Synopsis
Laurie Devore’s new YA novel 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.
Title: A Better Bad Idea
Author: Laurie Devore
Publication Date: March 16, 2021
Publisher: Imprint
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Thriller, Mystery
Author Interview
- How did you get the idea for A Better Bad Idea?
Country music! There is a running theme in country music of getting revenge on bad men and also murdering them. Miranda Lambert songs were the most central, but I also do not discount Martina McBryde’s “Independence Day” or The Chick’s “Goodbye, Earl.” Carrie Underwood also has an affinity for musically killing men; and let’s not forget that Taylor Swift got in on the fun this year with “No Body, No Crime.”
- What do you most want your readers to learn or get out of your book?
I will say I hope no one ever goes into my books feeling like they need to learn something. For the most part, I’m focused on creating an engaging and propulsive novel, but the book does explore the affects of poverty and abuse and I think will speak to some readers.
- Who is your favorite character in A Better Bad Idea?
Reid! Reid often says the nastiest things that you are never meant to say aloud and even though I do not condone that behavior in real life and think it is telling of some of Reid’s problems, it can be fun to write.
- Can you tell us anything about your next project? What should we expect?
A: What I hope will be my next book (no guarantees yet) also straddles the thriller line. It’s about a girl at a boarding school who is involved in a criminal conspiracy that is threatened when a murder occurs on campus. My hope is to make it less of a who-dunnit than a why-dunnit.
- If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
Just to keep writing, keep evolving, and keep thinking bigger.
About the Author
Laurie Devore was born and raised in small town South Carolina and graduated from Clemson University. After four years in the balmy Midwest, she returned to her home in the south, where she now lives and works in Charleston. 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 Winner Take All and How to Break a Boy.
Giveaway
Up for grabs, we have ONE (1) physical copy of A Better Bad Idea by Laurie Devore. This giveaway will run from March 15th to March 22nd at 12:00 AM CST and is open to US residents only.
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