The pacing of this book is perfect for its age recommendation. The storyline moves at a fast pace, and I think the audience will enjoy that there are many twists and turns along the way that keeps the reader engaged. I can’t wait to see how the characters develop even more in the coming books.

4/5 ⭐️
This was such an interesting read that I found myself unable to put down. It was reminding me a lot of Tuck Everlasting, but it also set up a lot of questions that I’m yearning to know. Hopefully it’ll be answered in book two.
This story was cute, I especially like Ronan and Ivy, but it also presented some interesting ideas and topics. I think this was a fun middle grade book that can be enjoyed at any age. It especially would be a great companion to Tuck Everlasting if any parent or teacher are hoping to share that classic with their kids.
Thank you to NetGalley & Random House Children's for providing an advance reader copy of this book for my honest review.

This was my first Stacy McAnulty and it won't be my last. My 11-year-old has been raving about This Miscalculations of Lightning Girl and when I saw this on my Netgalley shelf I had to read it immediately. It was a great start to a series and I am seriously sad that I have to wait for book two to come out. here is so much I want to know about the characters and their stories.

Kids who are forever twelve, a girl who has a connection to them but doesn't know why and a boy with psychic abilities. Sign me up!

Ivy wants to get into a high-achieving boarding school so she can reach the dreams she shared with her mother before she passed away. Things don't quite go as planned, however, Her new roommate, Abigail is one of the "Evers", children who have been 12 for decades, and some for centuries. Ronan, a boy from Ivy's school, comes to the boarding school, too, in hopes his family's psychic gift will skip him - it doesn't. Ivy decides to help Abigail find the missing Ever, Grace, bringing in mystery, red herrings, and blackmail. Though the premise is interesting, the characters fell flat. Ivy and Ronan were the most believable, but there was little connection to the Evers besides the histories they can share. The book is told in multiple perspectives and there is a little humor, mainly around Ronan. The book leaves with a solid second book premise. The worldbuilding was lackluster and scenes didn't always play out in a way that felt like a solid end to a chapter or scene. Fans of oddball stories. Wasn't for me.

ARC received from author and NetGalley.

Ivy Stewart your average overachiever has a dream to attend West Archer Academy where she can graduate high school in as little as two years.

Ronan Haywood also has a dream to escape the torment of being bullied for his mother's unique (and unfortunately inherited) ability to predict the future for her clients in the office she built in their family home. The thought of going away to West Archer where nobody knows his name or family is appealing, but what happens if he also inherits the gift to see the future?

Abigail is an Ever who wants to find her friend Grace who mysteriously disappeared years earlier. When she meets Ivy who looks very much like Grace with the same light curls and freckles, Abigail knows in her heart that this potential new student is the key to finding the lost Grace.

Then there are the remaining Evers; Dom, Este and Tim who spend their evenings on rooftops discussing the past and present.

This review is really hard to write because I don't want to give out and spoilers, so let me tell you what I loved about this book. I love that the teens is this book have your typical teen relationships - sneaking out of the dorms for rooftop conversations, secrets, dreams fears - even for the teens that have been teens slightly longer than the rest :). I loved the 80s references. Who knew that even Este would understand the significance of Donkey Kong in video game history? I love the looks back into the past into historical events. I loved that at the end of the book there are several twists and turns until you discover the truth about what happened to Grace. Small spoiler - there is going to be a book two.

Middle school students are going to love this story. Highly recommend for the kids who like a good fantasy/mystery.

Would you want to live forever? This is one of the big questions behind the plot of Stacy McNulty's new series, The Evers. I absolutely loved the first book, FOREVER TWELVE, and could not put it down. In FOREVER TWELVE, we meet Ivy. Ivy's number one goal is to get through high school as fast as possible to become a Supreme Court justice. With that goal in mind, Ivy sets her sights on West Archer Academy, an exclusive boarding school. After being accepted to this school, she meets her roommate, Abigail, who believes Ivy is her long lost friend. Although Ivy does her best to avoid her new roommate and her crazy stories, she reluctantly meet's Abigail's friends and learns of their story. They are each hundreds of years old. The regenerate every night, never aging and never staying injured. Ivy looks like Abigail's best friend, Grace, who disappeared 80 years ago. Will Ivy help Abigail and her friends find Grace? Will the Evers' cover be blown? Will Ivy succeed in her classes at West Archer? Find out the answers to these questions and so much more in FOREVER TWELVE! I can't wait to share this book with my students. Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced digital copy.

Basic plot: The Evers are kids that can live forever, buy they stay the age they were when they were given regenerative properties; therefore, they must move around every few years so people don't notice they aren't growing up. In our story, this group of kids goes to a private boarding school every decade or so.
Ivy, who looks a like a missing friend of the Evers, and Rowan a boy with developing psychic powers are our main characters.
I really like the premise for this book; however, it moved along very slowly and was more character-driven than a plot filled with action. The cover, which I really like, makes it seem like there will be a lot of action and there just wasn't. Will pass on this one since my students want more action in their stories.
I think this could also use some editing to trim this up a bit.

This is a great MG Sci-Fi fantasy series opener that follows a group of immortal kids called The Evers. I thought that this book had a very intriguing premise of mysterious kids at a boarding school trying to uncover the secrets that surround their lives. I found myself wondering if the author was inspired by Never Let Me Go as I was reading this. I was really impressed with how well this concept was executed. The characters have clear arcs and are well developed with distinct personalities. Overall, this book has amazing cinematic potential and will do well across MG and younger YA audiences.

What if you could live forever? A group of kids hiding in plain sight called the Evers live a secret life without hope of ever living a normal life again, until they discover Ivy, a girl who looks eerily similar to a member of the Evers who disappeared years ago. Could Ivy hold the key to their best friend’s disappearance and help lift the spell? Author Stacy McAnulty sprinkles magic on this tale of boarding school kids who try to unlock the secret of their past and change the future of the Evers. An innovative story that grabs hold of readers and keeps them guessing. This intro to The Ever series will be the IT book of the season!

Thank you Random House Children’s & NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinion was not affected by the free copy.

I think I'm going to have to slate this as "it's not you, it's me". I am way beyond the target demographic but I often enjoy middle grade books. But for whatever reason, I just can't get into this one. Maybe it's the fact that Abigail almost instantly blurts out her secret with no prompting; maybe it's the fact that Ivy seemingly looks like a missing girl from their friend group. Maybe this particular author's writing style isn't my cup of tea.

I'm only about 20% or so into the book so there's every chance it improves, but it's not really holding my interest.

Terrific series opener!

Basic plot: The Evers are kids who have been granted regenerative properties that basically equals eternal life, but at a cost. They do not ever grow older and must constantly be searching for ways to support themselves, places to live and the when they make friends, they know that they will have to step out of their lives fairly quickly or risk someone noticing that they do not age, do not require food, only need a few hours sleep and have phenomenal memories and great strength (not the super hero kind, though). A group of Evers gather at a private school every decade for a year or two at their safe place. This year is different, though, because Grace disappeared during the last stint at West Archer and Abigail is certain that first year Ivy may be that missing friend or at least be a connection to her.

Literary merit: Creative premise that is well executed, keeps the reader on their toes and shows just how much plot planning must be done by authors. Clearly fantasy, yet author Stacy McAnulty’s characters are so well-developed and seem like such regular middle school kids with the usual doubts and dramas that the story almost seems believable. Main characters have distinctly different personalities, providing ample material for character studies should this book be done in a literature circle or novel study. Plenty of choices to be made by main characters and many ways those choices could impact individuals to large groups of people which means great discussion possible.

Book 1 publishes 10/3/23 and book 2 will arrive sometime in 2024 and both should be on library shelves for grades 5-8. Text is free of profanity, sexual content and violence making it appropriate for strong readers in earlier grades.

Stacy McAnulty writes in ways that are engaging and which center youth in adventurous and creative ways. A journey well worth taking for readers, both young and old. I would gladly add this book to my classroom library.

My students really enjoy THE MISCALCULATIONS OF LIGHTNING GIRL, so there will be a ready-made audience for this title. However, this book is completely different. This action-packed book will be perfect for lovers of fantasy and kids who like to ask "what if."

What a fun read! Middle school girls will LOVE this book! It's witty, fast-paced, and surprising. Stacy McAnulty adds another winning title that's easily accessible and clean for middle grade readers. With references to many important figures in history, the story lends itself to creative research projects and discussion. The best, of course, is the main character's idol: RBG! I'm excited to include this on my classroom shelf!

This was a unique take on immortality and the ramifications that come with it.

Each chapter was written in a different characters voice which made it easier to understand where each one was coming from, especially the not so lovable characters. I enjoyed how the author connected the main protagonist to the immortal characters. She also did a great job on issues like Dementia, familial loss, friendship and it's issues, and moral challenges faced by the characters.

I really enjoyed this book and honestly, did not expect it to end the way it did! I should have seen the ending coming!

I look forward to reading more about these characters and their journey together!

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Ivy has one goal: to get through high schools as quickly as possible so she can go to a good college and become a supreme court justice like Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Ginsberg was motivational to Ivy's mother, who has recently passed away. Feeling that her own school won't help her reach this goal, Ivy takes the entrance exam for West Archer Academy, an exclusive boarding school her great grandmother Gigi attended. The exam is a bit odd; the answers are circled, but Ivy ignores them and puts in her own answers. Not only that, but she's approached by a girl named Abigale who thinks that Ivy looks familiar. Ivy gets in, and is excited even though it means being away from home. Her roommate is none other than Abigail, who shares astonishing news with her. We also meet new student Ronan, from Ivy's hometown, who has a secret. Like his mother, who works as a pyschic adviser, Ronan can see people's futures just by touching them. He was hoping to avoid this fate, but a few days after his 13th birthday, his skills made themselves known. Abigail quickly confides in Ivy the fact that she and several other students, including Tim, Dom, and Este, are hundreds of years old. They regenerate every night, so never age, and are never injured for long, although they can be killed. Ivy looks like Abigail's best friend, Grace, who decided 79 years ago to stop being immortal, and disappeared. Abigail hopes that Ivy can help her locate her friend. Being an "Ever" has a lot of problems. but West Archer Academy, and especially the librarian, Ms. Strange (who dresses "the way someone dressing like a librarian for Halloween would dress", a similar comment which has been made by my own students about my clothing!), who has kept their secret and helps them out by making sure they are readmitted every few years. Ivy's research is successful in locating Grace, but there are a lot of problems that go along with this identification. Este, who is responsible for the eternal tweendom of several of the Evers, doesn't want this information known, especially since Grace managed to short circuit her immortality and has aged considerably. When Ronan accidentally touches Ivy, he is alarmed to see great harm come to her, and tries to circumvent it. He can't, and circumstances occur that give more pressing reasons for both Abigail and Ivy to learn more about the Evers. Is it still safe for them to remain at West Archer Academy for book two in this projected duology?
Strengths: This had some great twists and turns within the well developed framework of the Evers mythos that were quite intriguing. Middle school students would completely believe that one of their classmates was immortal, or had psychic powers. While I wondered about the wisdom of having both the Evers and Ronan's psychic abilities in one book, the story eventually made it clear that they were intertwined. There's a good balance of friend drama, history, boarding school details, and deeper feelings of Something Evil that worked really well. There's definitely room for another story, but it's a relief to know that it's just one more book and not eight! The thing that I liked best was that the Evers had a solid feel for the pluses and minuses of immortality, but didn't all agree on one position. This sets it apart from books like Twilight or other vampire tales where the nuances of living for hundreds of years isn't really addressed. One detail that was somehow especially bittersweet was the fact that Abigail has two broken fingernails that never grow back, since the tweens always return overnight to exactly the way they were when they died. Luckily, none of them had a particularly noteworthy zit!
Weaknesses: I've been at my school for 25 years, and if the same students reappeared every ten years, there are several of us who would notice! It seemed like the Evers would have managed to retain some sort of adult manager over the years who could help, sort of like The Mennyms did in Sylvia Waugh's wonderful tales. Granted, this is more of an adult concern.
What I really think: Did you love Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting? Did you think long and hard about what your choice would be? Then you need this book! I can't think of another book that handles immortality in quite the same way, althought Saunders' The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop skirts around it. Definitely purchasing.

Ivy wants to go to West Archer Academy, so she can graduate early and go on to be a judge. Ronan goes on a whim and ends up getting accepted. He comes from a family of psychic, which he inherits & can tell when a person has danger in the future. Abigail is Ivy roommate and tell her that she is actually old, but will be forever 12. This book has lots of twists and turns. I love how each chapter is a different character and their story and/or perspective.

I love Stacy McAnulty books and this one does not disappoint! The only thing I don't like is I have to wait a bit for the next book in the series. I can't wait to share this one with others!!

Oh, wow. What a book! I want to read the next k e right now, instead it feels like I have to wait forever! I can’t wait to share this one with my students!

A very interesting concept and well-fleshed out characters make this a refreshingly new middle school read. Can’t wait for book 2!

Stacy McAnulty is one of my favorite authors. This story is action packed. Told in alternating perspectives and so fun. Great topics for discussion. Would you want to live forever??