Okay, I absolutely love novels-in-verse so I was really excited for this but the book turned out to be quite disappointing. The biggest issue I guess I had with the book was that even though I knew it was portraying a toxic relationship, there were parts where there was such heavy romanticization of said toxic abusive relationship that the point of it all seemed rather disjointed. The ending was all tied up nicely with a bow but the middle parts were too much for me. There's a fine line between portraying and romanticizing something and this book straddled that line in an unbalanced manner. I also couldn't connect with the characters which I mildly blame on the writing itself. Overall, disappointed and would not recommend!

I really enjoyed this, short but powerful.
Such an important message, and definitely a book I recommend to teenagers: shares a story of one girl who represents so many.
Appreciate it was written in verse: it's lyrical and beautiful.
Also, thoroughly enjoyed the creative methods of writing included in the format: kept me very entertained.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3305866095

McKay's novel focuses on promoting the idea that people must make mistakes in order to recognize and appreciate the people in their lives that matter most and offer reciprocal respect or loyalty. This is accomplished through a first-person narrative from Skylar Wise's perspective as she navigates her first relationship with a "bad boy" and is forced to reconcile new experiences with the expectations for her future placed upon her by other characters as well as herself.

While this message (i.e. learn from your mistakes) is important, it is one that has been conveyed by countless other narratives in a way that is less cliche and more elegantly presented than it is in this novel. For example, the author relies heavily on overused tropes, like the goody-goody girl falling for the mysterious bad boy, to create characters, which leads to a lack of depth to the novel as a whole. The author's writing also leaves something to be desired, especially given the inclusion of cringe-worthy lines like "I feel so felt." Ultimately, the tropes and lack of fleshed-out characters fails to elucidate the themes of Every Little Bad Idea in a memorable or original way.

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for this early copy,

I struggled with this one because it was in verse. I ended up not finishing it.

Tough to read, especially that it covers quite sensitive topics. Plus, I though it kind of romanticized the idea of bad/abusive relationships, and sorry, I've just had enough of that. Also not for those who don't enjoy novels written in verse or prose, because the writing leaves out a lot of important information that could have been helpful in understanding the plot.

I'm all for trying out new forms of poetry and prose, so this YA novel-in-verse was intriguing to me. However, it wasn't really in "verse," per se...it was more like sentence fragments and odd little paragraphs. There were some nice moments of description and language, though I hoped for more. While we get the gist of the story, it goes so quickly and with so little information that we don't get to build any relationship with the characters and therefore some of the "oomph" is lost. And finally, I couldn't shake the thought that I'd read a VERY similar story not that long ago (Kylie Scott's book Trust comes to mind).

The women in Skyler Wise's family have a weakness for bad boys, but not Skyler. She has one thing on her mind, leaving her run-down neighborhood and going to college. When Skyler's normally strict mom starts dating again, she feels abandoned. Skyler meets Cole, a boy who makes her question everything she thought she knew about herself and her future. Even though he has a dangerous reputation, Skyler believes she knows the real Cole, the sweet, caring boyfriend who makes her feel seen for once in her life. When Cole starts to change, Skyler realizes that she'll do anything to keep him around, even if it means giving up her dream and losing the people closest to her.

"Every Little Bad Idea" is my first read from author Caitie McKay. I found a few things a little difficult to get through. One was the writing style. This book is written in prose. Also, the romanticizing of abusive relationships. This is not ok and could be dangerous depending on the mindframe of the person reading it. Being as this is YA making me deem it a little inappropriate It was a very quick read. I could not connect with any of the characters.

I received this book from NetGalley and the Publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! Another slam dunk for West 44 Books ~~ I just so happened to read two of their poetry publications back to back and both were extremely relatable and so well written. Poetry is NOT usually my first choice, but maybe it should be from here on out! Thanks so much to them & to Netgalley for approving me to read this. ❤️🙏🏻

This is a story about a young girl named Skyler Wise who gets involved in a relationship with Cole Baker. Skyler does not heed her mother’s warning that “ the women in this family have a weakness for bad boys;” and her situation turns out to be no different. This connection quickly becomes controlling and both mentally and physically abusive.

I have been in a poor relationship myself and remember thinking similar things that Skyler did,
“ the funny thing about love is how it takes you over so completely that you lose yourself piece by piece,” and “ some threats come in unsuspecting packages.” Ohhhh so true. I even thought that the things he did were cute and loving, when really they were just another form of control, “ It’s like he’s doing a case study in me. He’s looking closer than anyone ever has.”

Then there are the lies that you tell yourself, “ me and [ insert name here] against the world. No one understands. No one knows the real him.” The sad part? Everyone sees the real him— it’s YOU that doesn’t, and in this case Skyler.

The making excuses becomes a regular thing inside your head, “ ...but that’s only SOME of the time” and “ I don’t feel myself when he’s not here to tell me who I am.” Believe me, I thought the same things and YOU can survive alone, you are a lot stronger than you know!

Lastly, the lies and the actions of Cole really hit home hard: Threatening that he couldn’t live without her , that she couldn’t have college AND him, couldn’t have male friends AND him, he doesn’t know how long he can wait for her, and saying she must not really love him.

The author, Caitie McKay hits the nail on the head when she states that “ I love you is a Band-Aid”...and that ,” There is no Band-Aid for friendship.” That really is the sad truth of relationships, but the benefit of having a really great support system in your friends and family that surround you because they will be the ones who help you pick up the pieces, when the one that you thought loved you the most simply walks away!

Captured so perfectly , and stabs you straight through the heart! 5 stars ⭐️

I had not heard much about this book, so I did not know what to expect. When I first began reading, I thought something was wrong with my ereader, so I went in to good reads and saw that it was meant to be in that format, it is written in a prose format. It was hard for me to wrap my head around the format for the entire book, even though it was short :) I read it easily in one sitting. For me, the book was too vague and I needed more details.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC so I can honestly review this.

This book written in verse had a really good message, no is no and don't change your dream for your man. The message was good but it annoyed me in the beginning how naive Skyler was.

It was good but not so special, I didn't have a real connection with this book

The women in Skyler Wise's family have a weakness for bad boys, but not Skyler. She has one thing on her mind, leaving her run-down neighborhood and going to college. When Skyler's normally strict mom starts dating again, she feels abandoned. Skyler meets Cole, a boy who makes her question everything she thought she knew about herself and her future.

Even though he has a dangerous reputation, Skyler believes she knows the real Cole, the sweet, caring boyfriend who makes her feel seen for once in her life. When Cole starts to change, Skyler realizes that she'll do anything to keep him around, even if it means giving up her dream and losing the people closest to her.- Goodreads 

What a gem! Seriously, this book is really was surprising. A quick read but memorable none the less.

Firstly, Skyler; a completely relate-able character. Unfortunately, parents or even a single parent can sometimes add so much pressure and expectations intentionally and unintentionally that when a child comes across something new things tend to get out of hand. Skyler understands that she is testing the boundaries but also understand that she is looking for something and Cole may or may not be it. She wants an experience and not only grow but wants to enjoy and make her own decisions. I liked her. Her voice throughout the book was honest because you have can hear the slight hesitation as well as strength in voice which mimics her actions. 

The book is verse, which makes for a quick read. The author doesn't use a lot of fluff to pretty up the words or story. I appreciate that. She builds a world that I can see right in front of me. And most importantly it is detailed without feeling like a run one.

Here is the thing about this book though.Because it is told in verse the Skyler doesn't actually grow. She makes a series of conscious decisions that work and do not work in her favor. Also I feel some type of way about how her best friend treats her. And finally the ending is as expected (because the author set up the book that it can literally go two ways).

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was quick, the verses flowed well, the characters were enjoyable and there was a nice lesson to learn. 

3 Pickles

Every Little Bad Idea is written in such a unique way-not in paragraphs but almost poetic lines. It is the story of a girl fighting her matriarchal tradition of getting pregnant in her teens. She falls for the bad boy, thinking he is not so bad after all. Instances prove that wrong but can she or will she be able to avoid her mother’s bad decisions and make her own good ones.

3.5/5
Let me say, before I started reading this I had no idea that it was written in prose. Prose outside of poetry collections is not my favorite writing style. That being said, this book painted quite the picture. Unfortunately, I am a reader that enjoys as many details as possible, so the quick, light storytelling didn’t really get me super hooked into the story. Every Little Bad Idea felt more like a short story than a book that spans an entire summer. Although I didn’t appreciate the writing style, I did enjoy the plot. A protected girl meets a bad boy, gets led astray, and must find her way back to her true self, no matter the consequences. I recommend this book for anyone that enjoys the prose style of writing, because it paints a decent plot for something with so few words.

*Thank you Net Galley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review*

I am always a lover of books written in prose. Personally, even if the plot line doesn't work for me, the beauty in the poetic format often does. This was one of those scenarios.

This is a story about a very toxic relationship and even though the ending finally gave the readers some closure, I think that this could've been done differently. First off, I think that the surrounding characters in this story could've been doing a whole lot more than they were. I'm not saying that someone's best friend is responsible for dragging their friend out of a bad relationship, because that pretty much never works and just ruins the relationship between the friends. But even Skyler's mom seems to be completely unaware of what the hell is going on, especially for someone who is supposed to nicknamed a "drill sergeant". The story showed too little of Cole's bad side until it was really too late, and I think that highlighting the good in him more than the bad is maybe just a tad too much romanticizing for a situation like this.

Besides that, the wording of this was absolutely beautiful! I loved the thought and creativity that McKay put into it. I wish the story had been tweaked a little more, but not a bad read overall.

A fairly successful book written in verse. It could have been a little more developed for my tastes, but certainly a quick read

I could not give feedback as I was given a copy that was unreadable. Wish a copy was offered in a different format as I was really looking forward to reading this.

I could not give feedback as I was given a copy that was unreadable where the text was all scrambled. Tried to remedy the issue by reaching out to NetGalley and the publisher. Received no response.

Skyler has always had a plan: keep away from boys until she's 18, go to college, be different than the rest of the women in her family. You see, women in her family have a weakness for bad boys, and Skylar doesn't want that to happen to her. But when Cole, with his charming smile and gorgeous blue eyes comes her way, Skyler is not that sure anymore. And that's how every little bad idea starts coming her way.

Every Little Bad Idea is a wonderful story written in verse. A small story that encapsulates teenage feelings, mother-and-daughter bonds, friendship, self-love and the right and wrong choices, as well as the impact they can have on our lives. I loved the form of the story, as well as its content. Kudos for a wonderful ending. Strongly recommended YA read.

Skyler has promised her mother for years that she would stay away from the bad boys because her family has a history of falling for men like that. She has plans to go to college and study to be a doctor, and she spends a great deal of time with her best friend Layla. One night she meets Cole, and slowly she finds herself falling for the bad boy and putting her dreams on hold. Soon she has to make a difficult decision between her relationship with Cole and what will ultimately be the best for her.
This was a quick read, but a very unique one because it's completely written in verse. The message of the book is so much more effective because it isn't written in a traditional manner, and I think Skyler's feelings are conveyed well in poetic form. I didn't agree personally with some of the views presented, but I think the overarching message is an important one for people to grasp: toxic relationships should be avoided and people should choose what is best for their own well-being, especially if the other person in the relationship is selfish and abusive. This is a great read for teens and is powerful in its message about relationships.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. A positive review was not required, and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

i was not able to review this book as it was unreadable. i expected the publisher to provide another review copy, but they did not