One Small Thing by Erin Watt

Pages: 384
Publish date: June 28, 2018
Publisher: HQ Young Adult
ISBN: 9781848457430
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – QBD

One Small Thing:

I received an arc copy of One Small Thing by Erin Watt from Harlequin Teen Australia in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book. 

I have been many ups and downs with Erin Watt books. There are some that I really enjoyed and some that I struggled to even read. But I thought I should give this one a go, and while I didn’t love it, I also didn’t hate it. There were aspects of One Small Thing that I thought was down really well and others, I really didn’t like.  I really enjoyed When It’s Real, but then didn’t love the Paper Princess series. 

One Small Thing follows protagonist Beth as she begins her senior year. She wanted to have the time of her life, she wanted to be herself. But things haven’t been the same since her sister died. So when Beth sneaks out one night for a party, she never expected to meet Chase. But Chase isn’t who he seems. He has his own secrets that will haunt him forever. Now there is secret romance brewing,  Beth must make a chose that would tear everything apart. 

It’s been a couple of days since I read One Small Thing, and I am still not sure how I feel about Beth. For the most part, I really enjoyed her. Beth had been through a lot. Her sister has died, her parents are interesting and she always felt like she was in the shadows.

Throughout the novel, Beth tries to stand up for herself not only to her parents but also her friendship group. And this doesn’t always go to plan. There were times throughout the novel that Beth was called selfish, and I don’t believe that she was. Sure she isn’t the best person ever, but I felt that the things she was doing, weren’t even that bad. In saying that I felt that Beth let other people thoughts on her get in the way of who she truly was. As the novel goes she does learn to fight these thoughts. But it took over a lot of the book as well. 

Chase, another protagonist that I am not too sure how I feel about. We don’t know too much about him when he is first introduced. And then when the reader does find out who he is, let’s just say it hard to like him. But as One Small Thing, the reader is able to see a different side of him and as the mystery goes on we start to feel more sympathy with him. Chase made a horrible mistake, one that he can never take back. And the reader really sees him struggling throughout the novel. There were times where Chase said and did things that I didn’t agree with making it harder to like him.

The romance in One Small Thing is very complicated and my favourite thing about the novel. Their first meeting isn’t planned and things move pretty quickly. Then they meet again and everything changes. Things are intense between Beth and Chase, once they realise who each other is and that makes everything more complicated. The reader is able to understand why Chase wants to stay away. He is not only dealing with his own demons, but also of those around him. But doesn’t want to let him go that easily and holds on to him the best that she can.

In saying that Beth also hides Chase from the ones that she loves, for good reasons I might add.  But that does put a strain between the two. The romance was fast paced at times, but I liked what Erin Watt did with the romance. It was slowed down by the focus on why they couldn’t be together. 

I wasn’t a massive fan of Beth’s parents throughout One Small Thing. At first, I understood why they did feel protective over her, but then some of the things that they did. One of the main reason why I didn’t like Beth’s parents were when they held her back. They weren’t going to let her attend the schools she wanted to, or have the jobs that she loved. They were holding her back from the things that grounded her, that she held onto. And instead gave her more reason to ‘rebel’ or dislike them. I also didn’t like we really didn’t get any conclusion on the relationship with Beth and her parents. There was a little hint in the last couple of chapters, but I felt that it was brushed over, especially with how rocky their relationship was during One Small Thing. 

The notion of friends is also a big part of One Small Thing by Erin Watt. And Beth has crap friends. I basically didn’t like any of them and thought that they only cared about themselves and no one else. There was a lot of bullying involved in One Small Thing that really rubbed me the wrong way and frustrated me to no end. There were a few incidents throughout the book that made me love not being back in High School, teenages can just be horrible. 

One Small Thing is very fast paced and things move very quickly not only between characters, but also the timeline. In saying that it was hard to keep up and work out where they were in the year at times. I always wanted to know what was going to happen next. And the intensity of the novel was high at times because of the fast-paced storyline. However, I did guess a lot of plot points that do happen, but that doesn’t make the story any less enjoyable. 

Overall, One Small Thing by Erin Watt is a good read. It was fun at times but is also very emotional. One Small Thing explores the notions of forgiving, coming of age and family. It delves deep into the lives of teens that shows both the horrors and breathtaking moments of becoming an adult. I do wish that there was more depth to the lead characters of Beth and Chase. Nevertheless, I did enjoy reading their story. There are many ups and downs to this novel and if you want a quick read that is a little different then this is for you. 

Have you read One Small Thing by Erin Watt? What did you think of it? Are you planning on reading it? Have you read anything else by Erin Watt? Let’s Chat!