Book Review: All Our Worst Ideas by Vicky Skinner

The Details

Media Type: Ebook
Title: All Our Worst Ideas
Author: Vicky Skinner
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Pages/Length: Hardcover; 320 pages
Release Date: August 11, 2020
Source: Xpresso Book Tours

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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.

The Review

It’s always nice when I jump back into reading and start with a great book. It feels like a nice reward to get lost in a story. This one in particular is full of those end of senior year stresses and motivations, with added hardships. The character growth and music recommendations were my favorite parts.

Amy is an overachieving high school senior that learns that some things in life aren’t worth sacrificing. Valedictorian is the only thing that Amy has time for during her last semester of high school. When her competition for the prestigious title ties her for the honor, Amy spirals into an anxious mess. Her only dream of getting into Harvard with a full scholarship relies on being Valedictorian. When she is asked to get a job to help her family through a financial hardship, Amy tries to juggle all of it, inevitably dropping the ball on several things. The first casualty is her boyfriend, who feels neglected by Amy when all her free time is spent studying.

As things spiral, Amy struggles to cope. The only reprieve seems to be this new job at the record store. Music has been a source of comfort for her so she naturally finds solace in her new job. Enter Oliver, the quiet, brooding type. He is tasked with training the new girl (Amy) and finds himself intrigued with this overachiever.

Oliver is a deep character. His home life is complicated and he’s hiding a pretty big secret from his mom: he doesn’t want to go to college. This is an especially sensitive topic in their family because his father is an alcoholic who did not go to college. Oliver finds the idea of running a record store more appealing than any college class and prefers the school of learning on the job. I really enjoyed his character growth in this story. Finding your way at age 19 is hard, disappointing your parents is even harder. The relationship between Oliver and his dad is a hard, honest view of what addiction can do to a child psychologically. As we learn more about his life and his parents it evokes a deep sense of sympathy for Oliver.

Amy is so focused on school, work. and getting her ex back that she ignores the budding friendship that is forming with her coworker Oliver. When he helps her with the homework she’s doing on her breaks, she starts to warm up to him. Their mutual love of music sparks a competition of introducing new music to each other, which I absolutely adore as a way to connect with people. Being from the mixed cd generation, I think it’s a great way to get to know someone and a fun way to flirt over a “competition” that isn’t really one.

The supporting cast to our two leads provide some poignant revelations. Important life lessons, like how sometimes your perceived enemy is actually a friend who may understand you better than you do. Or how sometimes the person you thought you loved is actually just a selfish prick. There is a lot of love and support for our leads, and some tough love as well.

All in all this was a lovely story with great character depth and stellar music references. My only qualm with this is the ending. It felt a little too perfect for my tastes, but didn’t ruin it for me. I recommend this book to lovers of YA lit who enjoy music and may have been overachievers themselves (like me).