Never Always Sometimes - Adi Alsaid
Book Synopsis: 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 the cliche 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 dye 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 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 cliches, they've actually been missing out on high school. And maybe even on love.
The concept of this book was great, I have never read anything like it. This is the first book I've read by Adi Alsaid. Interestingly enough, I found this book through someone's bookstagram account and I knew that I had to check it out at the library. If the bright orange book doesn't scream out: read me! I don't know what will, but it was enough to convince me to read this book.
I thought that it would be fun to make my own short Never List because I was inspired by Dave and Julia and then break all the rules on it:
1. Never dye your hair blue or purple.
2. Never go on a roller coaster.
3. Never binge watch a foreign drama.
4. Never read a terrible book.
5. Never step out of your comfort zone.
(Maybe I'll cross each one off of my list before my birthday.)
Dave and Julia have always been best friends, and he's loved her for so long, so why doesn't he make a move... is he afraid to get rejected and mess up their friendship, or is he more than happy in the friend-zone?
One thing that I didn't really get was the character of Julia. She was too much of a wild-child for my liking. Julia couldn't get her best friend's name right, ever and she seemed a bit manic and too unreal for this type of book.
My opinion of Dave was that he's too sweet, too innocent, and seriously went along with whatever Julia wanted to do. He was an absolute push-over and played the role of an unlikely heart-breaker.
Obviously the Never List was the most captivating aspect of the book, and it was nice to see Dave and Julia cross off each task. I was a silent spectator in the grand scheme of things, and it was entertaining to see this story unfold.
If you enjoy reading about senior year of high school, love sweet almost predictable reads, or are just looking for something to pass the time, I suggest you read this book.
Never stop reading. Always read. Sometimes use anything as a bookmark.
Rating: ★★★☆☆