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NEVER EVERS by Lucy Ivison

NEVER EVERS

by Lucy Ivison & Tom Ellen

Pub Date: Dec. 4th, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5247-0182-6
Publisher: Delacorte

The annual ski trip provides plenty of opportunities for romance, friendship, and a bit of magic for a pair of young English teens.

After two years at White Lodge Valley Academy, 13-year-old Mouse returns to Bluecoats School for Girls and forgotten friends just in time for the annual school trip to the French Alps. She reunites with Connie, a wacky friend with magical aspirations, and moody, cool Keira. But when her former best friend, Lauren, snubs her and questions the reason she was asked to leave ballet school, Mouse is humiliated. Meanwhile, Jack, also 13, and his friends (and band mates) are staying at the same hotel. They would like nothing more than to find a name for their band and some girls to kiss. When Jack and Mouse meet, it is love at first sight, but they are quickly pulled apart by misunderstandings and an uber-popular French pop artist who has eyes for Mouse. Filled with awkward misunderstandings, mistaken identities, and missed opportunities, Mouse and Jack’s attraction is more than romantic. His kindness and support help Mouse to recover her love for dance. Likewise, Mouse’s encouragement helps Jack find the courage to be the band frontman he wants to be. Told in alternating narratives by the principals, this is adolescent drama at its best. The cast is nearly all white, with diversity limited to casual mentions of secondary characters.

First kisses, near misses, and a stowaway hamster distinguish this romp.

(Fiction. 10-14)