I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Published by Grand Central Publishing, Hachette Audio on January 14, 2014
Genres: Biography & Autobiography, Essays, Form, Humor, Personal Memoirs
Pages: 272
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
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"I've been single for my entire life. Not one boyfriend. Not one short-term dating situation. Not one person with whom I regularly hung out and kissed on the face."
So begins Katie Heaney's memoir of her years spent looking for love, but never quite finding it. By age 25, equipped with a college degree, a load of friends, and a happy family life, she still has never had a boyfriend ... and she's barely even been on a second date.
Throughout this laugh-out-loud funny book, you will meet Katie's loyal group of girlfriends, including flirtatious and outgoing Rylee, the wild child to Katie's shrinking violet, as well as a whole roster of Katie's ill-fated crushes. And you will get to know Katie herself -- a smart, modern heroine relaying truths about everything from the subtleties of a Facebook message exchange to the fact that "Everybody who works in a coffee shop is at least a little bit hot."
Funny, relatable, and inspiring, this is a memoir for anyone who has ever struggled to find love, but has also had a lot of fun in the process.
Never Have I Ever: My Life (So Far) Without a Date is a quirky and honest look at Katie Heaney’s twenty-five years on this earth and why she can’t seem to keep a guy interested. From her first crushes in grade school and high school, to her first brush with an almost boyfriend in college–even an attempt at on-line dating–Katie walks you through her history of relationships–that the boys knew about and didn’t know about–with the help of the journals that she kept throughout her life.Â
Katie is a loyal friend, sure she’s a bit of a smart ass, but she has no experience picking up the cues that boys can give. Over the course of her life and the book, she doesn’t really get better at figuring out when a guy is actually interested in her. It’s this type of mystifying obliviousness that had me scratching my head since she had so many girlfriends that were in relationships over the years. Surely some of that experience should have rubbed off on Katie?
I really loved her strong relationships with her female friends, especially guy-magnet and outgoing Rylee. Katie has focused her social life more on cultivating these strong bonds with her friends, and boys have come second, relegated to second fiddle and topics for dissection as Katie tries to figure out when to approach a guy or figure out if someone actually likes her or not. This strong support system has kept Katie upright and going on more than one occasion, and I loved reading about all of the different girls and the unique roles they play in her life. Â Â
I give Never Have I Ever a 3.5 out of 5. Written in a conversational style that makes you feel like a girlfriend is telling you her life story, I was entertained throughout and could relate to some of the situations. While the book was humorous at times, I found it to be more of the sarcastic and smirky kind of humor than the laugh out loud type. Even though I wasn’t single throughout college since I started dating my husband during freshman year, I could still relate to several of Katie’s stories through my girlfriend’s experiences. The OK Cupid adventures were so similar to what my best friend has gone through with online dating that I was shaking my head in agreement as I remembered similar horror stories.
I listened to the audiobook provided by Hachette Audio
Get your own Audiobook at Audible: Never Have I Ever: My Life (so far) Without a Date.
This audiobook is narrated by Sarah Franco, and her delivery is a bit choppy. It made author Katie Heaney’s distinctive style of a friend having a conversation with you feel a bit strained and awkward to me because it didn’t always flow so great to the ear. I think that I might have enjoyed the print version more.
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I really, really, really, want to read this.
Claire recently posted..My Apocalypse Dream Team
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Wow. I really have to read this now. Sounds JUST like me!
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I’ve seen this one a lot on the shelves at Barnes and Noble and have been thinking about picking it up. It sounds like a really cute and fun read. Great review! 🙂
Emily @ Books & Cleverness recently posted..Waiting on…Adrenaline Crush by Laurie Boyle Crompton
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Thanks, Emily! Never Have I Ever was a really cute book.
Heather recently posted..Never Have I Ever: My Life (So Far) Without a Date by Katie Heaney
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I related to the blurb of this book & I want to read it because, honestly, never have I ever had a serious relationship. Not a date. Nothing.
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