Conservative religions, tarot cards, and cyber-bullying. All three of these things are found in Sometimes Never, Sometimes Always, along with a whole host of other issues, minor and otherwise. And while I did like the book by the end, there’s a reason for that yellow traffic light up there. I think this book suffered from a small case of too many issues, not enough space, at least at the beginning. About a quarter or so through I think Hoole really found her footing with the story and ultimately, Sometimes Never, Sometimes Always did a decent job of tackling some tough issues.

Cass is a difficult main character to like. She’s wishy-washy, and while I know that most YA stories are coming of age tales, I felt Sometimes Never, Sometimes Always drew too much attention to that aspect. Instead of letting Cass’ development progress naturally, there might have been giant signs at time(especially in the first half, which as you can tell was my least favorite), that might as well have said “Look at me! This is character development!” Cass doesn’t know herself well at all, which made her a difficult character to root for. Luckily, I really enjoyed some of the supporting characters in the book, like Eric, Cass’ brother.

There was also a bit too much telling in this book at times for my liking, especially as it related to the church that Cass’s family attended. You get the idea that they’re a really strict church, but it was sometimes HARD to get a handle on their ideas and how it effected Cass directly. So much of the time when Cass is at the church or dealing with issues that arise because of it, the narration all happens inside of Cass’ own head and I felt all the descriptions were really foggy.

Despite my numerous complaints, once the book reached about 40% and decided what it was actually about, I found the story really engaging. Once the cyberbullying issue became apparent, I thought Hoole handled the situation in a way that was realistic and didn’t play down the many complexities. At this point I finally began to care for Cass and want her to succeed. The characters grew in dimension and pretty much all my favorite parts of the book were in the second half. While I wish it had started stronger, I have to give this book credit for it’s strong final impression.

Final Impression: Despite the rocky beginning, I liked this book by the end, once things started coming together and I felt a coherent story was being told. It was a great look at cyber-bullying and I think readers who stick it through to the end will gain from it, because I can see why people might choose to pass on this one.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Getting real while growing up

Sometimes Never, Sometimes Always by Elissa Janine Hoole (Flux, $8.99).

Cass is the middle daughter in a religious—definitely fundamentalist evangelical Christian—family living in a fairly small town north of Minneapolis. The novel starts with one of those Facebook meme questionnaires (“eleven things about you that most people don’t know”; that sort of thing).

The problem is that it asks Cass to talk about what she likes and what makes her special—and she finds that terribly difficult. Cass has spent her life trying to fly beneath the radar and stick to the least-messy, most-logical answer.

It’s no longer working.

She’s got a gay brother who’s being bullied, parents that are trying to shut down the school’s Winter Carnival—which her best friend organized—because it’s “ungodly,” an English assignment that she can’t or won’t complete so she’s in danger of failing, an odd girl from church youth group who wants to be friends—and did we mention the part where she sets up a website to do Tarot readings for people who send her questions?

Yeah, Mom and Dad are going to love that. In fact, they’ll love that almost as much as they’ll love finding out that she thinks she’s probably an atheist.

The chapters are titled with questions from the meme and each chapter contains some action that reveals more of who Cass is, really, underneath all the camouflage and people-pleasing in which she’s buried herself. The characters are believable as teens and young adults, with real-world crises that fit the bill for adolescent angst—meaning all crises are not created equal. Afraid to do a homework assignment? Self-imposed crisis. Being sexually abused? Real crisis.

The best part is that even though teenagers might struggle to differentiate between the two kinds of crises, the narrative makes clear that some things really are more important—and difficult—than others. It’s Cass’s response to the various crises as they arise that starts to reveal who she really has become—and the reader starts to love her just as she learns to love herself.

A very well-done teen novel, Sometimes Never, Sometimes Always is highly recommended for the older tween as well, and would be particularly well-suited for readers who are struggling with fear of disappointing their parents.

(Published on Lit/Rant on 1/28/2014: http://litrant.tumblr.com/post/74825070470/getting-real-while-growing-up-sometim... ( )

This is a teen fiction book that I read for a presentation. I fell in love with this story. Cassandra Randall doesn't feel she has done anything and when a survey goes around school, she can't answer any of the questions. She comes from a very Fundamentalist family and she is even questioning her beliefs. Cass starts a blog so she has something to call her own and this controversial blog has devastating consequences. She is keeping secrets from her family and friends and these secrets spiral into a situation she can't control. Each chapter starts out with a journal prompt and I enjoyed that format. I will recommend this to many teens and even adults as I found the story most enjoyable. It is nice to read a teen fiction that does not revolve around a dystopian world or vampires. A great book with wonderful characters and realistic storyline. Deals with many issues: bullying, homosexuality, strict religious codes, what it means to be a good friend and many more high school issues. ( )