Never Eighteen - Megan Bostic

Gut Instinct Rating - 5 (can I choose 6...?)

Story Line - 5

Writing Style - 5

Characters - 5

Excitement Factor - 4

Believability for type and topics - 5

Similarity to other books - 4.5

Cover art - 5

Title Relevance - 5

Goodreads users gave this book a 3.80. I think it was more deserving of a 4.28.

Emoji Meter 😰 😩 😍

---

Published in 2012.

Pages: 200.

Number of books by author: 3 Novels.

Genre: YA Fiction.

I will do this un-traditionally because any other way will take away from the greatness of this book. It is only 200 pages, and in those 200 pages, I felt joy, love, and heartbreak. If you've ever lost someone under the age of 18, this book is for you - and I would recommend you didn't read it (without a box of kleenex). I am always cautious about books and movies that will break my heart for the remainder of the day... this one snuck in because I have a love for the 1967 Shelby GT 500 - it's a rare Mustang named Eleanor. Anyways, I thought the cover photo was a 67, but it's actually a 69. I don't even remember reading a synopsis for this book. Not once. Even when I plugged in the genre on the homepage of my website, I didn't remember once I started reading. I wish I would've remembered. I wish I hadn't started it, either.

But I'm so glad I did. I sobbed for a good 15 minutes. And I've only cried in two other books. Two. That's it. (Since I know you're asking what other two... Hate List and 13 Reasons Why.) And I didn't sob. I cried. But there was no sobbing. This book will destroy you. Do not read this before you have anything to do. Do not read this before school, before work, before dinner. It will devour everything inside of you and make you see the world in two ways - you'll hate the world for being cruel, and you'll learn to love the world for existing.

This may not seem like much of a review, but with only 200 pages, and every page truly having an important part of Austin's journey, I can't say much more.