAITING FOR LILY TO WRITE ME A MURDER MYSTERY WITH PERLA AS THE VICTIM. I really loved the friendships that formed and THE SHIP MY GOD. SUCH CUTE AND FEELS AND PERFECTION. The ending was also one of my favorite things about the story. Nothing wraps up nicely but it’s still so realistic and satisfying.
I definitely recommend this if you like your fiction with messy characters and tons of nerdy references.
This didn't feel as tight as Anderson's first, both in terms of the mystery (could anyone have figure this out on their own?) and things that were left without answers (without giving anything away, Brandon and Leigh's futures), but I have to hope that this is mostly because Anderson plans to continue with these characters in the future and I just have to be patient. Overall, the writing and story were good enough that I shirked most things to read instead and if that's not a win, I don't know what is.
lighthearted
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I'm pretty sure me winning an ARC of this book in a Goodreads giveaway is proof that Oscar Wilde's spirit is watching over me. I'm SO happy the story lived up to--and surpassed--my expectations.
I love the many sides of Elliot/Ever: the guts, the little bit of ruthlessness, the practicality, the wit, the heart. And the rest of the camp kids are great. I won't pretend I can follow all the references, but it is definitely cool to see banter on this level. You can sense how much this atmosphere means to the kids, the newness but the comfort of finally being around people who are on a similar wavelength.
Without getting into spoilers, I was pleased by how easy it was to get invested in the trials and tribulations of nerd camp. Brandon's personal connection with the counselors added a fun element of getting to peak behind the scenes, which was always my goal when introduced to a structured environment like camp.
The Wildean elements were highly amusing and the romance was delightful. 5/5 would win in a giveaway by the intercession of my dear departed Oscar again.
I love the many sides of Elliot/Ever: the guts, the little bit of ruthlessness, the practicality, the wit, the heart. And the rest of the camp kids are great. I won't pretend I can follow all the references, but it is definitely cool to see banter on this level. You can sense how much this atmosphere means to the kids, the newness but the comfort of finally being around people who are on a similar wavelength.
Without getting into spoilers, I was pleased by how easy it was to get invested in the trials and tribulations of nerd camp. Brandon's personal connection with the counselors added a fun element of getting to peak behind the scenes, which was always my goal when introduced to a structured environment like camp.
The Wildean elements were highly amusing and the romance was delightful. 5/5 would win in a giveaway by the intercession of my dear departed Oscar again.
Le pongo cuatro estrellas más que nada porque amo la novela acompañante. Me costo un montón ver a los personajes de la otra pasar por ahí sin tanta interacción, sabiendo muy poco de ellos, fue un muy "tan cerca pero tan lejos".
Los personajes de ésta me gustaron pero no me enloquecieron como los de la primera. Sentí que se intentó hacer una repetición pero los originales son los originales, sinceramente podría haber sido el mismo argumento pero con los de la primera novela y hubiera estado feliz, seguramente también lo hubiera disfrutado el triple pero bueno. Ojalá se le de a la autora escribir sobre los de la primera otra vez porque les tengo mucho cariño.
Los personajes de ésta me gustaron pero no me enloquecieron como los de la primera. Sentí que se intentó hacer una repetición pero los originales son los originales, sinceramente podría haber sido el mismo argumento pero con los de la primera novela y hubiera estado feliz, seguramente también lo hubiera disfrutado el triple pero bueno. Ojalá se le de a la autora escribir sobre los de la primera otra vez porque les tengo mucho cariño.
2.75
this started out well enough but the plot kind of stalled in the middle and wth was that conclusion??? i loved ellie though <3
this started out well enough but the plot kind of stalled in the middle and wth was that conclusion??? i loved ellie though <3
That was so fun & nerdy & definitely cemented Lily Anderson as a new favorite author!
Full review on my blog!
Full review on my blog!
I really liked this geeky/genius-summer-camp take on The Importance of Being Earnest. It was fun and nerdy and hit all the right pop-culture notes.
I thought Ever was a really thoughtfully developed character, but I do wish some of the secondary characters were easier to distinguish from each other (they got there towards the end, but it got confusing in places,) and I'm still a little hung up over the ending -- not completely sure Ever's decisions really fit with her character -- but now that I know this was a sequel/companion to Anderson's first novel, I'm sure I'll be picking that one up, too :)
I thought Ever was a really thoughtfully developed character, but I do wish some of the secondary characters were easier to distinguish from each other (they got there towards the end, but it got confusing in places,) and I'm still a little hung up over the ending -- not completely sure Ever's decisions really fit with her character -- but now that I know this was a sequel/companion to Anderson's first novel, I'm sure I'll be picking that one up, too :)