You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by xanthe
Not Now, Not Ever by Lily Anderson
5.0
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.