About the Book:Title: Not Now, Not Ever
Author: Lily Anderson
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: November 21, 2017
Pages: 320
Rating: 4/5 stars
Synopsis:
Elliot Gabaroche is very clear on what she isn't going to do this summer.
1. She isn't going to stay home in Sacramento, where she'd have to sit through her stepmother's sixth community theater production of The Importance of Being Earnest.
2. She isn't going to mock trial camp at UCLA.
3. And she certainly isn't going to the Air Force summer program on her mother's base in Colorado Springs. As cool as it would be to live-action-role-play Ender's Game, Ellie's seen three generations of her family go through USAF boot camp up close, and she knows that it's much less Luke/Yoda/"feel the force," and much more one hundred push-ups on three days of no sleep. And that just isn't appealing, no matter how many Xenomorphs from Alien she'd be able to defeat afterwards.
What she is going to do is pack up her attitude, her favorite Octavia Butler novels, and her Jordans, and go to summer camp. Specifically, a cutthroat academic-decathlon-like competition for a full scholarship to Rayevich College, the only college with a Science Fiction Literature program. And she's going to start over as Ever Lawrence, on her own terms, without the shadow of all her family’s expectations. Because why do what’s expected of you when you can fight other genius nerds to the death for a shot at the dream you’re sure your family will consider a complete waste of time?
This summer's going to be great.
1. She isn't going to stay home in Sacramento, where she'd have to sit through her stepmother's sixth community theater production of The Importance of Being Earnest.
2. She isn't going to mock trial camp at UCLA.
3. And she certainly isn't going to the Air Force summer program on her mother's base in Colorado Springs. As cool as it would be to live-action-role-play Ender's Game, Ellie's seen three generations of her family go through USAF boot camp up close, and she knows that it's much less Luke/Yoda/"feel the force," and much more one hundred push-ups on three days of no sleep. And that just isn't appealing, no matter how many Xenomorphs from Alien she'd be able to defeat afterwards.
What she is going to do is pack up her attitude, her favorite Octavia Butler novels, and her Jordans, and go to summer camp. Specifically, a cutthroat academic-decathlon-like competition for a full scholarship to Rayevich College, the only college with a Science Fiction Literature program. And she's going to start over as Ever Lawrence, on her own terms, without the shadow of all her family’s expectations. Because why do what’s expected of you when you can fight other genius nerds to the death for a shot at the dream you’re sure your family will consider a complete waste of time?
This summer's going to be great.
About the Author:
LILY ANDERSON is an elementary school librarian and Melvil
Dewey fangirl with an ever-growing collection of musical theater tattoos and
Harry Potter ephemera. She lives in Northern California. She is also the author
of The Only Thing Worse than Me Is You.
Review:
I absolutely adored Ms. Anderson's first book, The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You, so when I saw that she was a companion novel, I knew I had to get my hands on it as soon as possible. Not Now, Not Ever was such a fun and unique story that is sure to be just as much of a hit as her first book. There is a lot to love about this book and Ms. Anderson wrote this story expertly.
Inspired by The Importance of Being Earnest, the story follows Elliot Lawrence Gabaroch (who renames herself Ever Lawrence). Ever doesn't want to go the path that everyone else wants her (her mom: joining the Air Force; her dad: law school), so she makes her own path and sneaks away to "genius camp" in order to win a scholarship to her dream school. I really enjoyed how Ms. Anderson incorporated The Importance of Being Earnest into the story by including quotes from the play. Ever's stepmom has been in the play repeatedly so she virtually knows the entire play by heart, which meant that anytime Ever quoted the play...it didn't feel forced. The incorporation of the play felt natural and made for some fun connections. I truly loved how Ever would find ways of applying the quotes to her life and the things she was going through.
Ever was such a fantastic character in this novel. She is definitely different than Ms. Anderson's previous MC, but Ever still has that sarcastic and witty humor. Ever's character goes through a journey in this book (and because of that the book does have a little bit more of a serious undertone to it). I loved how Ms. Anderson incorporated the idea of how we present ourselves to others and how that might not be how we actually are. There is also the exploration of identity (i.e. who we are and want to be versus what others want us to be) and the secrets we keep from others. These aspects of the story are something that can resonate with all readers and gave the story more depth than I was expecting.
While this book has a little more serious-ness to it, there is plenty of fun banter that goes back and forth between the characters. The group that Ever is in truly fits her. She has a group of friends that are always there and want the others to succeed. I was constantly laughing at the witty banter that existed in their group. Honestly, they were just plain fun! And I felt like I was apart of their group too. I truly adored Ever and Leigh's friendship. Their friendship is truly one of complete acceptance, understanding, and support. I loved watching their friendship grow and develop into almost a sister-like bond. I was happy (and relieved) that they never became super competitive or catty, and instead were constantly there for each other being each other's cheerleader.
Overall, Lily Anderson's new novel is definitely a hit and a must-read for all fans of her first book. There is so much to love about this story, and the entire book is written perfectly. There is a nice balance of serious and fun, which made the book even more enjoyable. I did get a little lost at first with all of the other teams and their corresponding teammates, but honestly I wasn't ever super confused that it took away from the reading experience. Definitely pick this one up as soon as it hits shelves!
Inspired by The Importance of Being Earnest, the story follows Elliot Lawrence Gabaroch (who renames herself Ever Lawrence). Ever doesn't want to go the path that everyone else wants her (her mom: joining the Air Force; her dad: law school), so she makes her own path and sneaks away to "genius camp" in order to win a scholarship to her dream school. I really enjoyed how Ms. Anderson incorporated The Importance of Being Earnest into the story by including quotes from the play. Ever's stepmom has been in the play repeatedly so she virtually knows the entire play by heart, which meant that anytime Ever quoted the play...it didn't feel forced. The incorporation of the play felt natural and made for some fun connections. I truly loved how Ever would find ways of applying the quotes to her life and the things she was going through.
Ever was such a fantastic character in this novel. She is definitely different than Ms. Anderson's previous MC, but Ever still has that sarcastic and witty humor. Ever's character goes through a journey in this book (and because of that the book does have a little bit more of a serious undertone to it). I loved how Ms. Anderson incorporated the idea of how we present ourselves to others and how that might not be how we actually are. There is also the exploration of identity (i.e. who we are and want to be versus what others want us to be) and the secrets we keep from others. These aspects of the story are something that can resonate with all readers and gave the story more depth than I was expecting.
While this book has a little more serious-ness to it, there is plenty of fun banter that goes back and forth between the characters. The group that Ever is in truly fits her. She has a group of friends that are always there and want the others to succeed. I was constantly laughing at the witty banter that existed in their group. Honestly, they were just plain fun! And I felt like I was apart of their group too. I truly adored Ever and Leigh's friendship. Their friendship is truly one of complete acceptance, understanding, and support. I loved watching their friendship grow and develop into almost a sister-like bond. I was happy (and relieved) that they never became super competitive or catty, and instead were constantly there for each other being each other's cheerleader.
Overall, Lily Anderson's new novel is definitely a hit and a must-read for all fans of her first book. There is so much to love about this story, and the entire book is written perfectly. There is a nice balance of serious and fun, which made the book even more enjoyable. I did get a little lost at first with all of the other teams and their corresponding teammates, but honestly I wasn't ever super confused that it took away from the reading experience. Definitely pick this one up as soon as it hits shelves!
Happy reading :)
Huge thank you to the publisher for giving me the opportunity to participate in the blog tour and read an early copy of this book!
~Cassie
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