Never Thirteen (The Evers)

Never Thirteen (The Evers)

What if you were twelve for all of eternity? From the award-winning author of The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl comes a magical mystery about a group of kids called the Evers who have been alive for hundreds of years. Ivy Stewart thought West Archer Academy was the first step to everything she’d always wanted. The key to her entire future. But now…she might not even have a future. It’s the start of a new semester, and Ivy’s very old friends and her very new immortality are at odds. The Evers, kids who are hundreds of years old and never age, are determined to save Ivy from suffering that same miserable fate…even if it means she won’t remember them. But what’s worse? Forgetting her family, her friends, her life or never turning thirteen? Ronan is done running from his psychic powers. He knows he can help Ivy—once he figures out how—but he can’t shake the bad feeling he has around the rest of the Evers. Can he trust them? Can the Evers trust Ronan? Or are they all doomed to fight this centuries-old battle forever… and ever? Stacy McAnulty is the author of many books for young readers, including The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl, The World Ends in April , Millionaires for the Month, and Save the People!: Halting Human Extinction, among many, many others! A former mechanical engineer, Stacy writes about math and science with authority. 1 Ivy DECEMBER Over the past seven weeks, Ivy Stewart had slept a total of twelve hours, but she was never tired. She missed sleep and the opportunity to not think, to not dwell, to not worry. Instead, Ivy got fifteen minutes of shut-eye each night and spent the rest of her time trying to devise solutions to an impossible problem. So far, nothing. There were definite advantages to her problem--the problem of being an Ever. Ivy didn’t get sick. If she got hurt, the next morning (after fifteen minutes of regenerative sleep) she would be fine. Not just fine. She would be the same as the day before. She was also stronger and faster than ever and no longer needed glasses. As an Ever, Ivy had a near-perfect memory, which made homework and studying easy. She’d aced all her homeschool classes. Still, the downsides were hard to ignore. Ivy would never change. She’d forever appear to be twelve. While her family and non-Ever friends would grow up and eventually die, Ivy would remain on this Earth. Forever. Her best friend, Abigail, had offered Ivy a solution, but it came with an unacceptable consequence. If Abigail turned Ivy back into a mortal, Ivy would lose all her memories. That was not something she was willing to do. Ivy’s mom had died four years ago and now existed only in photos, videos, and, most importantly, memories. Ivy looked at her phone. It was after seven, and she deemed it safe to crawl out of bed. Her father wouldn’t be too suspicious. If Ivy were mortal, she’d probably be asleep for two or three more hours. Downstairs, her dad sat in the kitchen with his laptop and coffee. Immediately, she felt something was wrong, even before her brain could logically put it together. She stood in the doorway, trying to figure it out. “Good morning. You’re up early.” Her dad greeted her with a smile, but it slowly transformed into a look of concern. “What’s wrong?” “Where’s Biscuit?” Ivy didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, she ran to the family room. Biscuit was elderly by dog standards, maybe seventeen or eighteen. The twenty-pound mutt was a rescue, so Ivy and her dad didn’t know his exact age. He used to sleep on Ivy’s bed, but in the last few weeks, he’d preferred staying downstairs in the living room. He didn’t seem to have the energy to go far. Biscuit lay motionless on his dog bed, looking peaceful between the Christmas tree and the fireplace. Ivy knew he was gone because Biscuit always raised his head and wagged his tail when she walked into a room. “Biscuit?” she whispered. He did not move. Ivy sank to her knees in front of the lifeless dog. He’d always been part of her life. There were pictures of Ivy and Biscuit in a plastic kiddie pool, sharing ice cream, and on walks with Ivy in a stroller, Biscuit on a leash. Her mom was in some of those pictures too. Now both her mom and Biscuit had left her. Ivy’s hand shook as she placed it on Biscuit’s back. He felt the same--not cold, not gone. Please don’t die, she wished. Then, suddenly, her chest filled with an icy feeling, like she’d inhaled a breath of arctic air. She knew what was happening and only had a moment to consider her choice. Ivy loved Biscuit and was not ready to say goodbye. Stay, stay, stay. The decision was made. She leaned forward and released the icy air across Biscuit’s snout. She didn’t know how to do this, not exactly, but the action felt right. It had to work. “Oh, Ivy.” Her dad approached from behind. She didn’t know how long he’d been there. He knelt next to her and ran a hand over the motionless dog. “You were the best boy.” Ivy didn’t