Never Ever Series, Book 1

May 23, 2016
On her 17th birthday, Wylie Dalton sneaks out of her Upper East Side apartment to attend a party with her younger brothers, Joshua and Micah. Disillusioned about her parents' marriage, Wylie prefers to avoid thinking about themâor about Joshua's imminent sentencing for a hit-and-run accident she caused. So when she meets the "irrefutably beautiful" Phinn at the party, and he teaches the siblings to fly, she's inclined to forgive him for sailing them all to a magical island while the Daltons were asleep. They can stay forever on Minor Island, where none of the residents age past 17, but at what cost? Despite a nifty twist toward the cliffhanger ending, this Peter Pan update leaves much to be desired, from the regressive romantic relationship between acquiescent Wylie and chauvinist Phinn to the slow pace. Saedi brings an impressive background in TV writing to her first novel, but the plot winds up an awkward mishmash of wish-fulfillment fantasy and angsty drama. Ages 12âup. Agent: Jess Regel, Foundry Literary + Media.

April 1, 2016
A modern-day Peter Pan plucks a girl and her brothers from the Upper East Side.Wylie Dalton lives a busy and complicated life. Observing the chaos of her parents' marriage, she has no desire to fall in love and does not dream of fairy-tale endings. On her 17th birthday, which is also the night before her brother is to be sent off to juvie, olive-skinned Wylie meets white redhead Phinn, a real-life Peter Pan. To say she is swept off her feet is to put it lightly. Phinn sails off with Wylie and her brothers to Minor Island, off the coast of their native New York, where no one ages beyond 17, thereby giving Wylie her true desires: to be free from her everyday responsibilities and to keep her brother from jail. But as she spends time in this magical place, which seems like heaven, with this boy she begins to fall for, she soon realizes that this newfound freedom comes with hidden terms and conditions--ones she may not be in agreement with. In her debut, Saedi too often tells rather than shows, and the story suffers as a result, especially in the inconsistency and quick deterioration of the relationships among the siblings. Pedestrian writing sucks the magic out of scenes that should be thrilling and makes unfilled plot holes and authorial manipulation glaringly apparent. In the end, a disjointed and unrealistic effort--and not because it takes place in a world where no one ages past 17. (Fantasy. 14-18)

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May 1, 2016

Gr 9 Up-This debut novel takes readers on an edgy thrill ride to an island where no one over age 17 resides or survives. Teenage resentment of parental control is challenged and turned upside down when impulsive choices threaten to yield permanent consequences. The Dalton siblings, Wylie, Joshua, and Micah, are privileged, bored Manhattan teenagers. They each have their own hang-ups regarding their parents' pending divorce and other family turmoil, but for one night they come together at a rooftop party that changes everything. Wylie meets Phinn, a real-life Peter Pan who promises her and her brothers a life of freedom and eternal youth if they just agree to come away with him. What starts as a carefree life of parties and fun becomes a face-to-face confrontation with manipulation, betrayal, and a sickening secret from the past. Teens will willingly ride along on this unlikely fantasy if only to vicariously experience a world without parents. The pastimes the Daltons dabble in (sex, drinking, and recreational drug use) are not without consequence but are handled without heavy-handed moralizing. Saedi has written scripts for television, which contributes to this book's effortless movement from scene to scene. Her teen characters are believably contemporary despite being based upon a 100-year-old classic tale.

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2016
Grades 8-11 If I told you I could take you someplace that would fix all your problems . . . would you want to go? Wylie Dalton is reeling from the events that follow this life-altering question posed by Phinn Moonlight, who sweeps her and her brothers to an island dubbed Minor Island, which is appropriate, for on it, no one ever ages. It's there where Wylie falls in love for the first time but is consequently warned about Phinn by her frenemy, Tinka, to Be careful. He has the power to destroy you. Wylie soon realizes she's a far cry from readers' established notions of the archetypal Neverland. She's surrounded by secrets and betrayals other people have died trying to uncover. Phinn's rules for the islanders become more suffocating by the minute, and when Wylie heads to the forbidden side to find some answers, she puts two people she loves in grave danger. Even with the frequent foreshadowing and parallel story line, a shocking twist awaits the reader, giving this just enough to separate it from other Peter Pan offshoots.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)