Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson

Amy      
Lynnie   


women's fiction

After a new neighborhood resident threatens the life that Amy has built, she decides to fight for what she’s got.

Our ratings show a rare large discrepancy of opinions!

Amy's Review

I enjoyed the characters right off the bat and the story pulled me in relatively quickly and kept me interested throughout. There is a lot of drama. However, an overly coincidental plot point cheapened it.  Also, Amy's knack for playing the game was unlikely and it got to the point that, every time she did something unlikely, I was pulled out of the story. Therefore, while I liked the ride, the story structure itself was too noticeable and contrived.  The ending revealed the sinking feeling I'd had a couple times but had steered myself away from considering seriously. So, while not unexpected, it was still surprising. A few pathways for potential story exploration became dead end "spurs" while one that I expected to dead end did not end without resolution. So, I will say that the story kept my attention even though I never bought into it wholeheartedly. 

Lynnie's Review

I got about 25% into this book and I'm punching out.

I've been a big fan of Joshilyn Jackson's for years and the reason that I love her books so much is that she writes characters that you want to know more about; characters who are interesting, likable, and who draw you into their stories.

In Never Have I Ever, however, I don't like a single character- they are all sketchy, have ulterior motives, and are, frankly, ridiculous. I laughed during the first chapter (not sure I was supposed to) when the residents of a neighborhood include the incredibly named Tate, Panda, Sheridan, Liddy, Sleigh, and Roux. I actually did not know that my eyes could roll that far back into my head. One or two unique names would not have thrown me off, but this was ridiculous. Things continued from there.

I guess this is supposed to be a darker, more mysterious book than Jackson usually writes, but it did not catch my attention. I read a few reviews that say it really picks up in the back half, but I don't care enough to get there.