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hollowspine 's review for:
Not Now, Not Ever
by Lily Anderson
This is a fun, quirky, story about a girl given two options and deciding to forge her own way instead. She doesn't want to go to a local school and pick a 'safe' major like business. And she doesn't want to join the air force right out of high school either. She wants to follow her passion and go to Rayevich college, which has one of the best science fiction collections around and a major in Science Fiction Literature. She wants to be a writer, like her favorite author, Octavia E. Butler.
Luckily Elliot has a chance at attending the highly competitive and extremely expensive school when she is awarded a spot in their annual "Melee" a trivia competition for 5 coveted full-ride scholarships to the school. To win all Elliot has to do is ...change her name to Ever Lawrence (so her folks don't catch on) beat 47 other certified geniuses in a trivia competition covering subjects from the hard sciences to classical literature. No sweat, right? Oh yeah, and her annoying, spoiled, and card-carrying MENSA member cousin turns up on the first day too. Now they have to keep each others secrets, or both get disqualified and sent home.
This book is great, especially in the way that Anderson develops her characters and inserts positive messages (or calling out bullying) throughout the story without being obvious or preachy. I loved that Elliot/Ever never pulls her punches or sets her sights lower than the top. She takes on each challenge with determination and I loved that Anderson gave her so many moments to absolutely shine as an amazing and strong woman. I also loved the sweetness of her first romance that progresses at a realistic pace throughout the book and adds more confusion and tension into the plot.
There were some aspects where I could see similiarities between this and The Importance of Being Earnest, but to me in didn't work as a re-telling or reimagination of that story. I really like the inclusion of it in Elliot's lines and thoughts, but more as an added bonus for those who really love Wilde's story (that's me), whether or not readers are familiar with Importance will not affect how enjoyable this is to read.
Recommended for everyone who enjoys romantic comedies and coming-of-age type books that aren't too angsty. Check out John Corey Whaley, Rachel Hawkins, and Lilliam Rivera.
Luckily Elliot has a chance at attending the highly competitive and extremely expensive school when she is awarded a spot in their annual "Melee" a trivia competition for 5 coveted full-ride scholarships to the school. To win all Elliot has to do is ...change her name to Ever Lawrence (so her folks don't catch on) beat 47 other certified geniuses in a trivia competition covering subjects from the hard sciences to classical literature. No sweat, right? Oh yeah, and her annoying, spoiled, and card-carrying MENSA member cousin turns up on the first day too. Now they have to keep each others secrets, or both get disqualified and sent home.
This book is great, especially in the way that Anderson develops her characters and inserts positive messages (or calling out bullying) throughout the story without being obvious or preachy. I loved that Elliot/Ever never pulls her punches or sets her sights lower than the top. She takes on each challenge with determination and I loved that Anderson gave her so many moments to absolutely shine as an amazing and strong woman. I also loved the sweetness of her first romance that progresses at a realistic pace throughout the book and adds more confusion and tension into the plot.
There were some aspects where I could see similiarities between this and The Importance of Being Earnest, but to me in didn't work as a re-telling or reimagination of that story. I really like the inclusion of it in Elliot's lines and thoughts, but more as an added bonus for those who really love Wilde's story (that's me), whether or not readers are familiar with Importance will not affect how enjoyable this is to read.
Recommended for everyone who enjoys romantic comedies and coming-of-age type books that aren't too angsty. Check out John Corey Whaley, Rachel Hawkins, and Lilliam Rivera.