“Every page bursts with humor, squee-inducing romance, and an abiding sense of the deep love and joy of its two writers . . . Always Never Yours is a necessary, feel-good addition to the YA canon.”—Entertainment WeeklyMegan Harper is the girl before. All her exes find their one true love right after dating her. It’s not a curse or anything, it’s just the way things are. and Megan refuses to … things are. and Megan refuses to waste time feeling sorry for herself. Instead, she focuses on pursuing her next fling, directing theater, and fulfilling her dream school’s acting requirement in the smallest role possible. But her plans quickly crumble when she’s cast as none other than Juliet–yes, that Juliet–in her high school’s production. It’s a nightmare. Megan’s not an actress and she’s certainly not a Juliet. Then she meets Owen Okita, an aspiring playwright who agrees to help Megan catch the eye of a sexy stagehand in exchange for help writing his new script. Between rehearsals and contending with her divided family, Megan begins to notice Owen–thoughtful, unconventional, and utterly unlike her exes, and wonders: shouldn’t a girl get to star in her own love story?
more
Megan is the girl who will be voted Biggest Flirt in the year book, and she’s OK with that. Her last boyfriend dumped her for her best friend, and she’s ok with that too. In fact, every guy she’s ever hooked up with has left her and immediately found THE one. She thinks that’s what her role in life is supposed to be, but then Megan unexpectedly lands the role of Juliet in the school play and she discovers maybe she does have it in her to be the leading lady.
Always Never Yours seemed like a lighthearted romp through a high school romance, but Megan was actually a lot more complex a character than I thought I was getting from reading this synopsis. By having flirtations instead of relationships, Megan was protecting her heart. Her parents split and her father’s new family had done a number on her belief in love and truthfully, her taste in guys was pretty bad, so they were always cementing her belief that love was just not for her.
If it wasn’t for Owen I’d wonder if these authors had never met a teenaged boy who wasn’t driven by their hormones. OK, yeah all teenage boys are driven by their hormones, even Owen, but at least he had a brain as well as some morals. He was inspired by Megan’s being so casual about being “the girl before”. The comparison to Rosalind, Romeo’s “girl before” Juliet, I thought, was inspiring. How does that girl go on to find her own love story? Well, if you read Always Never Yours, you’ll find out.
This book was so good. I loved the banter between Megan and Owen. So much flirting! It was great to see the main character end up with the nerdy guy, too! I’ll definitely read more by this author.
Heartfelt and emotionally captivating. Megan is the perfect leading lady in this thespian Shakespeare-inspired YA contemporary romance.
“I’m not the girl in the center of the stage at the end of the love story, I’m the girl before, the girl guys date right before they find their true love.”
All Megan wants is to direct and get into her dream college, SOTI, and all that stands in her way is a pesky acting credit. What she most definitely does not want is to play the lead in Romeo and Juliet; especially when your ex is Romeo and dating your bestfriend.
Directing is the one thing Megan can count on when nothing else makes sense. When she feels like her father and mother are both starting new lives – the families they always wanted, while she feels left behind. When the school casts her as boy-crazy Megan that flits from relationship to relationship that always seem doomed to fail. She’s the placeholder, the Rosalind instead of the Juliet.
But being the Rosalind is way better than being Juliet, especially when you can find your own happily-ever-after guy who’s much better than Romeo.
“Being in the spotlight’s not terrible, and it taught me that losing yourself in a character might lead you to find something new in yourself.”
Megan’s story is poignant and beautiful. It’s sure to both tug at your heart and make you smile. Plus Megan and Owen are absolutely adorable together.