Two best friends discover love during their last few months of high school. Dave and Julia have always been thick as thieves. Before starting high school, the pair concocted a list of things they promised to never do in order to fight becoming high school clichs. Now it's the end of their senior year, and Julia has decided to take out the Nevers list and break the rules, one at a time. Meanwhile, Dave has decided to set aside his longtime crush on Julia and date the sporty Gretchen. Sparks fly, hearts are broken, and love is found in this charming rose-colored depiction of the last few months of school. Peppered throughout this love story are amusing asides involving substitute-teacher seduction and prom escapades, but its beating heart lies in the friendship and romance between Dave and Julia, a pair of teens who are genuine, emotional, and sometimes too clever for their own good. There is a kernel of truth in every clich, and Alsaid cracks the teen-lit trope of friends becoming lovers wide open, exposing a beautiful truth inside. He also perfectly captures the golden glow of senioritis, a period when teens are bored and excited and wistful and nostalgic all at once. Everything is possible in this handful of weeks, including making up for squandered time. A good romance is hard to come by. This is a great one. (Fiction. 12-16) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Upon entering high school, best friends Julia and Dave wanted, more than anything, to avoid becoming cliché. To ensure that they have an "original high school experience," they created a list of things they must never do, like skinny dipping or going on a "life-changing" road trip. But now it's senior year, and they wonder what they might have missed out on. Julia and Dave decide that it's time to break their own rules and try, if only once, all the things they vowed not to do. Much to their surprise, they have some fun drinking at parties and dying their hair, and they discover that some classmates they had previously dismissed as stereotypes are worth knowing. Complications arise when David starts falling for a very conventional girl, and Julia simultaneously discovers that her feelings for David go deeper than friendship. Exploring universal feelings of friendship and love, Alsaid (Let's Get Lost) offers a colorful depiction of two teens discovering what they have in common with others. Their escapades and realizations will evoke laughter and empathy. Ages 14-up. Agency: Alloy Entertainment. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Alsaid's sophomore effort is every bit as effortlessly readable as his popular debut, Let's Get Lost (2014). Before beginning high school, best friends Dave and Julia create a list of clichés they plan to avoid: never run for prom king, never hook up with a teacher, etc. But after they get accepted to college, a slump sets in, and they decide to mix things up by tackling items on the list. For the characters, the challenges lead to some unexpected results. Readers, on the other hand, will likely anticipate most of the plot's turns, especially as Julia and Dave stumble recklessly into Never number 10: never date your best friend. Though a subplot with Julia stalking her math teacher strains credibility, Alsaid deftly handles Dave's complicated and longstanding feelings for Julia. The clever banter between the two best friends, along with pitch-perfect emotional resonance, makes this book more enduring in spite of its predictability. With all the fun of a classic teen movie, this one should fly off the shelves. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Alsaid's debut received wide acclaim, and he's getting a major promotional plan for his follow-up, including a tour.--Barnes, Jennifer Copyright 2010 Booklist

Gr 9 Up-Dave and Julia have been best friends since eighth grade, and Dave has secretly been in love with Julia all that time. Now they're seniors, and when they come across a list they made as freshmen that spells out all of the clichés not to do in high school (e.g., never dye your hair a color of the rainbow), they decide to do them all before graduation. Amanda Leigh Cobb narrates. Girls' voices are expressive, impish, perky, and somewhat ditzy at times. Cobb is slightly less successful with Dave's voice, which often sounds feminine both in tone and mannerisms. But the fun result is a light, upbeat novel of high school life. Cobb handles the fast-moving, bantering dialogue with ease. Listeners will be amused as items on the list get checked off and Dave and Julia find out there's a lot more to high school than they realized. VERDICT Fans of Jenny Han and Stephanie Perkins will enjoy this audiobook. ["This fun romp will appeal to students looking to push beyond the edges of their own comfort zones": SLJ 7/15 review of the Harlequin Teen book.]-Julie Paladino, formerly of East Chapel Hill High School, NC © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.