Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson

 Rating: 1/5 stars

CW: Heavy language, abuse, child rape, manslaughter, drug use, body shaming, disordered eating.

Y'all. This book is trash. In fact, I just switched it from 2 stars to 1 star because I really cannot think of anything redeeming about this book.

Summary:

Amy Whey is your typical suburban mom, married with two kids, a stepdaughter and a baby boy. While hosting a run-of-the-mill book club with her best friend, a new neighbor who goes by Roux stops by and turns Amy's life upside down, claiming to know about misdeeds from her past that even Amy has tried to forget. Confronted with the possibility of her whole world falling apart, Amy starts playing the game, only to discover she's more devious than she thought.

Spoiler Review:

First of all, if you're looking for a really good thriller/horror novel with ACTUAL stakes, please, please, please go read "The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires" by Grady Hendrix. I cannot say enough good about it. But sadly, we are not here to discuss that book today.

I love a good thriller. They are usually quite descriptive, but this whole book felt like a parody of a thriller. It's really over the top language with such low stakes. I mean, only $250,000 in ransom? When she LITERALLY had that readily available? Also, at most, her crime was manslaughter, and though terrible, they were minors. She could easily use her friendship and influence to lie about the whole thing, as her name would've been kept out of the original reports and we are repeatedly told she is now unrecognizable.

Also, there is an UNHEALTHY amount of discussion about bodies, food, and weight, in addition to body shaming. And many of the things deemed "healthy" within the narrative are classic signs of disordered eating. I believe authors have a responsibility to address harmful messaging, not to promote it.

The one redeeming quality is the scuba diving. It is described beautifully, and the author clearly did some serious research for accuracy.

Discussion Questions:

1. Thrillers are generally intense. Do you feel the writing in this book was engaging or distracting?

2. There are many times the author purposefully omits details to leave the truth vague (e.g., who was driving, what happened to Lolly). Which truths did you guess correctly? WHich was the biggest reveal?

3. The novel is full of body shaming. What responsibility do fiction writers have to help dismantle harmful messaging?

4. I'd call this novel sensational. What draws us to books without depth?

5. Do you think Amy ever told her husband the truth about her past?