Friday, October 11, 2013

ARC Review: Sometimes Never, Sometimes Always

Sometimes Never, Sometimes Always by Elissa Janine Hoole
3.5/5 stars
Flux Books, 2013
355 pages
YA Contemporary
Scheduled to release November 8

Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sometimes you just need to read a contemporary focusing especially on high school drama, which is honestly one of my favorite subjects. However in yet another fail of reading comprehension, I missed what this book was going to be about. I thought the main character Cass was assigned to write a poem for English and ,stifling under a restrictive religion, she wrote about her cult-like church, causing a scandal. She does manage to cause controversery but it is through a blog where she gives advice from her amateur tarot card readings. I was a bit more interested in the premise I thought I was getting but I did like all the issues this book touched upon.

First and foremost would be bullying. We see a lot of accusations of "bullying" in the blogosphere, many of them cheapening the meaning of the word. Disagreeing with someone and explaining your reasons why is not bullying. Writing hateful comments about someone in addition to making mocking comments in person is definitely bullying as is demonstrated in this book. As the blog explodes in popularity, so does the commenting become more frequent and more hostile leading to real world consequences. The book does a great job handling the (unintended) fallout from this experiment.

I also mentioned religion. I have a confessed weakness for books about cults and for some reason started thinking I would be getting that in this book. Though the family's religions is pretty intense (Sunday services plus Wednesday AND Friday meetings) and very conservative beliefs, I didn't feel like it merited cult status to my dismay. But the book does not promise any such thing so I don't know why I thought it might pan out like that. As someone who is religious and interested in religion, I would have liked more exploration of the religious beliefs of everyone in the church and more insight into why Cass was rebelling against that.

However while everything touched on in the book is important, there just felt like it was all a bit too much and nothing got enough page time to really speak to me. Some of the topics we cover are: Cass is maybe losing her best friend, is trying to find her own personality, has a crush on a boy, is rejecting her parents' religion, is worried about her gay brother, is dealing with bullying issues, etc. It's a lot and I didn't even talk about everything here! Of particular interest to me was the mention of Cass's now deceased younger brother; it sounds like his death from SIDS played a big role in the family's religious development and I really would have loved to know more about that.

Additionally Cass isn't sure who she is as a person. I sympathized with her plight-I certainly didn't know myself as a teenager but her uncertainty left me feeling uncertain. I think at this juncture in my reading, I wanted a more confident character. I know that's an unfair demand to make of this book but I wanted to share some insight into where my mind is to help explain why I didn't fall head over heels in love with this book.

Overall: A stuffed to the brim contemporary with issues that I think many people would be able to relate to; definitely one for fans of more serious contemporary though there are lighter touches.

22 comments:

  1. I like the cover, and I love packed contemps, thanks for putting on my radar :)

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    1. This might be right up your alley-I hope you check it out!

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  2. Great review! It sounds like this one covers more ground than KISS THE MORNING STAR, but in a similar "lost soul looking for herself" kind of way. Good to know.

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    1. I've never heard of that book-will have to check it out just to see if it is less packed for my reading pleasure.

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  3. Aw, I do really like the cover :D So pretty. <3 It does seem like an interesting book, just not for me. Glad you mostly liked it, though :D Great review. <3

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    1. I think the cover seems very contemporary but also lighter than this story really is because so many things are touched on.

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  4. Ooo I love mason jars! Though I'm not much for contemporary books.

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  5. I think that happens sometimes with contemporary "issue" books- they try to pack too many issues into one story and it's overwhelming. It starts to feel unrealistic. Kids have a lot of these problems, but it's hard to believe one kid would have EVERY problem. I'd rather see one or two things explored in depth.

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    1. Well at least here some of the issues are spread out among a few families but it felt very compressed and was just a bit much for one book.

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  6. I had some similar thoughts on this one! I liked it, but didn't love it. You're right -- it's very issue heavy, which at times felt a bit preachy to me, but then it would back off and just become a good story again. Great review!

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    1. Thanks-I was very up and down on the book itself. Wish I could wholeheartedly love it!

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  7. stuffed to the brim can often fall a little short - too many issues and not enough time to do justice to them all. I enjoyed your review!

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    1. Exactly-you summed up the situation perfectly. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed this review-that means a lot to me :)

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  8. I find it interesting to see how religion and faith are portrayed in teen fiction. That is disappointing that the book didn't match your expectations. For some reason when I read the book description, I thought it would be about her bullying others instead of the other way around.

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    1. I wish there had been a lot more about religion (or that it had turned out to be about a cult cos I sure love reading about cults.) As a religious person now, that is always something that grabs my interest.

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  9. I love the cover of this book, it looks pretty and almost magical, I really wanted to read this book, at least I think I'll add it to my list!

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    1. I could see this being the cover of a book with some magical realism, now that you mention it. Alas it is straight contemporary.

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  10. I hadn't heard of this one before. As I've probably mentioned other times, I grew up in a very religious family. No TV, music or entertainment. I was allowed to read but even that was restricted at times (though it's not something that they managed to enforce). I couldn't cut my hair or wear jewelry. However, I never felt it was a cult, and I kind of hate that some people automatically say that strict religions like that are cults. ANYWAY, I rebelled a lot and so this might be a book I connect with, at least a bit. I'm definitely a bit curious anyway!

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    1. This book doesn't portray a cult-the summary read to me like the people in her town view its strictness as a cult but it's not. I kind of wanted it to be though for some dramatic tension.

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  11. Sometimes I think books need to pull in and focus on only a few issues. It's perfectly plausible that in real life you're dealing with a zillion things at once, but I also think it's pretty hard to write a book that flows well and tells a complete narrative when your character has to deal with that many things. Sounds like this might be one to skip over.

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    1. It was just too much for me-I hope other readers have better luck with it!

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