Blog Tour: All Our Worst Ideas

Hey friends! I have a fun post for you today, so keep on reading to learn more about All Our Worst Ideas and to hear my thoughts on the book.

About the Book:

Two teens who have nothing in common work together at a record store in All Our Worst Ideas, a powerful and voice-driven YA novel from Vicky Skinner.

When Amy, on her way to becoming valedictorian of her graduating class and getting accepted to her dream school, gets dumped by her long-term boyfriend, she takes a job at a record store to ease the pain. She needs a distraction, badly.

Oliver, Amy’s record store co-worker, isn’t so sure about Amy—his complete opposite—but what he is sure of is his decision not to go to college. He just can’t figure out how to tell his mother.

As they work late-night shifts at the record store, Amy and Oliver become friends and then confidantes and then something more, but when Amy has a hard time letting go of what she thought was her perfect future with her ex, she risks losing the future she didn’t even know she wanted with Oliver.

About the Author:

Vicky Skinner was born and raised in Texas, where she started writing novels about kissing cute boys when she was fifteen and eventually earned a BA in Literary Studies from The University of Texas at Dallas. She’s a full-time writer, a part-time runner, and she currently lives in Dallas with her husband.

Review:

All Our Worst Ideas was such a cute and unexpected read! I don’t really know what I expected going into this book, but I was super pleasantly surprised.

Things I liked:

• The writing was amazing for a debut novel! It flowed so nicely, and I found myself rereading parts because of how much I liked the way it was written. Any future book by Vicky will be an automatic read for me. The humor was also very much my kind of humor. I loved all the dry wit and sarcasm, so I hope her future books will have the same kind of humor.
• I’m a sucker for any coming of age movie or book, and this plot didn’t disappoint. It navigates the landscape of first love with all its confusing and whirlwind moments coupled with the struggle of finding true independence. Both Amy and Oliver make realistic mistakes and big decisions as they come of age. Through their journey they learn the importance of listening to their own music and finding their own song. What more could I ask for?
• I also absolutely loved the record store setting. Music was such a big part of this story and I adored all the pop culture references. As they work together in the store, they learn they don’t have much in common except their love of music. As they war over who has the best taste, they also find that they can talk to each other about serious things they don’t usually share with others – Oliver’s dad’s battle with alcoholism, Amy’s feelings of not being supported by her family and why she wants so badly to succeed at school. There were so many layers to their characters, and the backdrop if music made me feel all sorts of emotions.

My only complaint was that some parts felt a little to over the top and dramatic. Amy was too harsh to the people who surrounded her, especially her mom, and that grated on my nerves a tad bit. I cringed slightly, but it was only a couple moments, so I didn’t mind it that much.