I Never

by Laura Hopper

[Sam@WLABB]

This book took me back 30 years to when I was experiencing a lot of those firsts that Janey embarked on in I Never. I am such a sap and an HEA girl, that I had to shed a tear or two at the end, that part was hard for me, but I really thought Hopper did a great job navigating all these new, sometimes good, sometimes bad, milestones in Janey's life.



This is a book about the things Janey had never experienced before, and it was quite a wistful walk down memory lane for me. It is blurbed as being the modern day Forever, which I can agree with, as I read that book back when I was 15. It opened my eyes to a lot of new things I was feeling and thinking about, and I found some solace in knowing that I was not the only one.

•Pro: This book is very sex-positive. There were frank discussions about sex between Janey and her girlfriends, Janey and her mom, Janey and Luke. I really appreciated all the different angles from which Hopper approached the subject.

•Pro: Janey was not only experiencing first love, she was encountering a lot of other firsts: the first time seeing her parents as people, seeing them as flawed; she was starting to see that the world is not all black and white, but rather, there is a lot of grey, and this is a really pivotal time in a teen's life.

•Pro: Hopper showed how the dynamic changes in one's other relationships, when they begin a romantic relationship. Janey's friendships changed, as did the way she related to her parents. She had to adjust. There were bumps, but she evaluated and made the adjustments necessary to make it all work.

•Con: The ending was tough for me. I am an HEA girl, and although the ending was pre-determined from a very early point in the story, and is true to its inspiration, I still found it a little sad.

•Pro: This was a story about Janey exploring her autonomy. That time in a teen's life, where they pull away a little from their parents, and begin to keep some things to themselves, while they make some of their own decisions. It was very realistic and relatable.

•Pro: I liked Luke and Janey together. I thought he pushed her in a lot of good ways. He was patient and caring, and smooth-boy said all the right things.

•Pro: I did think Janey grew some over the course of the story. She had quite a few ideological shifts with respect to her parents and sex. She was not totally over her insecurities, but she knew she wanted to work towards that. She knew she wanted to be able to feel wanted, beautiful, and desirable even if she was not attached to a man telling her that. I felt like she was moving in the right direction.

•Pro: This book is really honest and realistic. I worked in a high school for 12 years, so if you think this is not the stuff going on in some teens' lives, you are mistaken.



Overall: A bittersweet and honest story of firsts, which left me a little teary-eyed and wistful.

*I would like to thank the publisher for the early review copy.

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