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Adi Alsaid

Never Always Sometimes Kindle Edition

by Adi Alsaid (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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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

Reading age

11 years and up
Print length

321 pages
Language

English
Publisher

MIRA Ink
Publication date

13 August 2015
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ISBN-13

978-1848453906
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Review

"There is a kernel of truth in every cliché, and Alsaid cracks the teen-lit trope of friends becoming lovers wide open, exposing a beautiful truth inside. He also perfectly captures the golden glow of senioritis, a period when teens are bored and excited and wistful and nostalgic all at once. Everything is possible in this handful of weeks, including making up for squandered time." -Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Alsaid deftly handles Dave's complicated and longstanding feelings for Julia. The clever banter between the two best friends, along with pitch-perfect emotional resonance, makes this book more enduring in spite of its predictability. With all the fun of a classic teen movie, this one should fly off the shelves." -Booklist

"This fun romp will appeal to students looking to push beyond the edges of their own comfort zones." -School Library Journal

"Exploring universal feelings of friendship and love, Alsaid (Let's Get Lost) offers a colorful depiction of two teens discovering what they have in common with others. Their escapades and realizations will evoke laughter and empathy." -Publishers Weekly

"Alsaid's latest takes a really fun look at the question that romantic comedies have asked again and again: Can a man and a woman ever be just friends...the author takes an in-depth look at a fascinating pair of individuals and the messiness of a relationship that develops under dubious circumstances. Julia particularly is a fascinating character; her growth throughout the novel is truly remarkable." -RT Book Reviews

"An utterly charming and thoughtful meditation on love, friendship and all the territories in between." -Nicola Yoon, author of Everything, Everything

"A refreshing novel about friendship and romance that defies cliché, Never Always Sometimes will win readers over with its hilarious musings and universal truths." -Adam Silvera, author of More Happy Than Not --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

About the Author

Adi Alsaid was born and raised in Mexico City. He attended college at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. After graduating, he packed up his car and escaped to the California coastline to become a writer. He's now back in his hometown, where he writes, coaches basketball, and makes every dish he eats as spicy as possible. In addition to Mexico, he's lived in Tel Aviv, Las Vegas and Monterey, California. Visit Adi online at www.SomewhereOverTheSun.com, or on Twitter: @AdiAlsaid.

--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

THE KIDS WALKING past Dave seemed to be in some other universe. They moved too quickly, they were too animated, they talked too loudly. They held on to their backpacks too tightly, checked themselves in tiny mirrors hanging on the inside of their lockers too often, acted as if everything mattered too much. Dave knew the truth: Nothing mattered. Nothing but the fact that when school was out for the day, he and Julia were going to spend the afternoon at Morro Bay.

No one had told him that March of senior year would feel like it was made of Jell-O. After he'd received his acceptance letter from UCLA, high school had morphed into something he could basically see through. When, two days later, Julia received her congratulations from UCSB, only an hour up the coastline, the whole world took on brighter notes, like the simple primary colors of Jell-O flavors. They giggled constantly.

Julia's head appeared by his side, leaning against the locker next to his. It was strange how he could see her every day and still be surprised by how it felt to have her near. She knocked her head against the locker softly and combed her hair behind her ear. "It's like time has ceased to advance. I swear I've been in Marroney's class for a decade. I can't believe it's only lunch."

"here is nothing in here I care about," Dave announced into his locker. He reached into a crumpled heap of papers on top of a history textbook he hadn't pulled out in weeks and grabbed a single, ripped page. "Apparently, I got a C on an art assignment last year." He showed the drawing to Julia: a single palm tree growing out of a tiny half moon of an island in the middle of a turquoise ocean.

"Don't show UCLA that. hey'll pull your scholarship."

Dave crumpled the paper into a ball and tossed it at a nearby garbage can. It careened off the edge and rolled back to his feet. He picked it up and shoved it back into the locker. "Any notable Marroney moments today?"

"I can't even remember," Julia said, moving aside to make room for Dave's locker neighbor. "he whole day has barely registered." She put her head on Dave's shoulder and let out a sigh. "I think he ate a piece of chalk."

It was pleasant torture, how casually she could touch him. Dave kept exploring the wasteland of his locker, tossing out a moldy, half-eaten bagel, occasionally unfolding a sheet of paper with mild curiosity, trying not to move too much so that Julia wouldn't either. He made a pile of papers to throw out and a much smaller one of things to keep. So far, the small pile contained two in-class notes from Julia and a short story he'd read in AP English.

"Still on for the harbor today?"

"It's the only thing that's kept me sane," Julia said, pulling away. "Come on, why are we still here? I'm starving. Marroney didn't ofer me any of his chalk."

"I do not care about any of this," Dave repeated. Liberated by the absence of her touch, he walked over to the trash can and dragged it toward his locker, then proceeded to shovel in the entirety of the contents except for the books. A USB memory stick was wrapped inside a candy wrapper, covered in chocolate, and he tossed that, too. A few sheets remained tucked into the corners, some ripped pieces stuck under the heavy history textbook.

But something caught his eye. One paper folded so neatly that for a second he thought it may have been a note he'd saved from his mom. She'd died when he was nine, and though he'd learned to live with that, he still treated the things she left behind like relics. But when he unfolded the sheet and realized what he was holding, a smile spread his lips. Dave's eyes went down the list to number eight: Never pine silently after someone for the entirety of high school.

He looked at Julia, recalling the day they'd made the list, suddenly lushed with warmth at the thought that nothing had come between them in four years. She was holding on to her backpack's straps, starting to get impatient. Everything about Julia was beautiful to him, but it was the side of her face that he loved the most. The slope of her neck, the slight jut of her chin, how the blue in her eyes popped. Her ears, which were the cutest ears on the planet, or maybe the only cute ones ever crafted.

"David Nathaniel O'Flannery, why are we still here?"

"How have we been best friends for this long and you still don't know my full name?"

"I know most of your initials. Can we go, please?"

"Look at what I just found."

"Is it Marroney's mole from sophomore year?"

"Our Nevers list."

Julia turned around to face him. A couple of football players passed between them talking about a party happening on Friday. She was quiet, studying Dave with a raised eyebrow. "You wouldn't lie to me, would you, O'Flannery? I could never forgive you."

"Gutierrez. My last name is Gutierrez."

"Don't change the subject. Did you really find it?" She motioned for him to hand the paper over, which he did, making sure their ingers would brush. he linoleum hallways were starting to empty out, people were settling into their lunch spots. "I was actually thinking about this the other day. I even wrote my mom about it," Julia said, reading over the list. A smile shaped her lips, which were on the thin side, though Dave couldn't imagine wishing for them to be any different. "We did a pretty good job of sticking to this."

"Except for that time you hooked up with Marroney," Dave said, moving to her side and reading the list with her.

"I wish. He's such a dreamboat."

Dave closed his locker and they peered into classrooms they passed by, watching the teachers settle into their lunchtime rituals, doing some grading as they picked at meals packed into Tupperware. Dave and Julia wordlessly stopped in front of Mr. Marroney's room and watched him try to balance a pencil on the end of a yardstick.

"his is your one regret from high school?"

"here's a playful charm to him," Julia said, in full volume, though the door was open. "I'm surprised you don't see it." hey stared on for a while, then made their way out toward the cafeteria. he line was at its peak, snaking all the way around the tables and reaching almost to the door. he tables inside the cafeteria and out on the blacktop had long since been claimed. "Kind of cool that we never did get a permanent lunch spot," Dave said, gesturing with the list in hand. "I hadn't even remembered that it was on the list. Had you?"

"No," Julia said. "he subconscious is weird." She reached into her bag and grabbed a Granny Smith apple, rubbing it halfheartedly on the hem of her shirt. "How do you feel about the gym today?"

He shrugged and they walked across the blacktop to the basketball gym tucked behind the soccer ield. hey had a handful of spots they sometimes went to, usually agreeing on a spot wordlessly, both of them headed in the same direction as if pulled by the same invisible string. hey entered the old building, which used to smell of mold until a new court had been installed, so now it smelled like mold and new wood. he walls were painted the school colors: maroon and gold. Next to the banners hanging from the ceiling there was a delated soccer ball pinned to the rafters.

Julia led them up the plastic bleachers. A group of kids was shooting around, and one of them looked at Dave and called out to him. "Hey, man, we need one more! You wanna run?"

"No, thanks," Dave said. "I had a really bad dream about basketball once and I haven't been able to play since." he kid frowned, then looked over at his friends who shook their heads and laughed. Dave took a seat next to Julia as the kids resumed their shooting. "I think you've used that one before," Julia said, taking a bite out of her apple.

"I'm kind of ofended on your behalf that they don't ask you to play."

"hey did once."

"Really?" Dave rummaged through his backpack for the Tupperware he'd packed himself in the morning. "Why don't I remember that?"

"I was really good. Dunked on people. Scored more points than I did on the SAT. Every male in the room suppressed the memory immediately to keep their egos from disintegrating."

Dave laughed as he scooped a plastic forkful of chicken and rice. It was a recipe he vaguely remembered from childhood, one he'd found in his mom's old cookbooks and had taught himself to make. His dad and his older brother, Brett, never said anything about it, but the leftovers never lasted more than two days. "So, you've heard from your mom recently?" Julia had been raised by her adoptive fathers, but her biological mom had always lingered on the fringe, occasionally keeping in touch. Julia idolized her, and Dave, who'd been yearning for his mom for years, could never fault her for it.

"Yeah," Julia said, unable to keep a smile from forming. "She's even been calling. I heard the dads tell her the other day that she's welcome anytime, so there's a chance that a visit is in the works."

Dave reached over and grabbed Julia's head, shaking it from side to side. Long ago, in the awkward years of middle school, that had been established as his one gesture of afection when he didn't know how else to touch her. "Julia! hat's great."

"You goof, I'm gonna choke on my apple." She shook him of. "I don't want to get my hopes up."

"Her hopes should be up. Her biological daughter is awesome."

"She's lived in eight countries and has worked with famous painters and sculptors. No ofense, dear friend, but I think her standards for awesome are a little higher than yours."

Dave took another forkful of rice and chewed it over slowly, watching the basketball players shoot free throws to decide on teams. "I don't care how great of a life she's led, if she doesn't come visit you she's a very poor judge of awesomeness."

He glanced out the corner of his eye at Julia, who set her apple core aside and grabbed a napkin-wrapped sandwich out of her bag. He was waiting to catch that smile of hers, to know he had caused it. Instead, he only saw her eyes lick toward the Nevers list, which was resting folded on his knee. hey turned their attention to the pickup game happening on the court, each eating their lunch languidly.

For the last two periods of the day, Dave could feel the seconds ticking by, like bugs crawling on his skin. He reread the Nevers list, smiling to himself at the memory of him and Julia stealing the pen away from each other to write the next item. He gazed out the window at the blue California sky, texted Julia beneath his desk, scowled at the two kids in the back of the room who somehow believed that what they were doing was quiet enough to be called whispering. Next to him, Anika Watson took diligent notes, and he wondered how she was mustering the energy. He wondered how many of the items on the Nevers list she'd done, whether she was going to the Kapoor party that he'd overheard was happening that Friday night. Looking around the room, he imagined a little number popping up above each person's head depicting how many Nevers they'd done.

At the final releasing bell of the day, Dave and Julia met up in the hallway, silently making their way out to the parking lot, where Julia's supposedly white Mazda Miata should have been glimmering in the California sun but was barely reflective thanks to the year-long layer of dust she'd never bothered to clean off.

Before Julia said anything, Dave knew what she'd been thinking about. He knew her well enough to read her silences, and there'd been only one thing on her mind since he'd found the list. He smiled as she spoke. "What if we did the list?"

Dave shrugged and tossed his backpack into her trunk. "Why would we?"

"Because two more months of this will drive me crazy," Julia said. She unzipped her light blue hoodie and threw it into the car on top of his backpack, then stepped out of her sandals and slipped those into the trunk, too. "We've got nothing left to prove to ourselves. High school didn't change us. Maybe it's time to try out what everyone else has been doing. Just for kicks. God knows we could use some entertaining."

It was one of those perfect seventy-five-degree days, more L.A. than San Francisco, though San Luis Obispo was perfectly in between the two cities. A breeze was blowing, and now that Julia was wearing only her tank top it almost tired him how beautiful she was. It'd been a long time of this, keeping his love for her subdued. It'd been a long time of letting her rest her head on his shoulder during their movie nights, of letting her prop her almostalways bare feet on his lap, his hands nonchalantly gripping her ankles. He'd been a cliché all four years of high school, in love with his best friend, pining silently.

He opened the passenger door and looked across the roof ofJulia's car, which was more brown than white, covered with raindrop-shaped streaks of dirt, though it hadn't rained in weeks. "I hear there's a party at the Kapoors' on Friday."

Julia beamed a smile at him. "Look at you. In the know."

"I'm an influential man, Ms. Stokes. I'm expected to keep up with current events."

Julia snorted and plopped herself down into the driver's seat. "So, no Friday movie night, then? We're going to a party? With beers in red plastic cups and Top 40 music being blasted and kids our age? People hooking up in upstairs bedrooms and throwing up in the bushes outside and at least one girl running out in tears?"

"Presumably," Dave said. "I've never actually been to a party, so I have no idea if that's what happens."

Julia lowered the top of the car, then pulled out of the school's parking lot and turned right, headed toward California One and the harbor at Morro Bay.

"So, we're doing this?" Dave asked. "We're gonna join in on what everyone else has been doing?"

"Why not?" Julia said, and Dave couldn't help but smile at the side of her face, the way the sun made her eyes impossibly blue, how he could see her mom on her thoughts. "I'll come over before the party so we can decide what we're going to wear."

"And we can talk about how drunk we're gonna get," Dave added.

"And who we're gonna make out with."

"Yup."

Dave turned to face the road and sank into his seat. He lowered the mirror visor and stuck his arm out the side of the car, feeling the sun on his skin. He kept smiling, too experienced at hiding to let the tiny heartbreak show. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00URUBSOU
Publisher ‏ : ‎ MIRA Ink; 1st edition (13 August 2015)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1217 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 321 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #443,099 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #6,366 in Fiction about Friendship for Children
- #6,847 in Children's Books on Friendship
- #16,128 in Children's Literature & Fiction (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.0 595 ratings

About the author

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Adi Alsaid

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Adi Alsaid was born and raised in Mexico City, where he spilled hot sauce on things. He’s the author of several young adult books, including Let’s Get Lost a 2015 YALSA Top Ten Selection, Never Always Sometimes, North of Happy, a Kirkus Best Book, Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak, and We Didn’t Ask For This.

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Customer reviews

4 out of 5

595 global ratings

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4 star		27%
3 star		19%
2 star		5%
1 star		4%

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Sumaiya

>I ABSOLUTELY hated the ending

Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 23 June 2016

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I've got mixed feelings about this one.Here are some of the reasons why:
>I'd raised my expectations too high for this one.I shouldn't have done that.
>I ABSOLUTELY hated the ending.It wasn't to my liking at all.
I've got this huge thing in my mind that the Dave whom I know from the book wouldn't have preferred this ending.The author purposefully forced the ending on him.It was unlike Dave to choose it.
This book is written from both the character's POV.The characters-Dave and Julia feel real.Another thing I liked about this was the chapters' names.The concept of this book was new.Something refreshing for me and YA.It will give you 'summery' feelings.
This book broke my heart and I really do need a sequel but I'm 90 % sure that we are not going to get one.Having read Adi Alsaid's earlier work I'm familiar with his style of writing and I feel that I kinda know him.He is a really cool author.But I think he has a think against happy endings.Or I should say that he has a thing against 'cliche' endings.He wrote this kind of ending on purpose so that this book doesn't end up being a cliche.The ending of 'Let's Get Lost' was must better than this one.I reckon the ending was like that so this book succeeds in 'standing out' and not being a typical YA book or a cliche.It succeeded very well,but in the process it broke my heart.
When I read through Dave's POV Julia annoyed and when I read through Julia's Dave did.Having done all the bashing,I must really say that Alsaid has done a brilliant job of constructing the characters and the plot.THE JOKES,THE PUNS,,THE PRANKS AND ABOVE ALL the friendship of Dave and Julia was phenomenal.And I feel as if they both are going to say with me for a long time.

This book is for people who love John Green.And Rainbow Rowell fans would like it too.
Read it if you want something different or just read it for Dave and Julia's friendship.

3 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

this product is awesome

Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 19 January 2017

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this product is awesome
the book is great itself
great product

Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 26 June 2016

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I really liked this book. The story is not a cliché. It's very nicely written.

Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 23 June 2017

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This has officially become my most favourite one.

Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 27 September 2016

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'NEVER ALWAYS SOMETIMES' is definitely a one time read. It teaches you lessons about friendship, love involved in high school. I liked the ending as it wasn't cliché.

One person found this helpful

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Innayat Shah

not a very good read

Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 18 September 2018

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it’s not a very good read...it keeps you interested but never really reaches a point. The storyline was interesting at first but got too boring too quick and the ending could either be a big dissatisfaction or a big satisfaction

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Top reviews from other countries

Nadine Bieber

not very authentic

Reviewed in Germany 🇩🇪 on 14 January 2021

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i don't know what it is,, but everything seems very forced, inplausible and fake. gretchen is a great person but the whole character is overdone, just like giulia. the book tries to hard to be something new, fresh and exciting. i liked it the first time i read it,, but after rereading it seems mindless and souless. some moments however are well done.

ozcopilot

Grass is always greener...

Reviewed in Australia 🇦🇺 on 31 October 2015

Verified Purchase

This was a very enjoyable Young Adult book which showed tremendous character growth and change. It also revealed that we want what we cannot have and when we can have it, we don't necessarily want it! Very well written and pleasant.

One person found this helpful

Derek Carney

Young love

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 12 August 2016

Verified Purchase

Dave is best friends with Julia. At the start of high-school, they make a list of things to never do in high-school; a list of clichés, like never dye your hair, never have a keg party etc. They all chime true to Dave and Julia as they remain best friends, but with one exception to the list of nevers. Never date your best friend. And Dave is in love with his best friend.
Never Always Sometimes is a clever commentary on the clichés and stereotypes that have emerged in high-school pop culture and the inevitability of finding yourself falling into some of those same stereotypes. As Dave and Julia consciously break the nevers list as a kind of social experiment, it becomes a will-they-won’t-they as the reader starts to grow exasperated with Dave’s seeming inability to tell his best friend how he feels.
There are strong supporting characters revolving around the main pairing also, like Dave’s brother and Julia’s dads. Another interesting character is an absentee one, Julia’s mother, a figure she worships, perhaps unwisely so.
To say any more would spoil a lot of the plot, but suffice to say Never Always Sometimes is a good read, with plenty of highlights, plenty of willing the main characters to act, and lots of funny dialogue, particularly Julia’s sparkling input.

2 people found this helpful

Kindle Customer

Funny and real

Reviewed in Australia 🇦🇺 on 4 November 2016

Verified Purchase

This was a great read. The charactors and the friendship between them is real. There is a HEA but not necessarily the one I was expecting. I will be looking for more stories by this author.

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