A Better Bad Idea

by Laurie Devore

Overview

Laurie Devore's YA novel A Better Bad Idea is a searing look at a forgotten girl who has no good choices left, but one better bad idea . . .

Evelyn Peters is desperate. Desperate for a way out of McNair Falls, the dying southern town that’s held her captive since the day she was born. Desperate to protect her little sister from her mother’s terrifying and abusive boyfriend. And desperate to connect with anyone, even fallen golden boy Ashton Harper, longtime boyfriend of the girl Evelyn can never stop thinking about — beautiful, volatile, tragically dead Reid Brewer.

Until a single night sends Evelyn and Ashton on a collision course that starts something neither of them can stop. With one struck match, their whole world goes up in flames. The only thing left to do is run—but leaving McNair Falls isn’t as easy as just putting distance between here and there and some secrets refuse to stay left behind.

A reckoning is coming . . . and not everyone is getting out alive.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250225955
Publisher:	Imprint
Publication date:	03/16/2021
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 5.60(h) x 1.20(d)
Lexile:	HL660L (what's this?)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Laurie Devore was born and raised in small town South Carolina and graduated from Clemson University. She now lives and works in Chicago, where she misses the charms and contradictions of the south every day. In her spare time, she reluctantly runs marathons, watches too much TV, and works a "y’all" into every conversation. She is the author of How to Break a Boy.

Editorial Reviews

"Devore returns with a suspenseful page-turner, told through the alternating perspectives of Evelyn and Reid, which lets readers see how each girl is desperate for love and safety while trying to find their way through life despite harsh circumstances...A heartbreaking read featuring a resilient protagonist." —Booklist

“The stakes are violently high, and these “unlikable” protagonists are extraordinarily likable. I admired the grit and guts of these girls as much as I admired Devore’s bold storytelling.” —Stephanie Perkins, New York Times-bestselling author of There’s Someone Inside Your House

"A whip-smart, propulsive gut-punch of a novel, with writing as captivating as the two girls at its center. Reading this book is definitely a good idea." —Kara Thomas, author of The Cheerleaders

"A Better Bad Idea is an anthem sung by angry girls trapped in small towns. Their song is an accounting of narrow minds and brutal fists and harms inflicted and violence to come, swelling to a crescendo that demands more than a tired recital of right and wrong. Devore invites us, unflinching, into the gray." —Kit Frick, author of I Killed Zoe Spanos

From the Publisher

2021-01-12
A desperate teen goes on the lam after an extreme act of revenge.

McNair Falls, South Carolina, is a dying town, and 17-year-old Evelyn can’t wait to put it behind her. She lives in a single-wide trailer with her mother; her 6-year-old sister, Kara; and her mother’s physically abusive boyfriend, Dane. When Dane turns his rage on Kara, Evelyn takes matters into her own hands, and through a twist of fate, privileged golden boy Ashton helps carry out her impulsive plan. In the aftermath, the only thing they can do is run. Hanging over them is the memory of Ashton’s late girlfriend, Reid. The two had a volatile, intense romance, and Reid was everything Evelyn wished she could be. But flashbacks showing Reid’s account of the days leading up to her death a year earlier detail her struggle to reconcile her true self with external expectations. Evelyn’s present-day narration in alternating chapters reveals an insecure young woman who must find the strength to take control of her future. While there are fitful sparks between Ashton and Evelyn, they can only run so far. Devore’s exploration of the insidiousness of domestic violence and Evelyn’s transformation to in-control survivor both read true. The finale is poignant, if a bit pat, but readers won’t mind because the journey is so very satisfying. All major characters are White; Evelyn, Reid, and Ashton are queer.

A propulsive and angst-y page-turner. (author’s note, resources) (Fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews