Adi Alsaid

"Best friends Dave and Julia were determined to never be clichae high school kids--the ones who sit at the same lunch table every day, dissecting the drama from homeroom and plotting their campaigns for prom king and queen. They even wrote their own Never List of everything they vowed they'd never, ever do in high school ... Julia is beautiful, wild, and impetuous. So when she suggests they do every Never on the list, Dave is happy to play along ... It starts as a joke, but then a funny thing happens: Dave and Julia discover that by skipping the clichaes, they've actually been missing out on high school. And maybe even on love"--Dust jacket flap.

Never Always Sometimes

Melissa Palmer

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

Alexa M

**3.5/5 stars** this was cute for a book about high school cliches lol Also, ended perfect

Rachel Kanyid

Never date your best friend Always be original Sometimes rules are meant to be broken. Best friends Dave and Julia were determined to never be clichés so they even wrote their own Never List of everything they vowed they'd never, ever do in high school. Some of the rules have been easy to follow; But Dave has a secret: he's broken rule #8, never pine silently after someone for the entirety of high school. It's either that or break rule #10, never date your best friend. Dave has loved Julia for as long as he can remember. So when she suggests they do every Never on the list, Dave is happy to play along. He even dyes his hair an unfortunate shade of green. It starts as a joke, but then a funny thing happens: Dave and Julia discover they've actually been missing out on high school And maybe even on love. Praise for Adi Alsaid 'Reminiscent of John Green's Paper Towns' - School Library Journal 'Balances both the quirky fun and the harsh realities of adolescence' - Entertainment Weekly 'Let's Get Lost is an absorbing, beautiful novel we all need in our lives. Phenomenal!'- Pretty Little Memoirs 'a sweet tale with real heart - get in early before the rest of the reading world catches up'- Heat 'For readers of John Green' - Fresh Fiction

Sven Test

This 2.5 review can be found on Latte Nights Reviews on August 3.

I expected a lot from this book. I was excited about it that I immediately signed up for the blog tour and requested it. I started the book, all excited and happy, thinking this would be a fun and an LOL book but sadly, that wasn’t the case. I didn’t like the characters AT ALL. Julia was so…frustrating and infuriating! I wanted to smack her head or let her die. I know this is bad but I just couldn’t deal with her. She was so demanding and had Dave on a leash. He followed her around all the freaking time, he didn’t have a mind of his own. It’s like Julia did all the thinking for him and he would roll with whatever Julia said. Just writing this review is getting me agitated. I was about to DNF the book but then Dave stands up for himself and someone else and I literally did a jump and a mini dance and grinned because I was so happy that Dave was finally opening his eyes and speaking up for himself. That didn’t last long, though and in the process he hurt someone and I just wanted to smack him, too.

The reason I’m giving it 2.5 is because there were very minimal times where I had fun just a “smidge” and Dave speaking up for himself really got me super happy. The ending is a happy one that I enjoyed a bit. There are two supporting characters that really made me think my rating so I had to bump it up to 2.5 because these characters were fun and cute.

Debbi

To me, Never Always Sometimes is:

Never think that best friends who fall in love with each other are meant to be.
Always remember that the most special thing you can do for love is to let the one you love, love someone else.
Sometimes endings in a book are not happy ones. There might be sad endings, as even characters in a novel need time to get back up on their feet. 

Adi Alsaid's writings are sheer perfection. He uses the word, 'beautiful' countless times in this novel. And I didn't mind one bit. Just incase I spoil something, here's a warning: SPOILERS AHEAD! The book left me a little bruised because I thought Dave and Julia are going to end up together. Dave was so sure that he was in love with Julia. And later on, Julia was so sure she loved him too. The novel took an unexpected twist when Dave realises things are "off" between him and Julia. Maybe he does want her, but only as a friend; nothing more, nothing less. 

It is good novel. Not great but I truly enjoyed Adi Alsaid's writings. The way he describes emotions and love, it is remarkable what he can do with just his mind, a paper and pen.

Kathryn 

** spoiler alert **
           *3.25*

I definitely enjoyed this book. I loved Dave and Gretchen is honestly one of my new favorite characters she's so awesome. I found Julia a little tiresome because she's spent four years avoiding cliches when (as Dave points out) is kind of a cliche herself. I'm so incredibly glad Dave and Julia didn't work out because I didn't like them together at all and as I said before I love Gretchen. Also in my head Julia and Brett grow up and get married and have lots of sarcastic artsy children.

laura

** spoiler alert **
           More like 3.5 But i really liked this book. It was a strong book that made me love both the main characters. i REALLY enjoyed the boy POV MORE but i liked how the book started out being framed by the list but became about so much more. It did some things i did not expect and like who the couple was in the end. Nice story and a very quick red.

Rachel Rozdzial

Meh. 100 pages from the end and I didn't really care enough to finis. What I read wasn't bad though

Mariana Afonso

Yes, the story might be a (not so) little cliché, but so what? If there's one thing this book taught me, is that we should embrace clichés, because they are not as bad as sometimes we paint them. Going through some experiences is necessary. That's why so many people do the same thing: because it's funny, epic, inspiring.
These characters are so cute, and, damn, so relatable. 
I finished the book with a smile on my face. Is there anything better? Or is saying that a huge bad cliché? Well, if it is, I don't think it's a bad thing.

razan 

Okay so first i would like to high five myself for finishing it even though i hated every part of it :|
the first half of the book was like reading LESS much,much less exciting version of Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson, the second half was just plain stupid and annoying as hell .

Genesis (@whisperingchapters)

Yi Yaw

Macy Johnson

Jackie 

Fatima Kadri 

Never date your best friend Always be original Sometimes rules are meant to be broken Best friends Dave and Julia were determined to never be cliché high school kids—the ones who sit at the same lunch table every day, dissecting the drama from homeroom and plotting their campaigns for prom king and queen. They even wrote their own Never List of everything they vowed they'd never, ever do in high school. Some of the rules have been easy to follow, like #5, never die your hair a color of the rainbow, or #7, never hook up with a teacher. But Dave has a secret: he's broken rule #8, never pine silently after someone for the entirety of high school. It's either that or break rule #10, never date your best friend. Dave has loved Julia for as long as he can remember. Julia is beautiful, wild and impetuous. So when she suggests they do every Never on the list, Dave is happy to play along. He even dyes his hair an unfortunate shade of green. It starts as a joke, but then a funny thing happens: Dave and Julia discover that by skipping the clichés, they've actually been missing out on high school. And maybe even on love. Check out Adi Alsaid's bestselling novel Let's Get Lost. Five strangers. Countless adventures. One epic way to get lost.