• Age: 12 to 18
• Grade: 7 to 11

Clarinet Reid is a pretty typical teenager. On the surface. She�s smart, but a bit of a slacker; outgoing, but just a little insecure; not exactly a mischief-maker � but trouble tends to find her wherever she goes. Also? She unwittingly carries a centuries-old Druid Blood Curse running through her veins.

Now, with a single thoughtless act, what started off as the Summer Vacation in Dullsville suddenly spirals into a deadly race to find a stolen artifact, avert an explosive catastrophe, save a Celtic warrior princess, right a dreadful wrong that happened centuries before Clare was even born, and if there�s still time� literally�maybe even get a date.

This is the kind of adventure that happens to a girl once every � never.

 

 

Lesley Livingston est une auteure lauréate de romans pour ados, dont la trilogie Wondrous Strange et la série Valiant. Elle a également coécrit, avec Jonathan Llyr, la série pour jeunes The Wiggins Weird. Avant de devenir auteure, Lesley a été actrice principale dans une troupe de théâtre shakespearien. Son superpouvoir consiste à manipuler les flux temporels sans le vouloir de façon à arriver systématiquement treize minutes APRÈS l’heure prévue, peu importe la destination.

 

Lesley Livingstonis an award-winning author of teen fiction, including the Wondrous Strange trilogy, which won the 2010 CLA Young Adult Book of the Year Award, and was named one of the "100 young adult books that make you proud to be Canadian" by CBC Books. Her newest series, Valiant, is being developed for television.

 

Lesley Livingston's profile page

"Once Every Never is a refreshing, spirited read where humor abounds alongside unparalleled world-building and my favorite - hot guys. I laughed and bit my fingernails with Clarinet a.k.a. Clare as she navigated an unknown world of blood, mystery, and magic." - Aprilynne Pike, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Wings and Spells

Once Every Never (Once Every Never Trilogy, Book One)

Resigned to spending the summer with her archaeologist aunt in London, Clare Reid is relieved to at least have her best friend, Al, along for the ride. While Clare loves Aunt Maggie, she finds it hard to get excited about the prospect of countless trips to the British Museum.

Summer in London does become more attractive, however, when Al’s utterly gorgeous cousin Milo arrives on the scene. It also becomes infinitely more complicated when their first trip to the British Museum results in Clare’s making an unscheduled trip back in time. As Clare realizes that she has seemingly developed an ability to travel to the time of the Roman conquest of Britain, she turns to Al and Milo for help: why is it only she who is able to do this? And more importantly, how can she help the people from so long ago without forever altering the course of history and life as we know it now?

From the first page, this book’s characters sparkle! Clare’s voice is so genuine that she manages to be both laugh-out-loud hilarious and utterly believable, even during her most unbelievable of exploits. Livingston masterfully captures the teen voice and experience as well as Clare’s relationships with Al and with her aunt. Her growing maturity and confidence as she becomes immersed in the plight of the Iceni tribe is convincing and heartwarming. Like Clare, readers will become fascinated with Boudicca, the Iceni Queen, and with the brave stand that she and her people take against the invading Romans. Clare’s tale, both past and present, is thoroughly engaging and will leave readers delightedly anticipating the next two volumes in the series.

Once Every Never

Clarinet Reid is a pretty typical teenager except for the centuriesold Druid Blood Curse she has coursing through her veins. Now, what started off as the Summer Vacation in Dullsville suddenly spirals into a deadly race to find a stolen artifact, avert a catastrophe, save a Celtic warrior princess, right a dreadful wrong and perhaps even get a date.

Time travel and romance!

by snowdropdreams

Okay I'm going to be honest and let you know that I have been secretly holding out on reading the Wondrous Stange Series until I could get all the books to read in one sitting (I am still missing Tempestuous). But when Penguin Canada wrote to me to see if I was interested in reading Once Every Never, I jumped at the chance. I'm so glad that I did, I loved this book so much and am now excited to go get that elusive last book in the Wondrous Strange Series so I can get started on what I've been missing out on.

I had no idea what to expect with this book, but it honestly blew me away. I fell in love with the characters right from the start. Clare reminded me somewhat of Buffy (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer Series), because she would say and do things that echoed Buffy in my mind. "I mean , I don't think I could, like, brush up against a Neolithic soup pot and get hit with the mojo. But certain things - important things - that's what seems to set off the shimmering." (It's probably how she uses big important words mixed in with things like "get hit with the mojo" that remind me of Buffy Summers.) She is actually smart, but doesn't give herself credit at all. This book follows Clare along a journey of becoming who she was meant to be - to realize her true self.

Then we have Al (Allie) who is the best sidekick/BFF ever, with super geekdom at her fingertips with her never-more-than-a-foot-away messenger bag and laptop. She loves researching things and is all about history and science. Love her! And then we have Milo (Al's cousin) who used to be super dweeb, but is now a smoking hot uber geek. Then we are left with the Druids - Connal (It should be illegal to possess a smile that devastating,Clare thought.) the muscular Druid warrior and Commora the kick ass Druid Princess.

The story is filled with time traveling trips back and froth between present day London and 2,000 years ago. I loved how Clare was able to travel to different moments in time depending on what item she touched and who she was thinking of at the time. And that her beacon to make it home safely was someone she held dear to her. It's the kind of thing happens to a girl Once Every Never. The entire book combines to include a little bit of everything for all readers: from time travel and history to romance and adventure.

What are you waiting for? You need to seriously go pick this book up and get reading.