Never Eighteen by Megan Bostic

Never Eighteen by Megan Bostic

Release Date: January 17th 2012
Pages: 200
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Buy It: Book Depository

Austin Parker is never going to see his eighteenth birthday. At the rate he’s going, he probably won’t even see the end of the year. But in the short time he has left there’s one thing he can do: He can try to help the people he loves live—even though he never will.

For a subject filled with such big emotion, this tiny book left an even smaller impact. Going into Never Eighteen I already knew that seventeen-year-old Austin was facing death, hence the title, and although I won't share the reason it had already been explained everywhere and so the "mystery" of why he was dying was not a mystery at all. And I think even without having known it in advance, the reader would pick it up pretty quickly. It definitely wasn't some kind of twist ending, so I didn't understand why it was played off as a mystery at all. The rest of the plot was fairly predictable and in combination with the weak character development left me wanting more from Never Eighteen.

Even though Austin was dying, as a character I just didn't care that much about him– harsh, but true. He was a nice guy, but he didn't have a lot of dimension or complexity to him. Bostic did a good job with having a mixture of troubles for the people that Austin tries to help, each one was unique and different. The problem was, Never Eighteen ending up reading a bit too much like an after school special. As a reader, I spent so little time with each of these characters that Austin tries to help, it was impossible to really connect with them, and in many cases I didn't really feel like they, or their struggles, were genuine. Austin's best friend Kaylee didn't have much more personality than he did, all I really learned about her was that she has a car and she doesn't realize how pretty she is... not exactly profound.

Part of me thinks that this book would be better for younger readers, but it does tackles quite a few issues that might not be appropriate. Still, I'm sure that there will be readers that Austin's story resonates for, even if it didn't for me. Ultimately, Never Eighteen is really easy to read, the prose is simple and the book itself is quite short but unfortunately, being easy to read doesn't necessarily make it exciting to read and Bostic's debut just didn't connect with me in the emotional way that I had hoped.

Author Megan Bostic on This Or That

Author Megan Bostic picks her preferences:

1. E-book or hardcopy? Definitely hardcopy. I’ve not yet gone the way of the e-book. I still like to turn pages.
2. Paperback or hardcover? Paperback. I don’t feel as guilty spilling on them, doggy earring them, or bending them at the bind.
3. Coffee or tea? I could not live without coffee. Well, I could, but someone might have to die.
4. Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate. Vanilla is too flavorless. If I’m having dessert, I want it decadent.
5. TV or film? Film. I only watch TV on Netflix now, and I have a hard time finding shows I want to watch.
6. Walk or run? Walk. Running should be outlawed.
7. Morning or evening? Evening. Even though I wake up early, I’m not officially a “morning” person.
8. Cats or dogs? Can I choose neither? My allergies keep me from being an animal lover. If I had to choose though, Cats definitely. I love their aloofness.
9. Beach or pool? The beach. I love sitting beneath the sun digging my toes through the sand.
10. Pen or pencil? Pen. Not even sure when I last used a pencil.
11. Hot or cold? Hot. I hate to be cold. No matter how hot it gets in the summer, I never complain, because I know what’s coming in a matter of weeks. Brrr.
12. Age seventeen or eighteen? Seventeen was a much better year for me. Carefree, no worries. Eighteen is a different story.

Megan loves the color black, monkeys, and is a notorious Facebook addict. She’s a proud member of The Class of 2K12 and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. You can also find her on Twitter, Goodreads, Jacketflap, and anywhere else cool authors hang out.

Thanks so much to Megan for stopping by In The Next Room! To learn more about her debut novel, Never Eighteen, stop by her website. Click here to check out the other stops on this tour.