Teen Friendships, Crushes, and Delightful Teen Romance in Engaging New Book for Fans of Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison

Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison are back with their third book for their fans. Never Evers is a delightful read for teens, preteens, and even some older readers who want to remember their first romance, a crush on a celebrity, or their first kiss. Everyone remembers their first crush on a big celebrity from their teen years. Everyone remembers their first kiss. Never Evers will bring readers back to these memories and young readers will want to relate to these events that are inevitable during the teen years.

Mouse is thirteen years old and really believes that disaster has struck when she is kicked out of ballet school. She is also about to go on a ski field trip sponsored by her new school, and she does not know even one person. Jack is also about to go on the ski field trip and all he can think about is girls. Getting his first kiss is Jack's goal for the trip. Jack and Mouse are in for their first experience with romance. However, Jack encounters some competition with a celebrity star who also is attracted to Mouse. Young readers will find Never Evers to be a page turner to find out how romance begins or ends.

Ellen and Ivison write creatively by alternating Mouse's story and Jack's story. Their expert knowledge of teen dialogue makes their new book both hilarious and sweet. Never Evers was published by Delacorte Press, a division of Random House Children's Books and is recommended for ages 10+. It has an ISBN of 978-1-5247-0182-6.

Teachers who teach language arts and reading classes for ages 10+ will find Never Evers to be a fun book to add to the class reading projects. It is sometimes difficult to find easy books to engage young readers and teens in reading. Never Evers easily engages this group of readers with the typical teen dialogue that will have young readers laughing through the story.

*Read Never Evers in a group reading session through several weeks. Chapter books make reading together an engaging activity.

*Call attention to the fact that Mouse was kicked out of ballet school. Engage students in conversation about a time when they were rejected.

*Engage students in a conversation about their experience in attending a new school and encountering the "cool kids". Some cool girls are part of Mouse's experience and she must learn to navigate this part of attending a new school. Brainstorm with students ideas about what makes these kinds of new friendships difficult.

*Take a class poll of students who have a celebrity who they would like to meet.

*The character of Roland is the celebrity who is also a guest on the ski field trip. Assign a creative writing project for students to write their own story of how they would like to meet their favorite celebrity.

*Assign a creative writing project for students to write their own story of their first romance.

*How do Mouse and Jack relate to each other? Take a class poll of students who find it difficult to begin a friendship with the opposite sex.

*The title of the book offers an opportunity for another creative writing assignment. Brainstorm with students about things or events in their life that they consider to be something that would "never ever" happen and the event actually happened. Allow students to write their own story about a "never ever" in their own life.

*How does the ski trip offer the characters the opportunity to get to know each other? Brainstorm with students about ideas for meeting new kids and forming friendships through the teen years. Have students ever been in a social situation in which they did not know one person? How did they handle the situation?

*Divide the class into boy-girl groups and have then role-play some of the conversations that Mouse and Jack have with each other. This offers a good opportunity for social interaction in which students can get to know each other while playing the part of Mouse and Jack.