One Small Thing

In their second YA novel, Erin Watt narrates the story of Beth, a seventeen year old girl who lost her sister to a car accident three years ago. Beth wants to party, have fun and make stupid decisions during her last school year, but her parents are constantly trying to smother her with their unreasonable rules and extreme reactions. In a desperate act of rebellion, Beth ends up in a party full of strangers and meets the most gorgeous guy she’s ever seen. There’s just one small problem, one she didn’t realize back then; he’s the reckless driver who took her sister from her. Her family, her friends, the entire town, wants to burn him at the stake. Beth? She can’t kill the butterflies in her stomach, nor deny the strong connection they share. Torn between the loyalty to her dead sister and her traitorous heart, between what everyone expects from her and what she truly wants, Beth will have to face her grief, deal with her loss and find her path in life, a path made of her own desires and dreams.

Erin Watt has proven thus far that they can write intense and highly addictive novels, and One Small Thing is not an exception. It’s a novel heavily focused on family issues, romantic relationships, the aftermath of a terrible loss, friendship, hatred and forgiveness. Forgiveness towards the one who hurt you, and atonement for your own fatal mistakes.

It was also a novel laced with angst; there was a rush of multiple emotions wreaking havoc to my very core. And amongst the suffocation, the bitterness, the anger, and the despair, the most dominant was the anger. So much anger. While the authors managed to capture a side of humanity that is unfortunately real – the bloodlust that makes good people do bad things and call them justice - sometimes I felt like they overdid it. There was simply too much drama. There was not a single decent character in the entire book, with the exception of Chase, the love interest. I suppose what the authors wanted to show was that one action, no matter how devastating it is, cannot dictate a person’s life, that there is one point where punishment is enough, that not everything is painted in black and white and I get it, I admire it even. But that absence of even one person who was sympathetic to Chase or supportive to Beth, who was not judgmental and thirsty for retribution felt way too manipulative, a means to bring them together and justify why Beth ended up falling for the guy responsible for her sister’s death.

And that brings us to Beth’s character. She was extremely juvenile about everything: the way she handled her grief, her reckless decisions, even the way she stalked Chase was nerve-wracking. As the story progressed I wished she would cut everyone off her life, I cannot fathom how she forgave her friends for the things they said and did (or didn’t do). She was throwing tantrums instead of growing a backbone, she was a hypocrite when it came to the way she treated Chase, and even though towards the end she did the right thing, it was not enough to make me forget all those times I wanted to yell at her (to be honest, though, I wanted to yell at everyone).

All those points I raised above do not mean that One Small Thing was a bad book. On the contrary, I finished it in two days, I wanted to spend more time with this story, witness more sweet moments between Beth and Chase, revel in their healing process, first and foremost as individuals and then as a couple. Chase was the one small thing that lightened my reading experience, my heart ached for him, I felt his remorse every time he spoke or allowed bullies to mistreat him because he thought he deserved it.

Even though I prefer the lighthearted and adorable When It's Real, I swallowed Erin Watt’s second YA novel as well; One Small Thing is a bittersweet, intense and meaningful story that deserves 3.5 big stars for all the small things.

A forbidden love story about forgiveness, healing, and redemption, One Small Thing is an angst-filled tale.

Watt takes us back to high school, where a devastating tragedy shatters a family and a community. Left in the middle are Chase and Beth. Both are trying to survive their new normal while dealing with the tragedy that changed their lives forever.

Watt nailed teenage insecurities, confusion, and irrational decision making! What I liked so much about this story was how Watt showed that for every decision we make there is a consequence, good or bad. And since this is a YA book, that is important. And I applaud the authors for this.

I love this author duo. They have a special writing chemistry that provides addictive stories that focus on emotional relationships which border the melodramatic. And I Cannot Get Enough!

I DEVOURED this book in a day! Like seriously could NOT. PUT. IT. DOWN! I felt this book a bit darker YA read for me as the main characters are dealing with some heavy issues. It definitely is an unconventional story with the plot taking you in way different directions than you can imagine. At times, being a mom, I was thinking would I want my high schooler reading this. Some of the things the main character goes through I found tough, but with today's culture and my feelings after reading the book it is a must! ONE SMALL THING touches on High School bullying, how to rise above the darkness, death, accidents, forgiveness, letting go, underage partying, and just about your typical life of a teenager in an affluent community. I LOVE Chase throughout the story he broke my heart, but Erin Watt put it back together for me!

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This duo of authors keeps surprising me. I always expect them to deliver some big disappointment like the Royals series was for me, but they keep proving that they can go beyond and create stunning standalone novels.

Three years after the loss of her sister, Beth's family is still grieving with intensity. Even the people of her small town seem to be stuck with the terrible loss. For two years she has been the perfect daughter trying to please her parents, but this summer she is tired of the pity looks, of her parent's overprotection, and every move being dictated by the accident that took her sister. She is determined to have a fun night for her, without rules. She just didn't expect to meet Chase, to fill an intense connection with him and to have it all taken away because of his connection with her sister's death.

One Small Thing deals with the aftermath of losing someone you love. How deaths can affect and change us. But most importantly, it shows us how hard sometimes it is to forgive and move on.

I don't know how Erin Watt captured so many emotions and placed them on a young adult novel, but through the whole book, you can feel Beth's suffocation, her parent's pain, and Chase's remorse. You're living the drama with the characters and questioning your own morals. One moment you will be rooting for love, and the next you're going to be questioning Beth's actions.

In the end, the most significant lesson is to try to find the small things that make life better and appreciate them.

I really enjoy reading forbidden romances. This is one of the ultimate forbidden situations. I loved Beth and Chase.

Chase was so wise beyond his years. He has a real understanding of how rare true forgiveness is. He never dismissed other peoples' feelings instead trying to understand how other people feel.

Beth - Was like a flower trying to bloom. Trying to find her place and get out of the thumb of her helicopter parents. I adored her powers of empathy.

So many important ideas addressed in this book and it's a perfect one for teenagers to read.
Gosh, I am just having a hard time letting these two go. This story was riveting and I was glued to the pages. So good.

This book was AMAZING. 5 stars. This girl loses her sister and her parents become extremely strict on her so she doesn’t end up like her sister. She feels suffocated in her own home. She can’t even go to the college she wants. Her texts are being read by her parents. She has zero privacy. It’s how they found out about a party she went to. She wanted to be wild and crazy for once. She ended up giving up her virginity to a hot guy at the party. When she goes back to school to start her senior year there he is. All of her friends tries to keep her away from him. She thinks it’s because he must be a player. He must have some kind of bad reputation with women. Turns out it’s for something much more serious. What a serious page turner. I loved it. It’s amazing. I can’t say that enough.

Wow, this book was so good! Right from the beginning I was sucked into the story, wanting to know what was going to happen next. I actually read it in one sitting...started it just before I went to bed and didn't put it down until I was finished at 1:30am! I loved Beth as a character and really felt for her. She went through a lot but I think she handled everything well for a 17 year old high schooler. I disliked most of the supporting characters, but sadly I think they were realistic. While I liked how the book ended, I wouldn't mind seeing further down the road...what hapoens next. I could definitely go for a sequel! I'd read it in a heartbeat!

3.5 Stars

I truly enjoyed this story and the characters. Erin Watt has a unique writing style that captures the reader's attention and created a story with heartbreaking and hearttouching moments.

However, the author consistently rushes the endings of her books, while this one was not as rushed as past works it still left me feeling rather underwhelmed.

Overall I do recommend YA fans read One Small Thing.

On a completely non content related sidenote, I do wish Netgalley would work on their formatting of ARCs it does make reading and following some parts of the story confusing when chapters are not properly separated.

**ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review**

One Small Thing by Erin Watt is an emotional coming of age, contemporary romance, as heart-wrenching as it is romantic "...mixed the bitter with the sweet." High School seniors in small-town America, Beth & Chase both "...caught between the past and the present." find themselves connected in a way they never could have foreseen. A story of overcoming loss & guilt, repairing relationships & finding their places in the world. "What he wants and what I want are at odds with what we should be wanting." The lesson of letting loved ones lost live in the heart & of focusing on "...one small thing that I could be grateful for each day..."

One Small Thing is a quick, enjoyable YA contemporary read. I haven't read any other books from this writing duo and didn't know what to expect. I wasn't overly impressed with the story, it was quite predictable but it flowed easy and kept me turning pages. There was a lot of high school drama that I didn’t love. And, yes, the story does take place in high school and the book is intended for teenagers but I don’t think it was necessary to use every high school cliché imaginable. So I can't say I loved this book, but I am sure it will appeal to most Erin Watt fans.

*ARC provided by the publisher via Edelweiss.

Where do I begin? I really loved the royal series by Erin watt so hate to give book not a good review but I just couldn’t help myself. First, Beth. Oh my god this girl just drove me nuts. I understand the lashing out at her parents but this was overkill. Second, her parents. Wow again overkill by a million. Third, chase. This guy had the patience of a saint when it came to the bullying at school but I could not get into his character at all. Then there is Jeff who I absolutely wanted to kill. The ending felt rushed when the rest of the book dragged on forever. This book had so many things I didn’t like.

While I enjoyed the story and finished it at break neck speed, it lacked a connection for me. Don't get my wrong though, I loved Beth's voice, I admired Chase, I wanted Beth to overcome her frustrations at home, I enjoyed Beth pursuing Chase (I mean, how often do we get that in today's YA?), and I adored the message that coincides with the title of the book itself - those are the things that stood out for me.

The biggest thing I could never grasp onto was chemistry between Beth and Chase. There were fleeting moments, but nothing solid for me and I really wanted to sail that ship!

While One Small Thing didn't meet my expectations and give me that rush (I blame ALLLLL the Royals ;)) I still enjoyed the overall story/message and of course, I will read whatever Erin Watt dishes out next! :)

*Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read and review.*

Wow! Thank you Erin Watt for writing this beautiful book!

Beth Jones is trying to get her life back after her sister has died. Beth's parents think keeping their only daughter under lock and key is the best way to protect her. Beth needs space from them. She goes to a party before her senior year thinking it will help her feel "normal" again. There she meets Chase and he helps her to feel normal because he knows nothing of her past. But Chase has a past that connects him with the death of her sister. What will Beth do when she find out the part he played?

My heart broke for Beth throughout the book. All she wanted to do was find a way to move on from the terrible tragedy of her sister's death. I enjoyed the character development of Beth throughout the book. I thought that it was a great depiction of teenagers of today learning to find their voice and standing up for the things that they believed in.

Now let's talk about Chase! Chase has held on to the past for such a long time and does not believe he deserves a second chance. It is not until meeting Beth that he begins to open up. Chase deals with some difficult situations throughout the book that could have made him lose his temper but instead he chooses to keep a positive outlook on life.

I went through so many emotions while reading this book. First, I was sad for both Beth and Chase at the beginning. Then, I was happy as they grew closer to each other and started to open up about how they felt. But we all know conflict has to occur, and the events that happen just made me so angry. I will say that I was back to being happy by the end of the book.

Overall, One Small Thing was amazing story that stays with you long after you are finished reading it.

ARC provided by publisher for honest review

One Small Thing by Erin Watt followed Beth as her and her family cope with the loss of her sister, Rachel. Although her sister died years before the book starts, the story shows how deeply everyone is still hurting. I enjoyed reading Beth's story and watching her grow as a character and transition into becoming an adult. One Small Thing was packed with life lessons and character growth. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves to read young adult stories.

Another Erin Watt book I couldn’t put down. Beth and Chase’s story is amazingly written, you can identify with their emotions and conflicts, as well as Beth’s friends and family.
It reminds you that “one small thing” every day is all you need to keep going and not let yourself “drown” in the grand scheme of life.

I generally steer clear from NA/YA stories. My road back to innocence is a one way street. I left my youth long ago and have a hard time identifying with juvenile teens or tweens
HAVING. SAID. THAT . This theme could be at any age, at any turn of life. Doesn't matter the characters were high schoolers, the dilemma doesn't diminish or increase in its dimensions. Couldn't at all, becuase it's as big as Iowa as it is. Human frailty is explained at the most basic level here. The central theme or the message that the authors wanna send across is that the actions of today impact all your tomorrows and so it's vital and imperative how we behave in certain situations. Could be a drunk, rebelling, teenager or an egomaniac with anger management issues. Try and visualise high schoolers like that. Bullies, daft ignoramuses, full of piss and vinegar, feeling invincible. 
On a rush , in a rush, speeding through life and on streets, until with screech of tires and metal on metal clanks, glass shatters and rubber burns and everything goes blank ! Lives are destroyed, families torn apart and an entire town has lava of rage flowing on its streets, it's schools, it's homes, it's suburbs. Everything is burning !!
I'm still shaking my head at the incredible story that has been unputdownable trip for me. And as they say man can fall from the highest mountain and find his legs, but when he falls in his own eyes, he struggles to meet his own eyes in the mirror. Guilt is a concrete block hanging around your neck when you're drowning in a sea of mistakes and blunders you committed. 
Everywhere I look, I see a closed door. A dark passage. Locked windows. If there’s a way out, I can’t visualize it.
these past three years, the walls just kept closing in on me more and more, the noose around my neck kept getting tighter and tighter, until finally I snapped. 
And then there's the survivor syndrome. The The Child Who Survived 
We all carry our own burdens and are trapped in prisons of our own makings
"you teach people how to treat you.” 
And how do we keep breathing, keep moving, one may ask ?
you focus on One Small Thing a day 
And Chase Charlie Donnelly is focusing on keeping his one foot in front of the other. Every step, very mile, every day is a step towards freedom from his Darling Cage.
He urges Elizabeth Jones to do the same. Focus on just wants in front of you and keep moving.
I focused on one good thing instead of all the messed-up stuff.” One small thing.
Each day that passed was one day closer to my release. No cage is forever, Beth. I tried to find one small thing that I could be grateful for each day, 
I fell in love with Chase. His calm, his self flagellation, should've annoyed me, but it showed me his maturity. His selfless love for Beth is just swoonworthy. Despite his suffering, he refuses to cower down or put Beth in harm's way
“You waiting for me is the one small thing that will keep me going.” 
To say that this story is profound is an understatement . It's a rule book by which to live through a disaster, if it strikes your life unfortunately. It teaches that forgiveness and acceptance is bigger than all prejudices combined. It shows us the way out of grief and onto the path of healing.
Easier said than done, but who said life was easy anyway! 
I jumped in the book blind and emerged red, puffy eyed but smiling through the pain. And there is a lot of pain in it.the town of Darling is so messed up and broken due to the accident that it witnesses, you couldn't put it back together even if you wanted to. Running away to another country or sticking there and stewing in your angry juices don't work out in the long run. Getting away and starting fresh might. And THAT'S what this book shows how to.
Contrary to my biased expectations, I enjoyed reading it immensely. I was invested in Chase & Beth. this book was excellently told, beautifully penned. My first book by the duo, certainly not the last
**On a footnote, if the world was full of dogs, I'd be the happiest. Cause they're non judgemental!

A perfect summer read.

One thing I really liked about this novel was that it was VERY much more young adult - not young body, adult actions. There was an innocence to One Small Thing that I really liked. It was a more realistic story of two teenagers... rather than the heightened reality of The Royals and When It's Real. 8/10 stars - I loved it!

"One Small Thing" by Erin Watt is a quick read about loss, grief, love, family, control... it touches on a lot of heavy topics in a way that's both frustrating and eloquent. Beth and her family are grieving the death of her older sister, Rachel, in very different ways. Trying to control her every move to keep her safe, Beth's parents are suffocating her. I was hooked from chapter one.

When Beth finally snaps and sneaks out to a party on the wrong side of town, she meets Chase... who has an even bigger secret than Beth's stifling home life.

Chase has demons and guilt by the bucket loads. But, Beth gives him a second chance when no one else does... and Beth is the one person who has every reason not to give him a second chance. The two embark on a secret and forbidden romance with everything working against them.

I LOVED Beth. She's feisty and independent. Reading her struggles with her parents was flustering and I felt like Erin Watt nailed the feelings of having overprotective parents. The way EW wrote about grief was new and eye opening. Everyone grieves differently, and some steps in the grieving process take longer than others. Seeing how Beth and her family went through the process was eye-opening, sad and thought provoking. Even though Rachel has been gone for three years, and one would assume their grieving process would be complete, they are still struggling and using all sorts of coping mechanisms to survive each day.

Chase -- what an epic male lead. His story is heart breaking, from his part in Rachel's death to his current home life and bullying at school. His need for atonement pulled at every single one of my heart strings. His journey to finding his personal redemption was my favorite part of the book.

The only problem I had with this book was the villain. I felt like the foreshadowing was too blatant and so obvious. I still loved reading it, but the lead up to the big reveal of the bad guy was a little bit lackluster for me. I felt a little cheated with the ending - it happened quickly, and I wanted MORE!!!! I loved the story - every part to it. And I'll be rereading One Small Thing many times.

It made me feel grateful and introspective about my life and finding the one small thing that makes every moment great.

One Small Thing is a young adult / high school type romance. I feel like I am too old for this type of genre because the characters are not quite mature in their thinking and decision making as well as the drama that went along with the high school crowd. That’s just me though – too old LOL :) The plot is unique though and the romance is much lighter (not too much sex) than what I usually read which is perfect for younger readers.
Beth lost her sister from a car accident and her parents became overly protective (fear of losing the last child) which does not sit well with Beth. She is a typical teenager and obviously thinks she got everything under control. The more rules her parents enforced the more rebellious Beth gets. One night she sneaked off to a party and met Chase. Beth ended up with a one night stand (her first time was basically with a stranger). Beth’s life is about to get much more complicated when she found out who Chase really is … and that they are connected in more ways than Beth ever expected. Let’s just say her parents are livid and the entire town is against Chase … How will Beth and Chase make it works under such difficult circumstances?
I like the forbidden romance feels to the story. I love Chase. I think he pays his due for something that isn’t entirely his fault. I like the calmness in Chase even though everyone despises him. Chase seems matured beyond his year: his decisions, his advises for Beth, his desire to make something of his life. Beth is naïve but I like that she stood up to the bullies including her closest friends. She fights for what is right, stands up for what she believes in, and that’s the most important lesson the author could convey to her young readers. This story is about loss, heartbreak, sacrifice, forgiveness, second chance at life and finding brighter new beginning. Very suitable for young adult readers.

Well goodness, what an eye-opening story to read. It’s an emotional journey that Erin Watt takes us on. I mean think about it. If you are a parent, how do you move on after the unexpected death of a child. Even more, as the sibling who lost their older sister, what can you do to not always be living in your dead sister’s footsteps.

Lizzie now known as Beth is struggling in life. Her parents are suffocating her with boundaries. All because they are afraid of losing her too. It’s her last year of High School and it should be the best time of her life. Instead, she’s without a phone, without a car and even worse…. without a DOOR!!!

Chase is free and starting a new school. Although served his time for doing the crime, he will never forget. Everyone knows what he did. Even starting at a new school in the next town over, the bullying is horrible.

It’s when these two meet for the first time, as Chase and Beth, a bond was formed. Now we need to figure out how to make this bond survive through all the problems that will come with it.

If we could all pick One Small Thing each day!!! I enjoyed reading this one.

In their second YA novel, Erin Watt narrates the story of Beth, a seventeen year old girl who lost her sister to a car accident three years ago. Beth wants to party, have fun and make stupid decisions during her last school year, but her parents are constantly trying to smother her with their unreasonable rules and extreme reactions. In a desperate act of rebellion, Beth ends up in a party full of strangers and meets the most gorgeous guy she’s ever seen. There’s just one small problem, one she didn’t realize back then; he’s the reckless driver who took her sister from her. Her family, her friends, the entire town, wants to burn him at the stake. Beth? She can’t kill the butterflies in her stomach, nor deny the strong connection they share. Torn between the loyalty to her dead sister and her traitorous heart, between what everyone expects from her and what she truly wants, Beth will have to face her grief, deal with her loss and find her path in life, a path made of her own desires and dreams.

Erin Watt has proven thus far that they can write intense and highly addictive novels, and One Small Thing is not an exception. It’s a novel heavily focused on family issues, romantic relationships, the aftermath of a terrible loss, friendship, hatred and forgiveness. Forgiveness towards the one who hurt you, and atonement for your own fatal mistakes.

It was also a novel laced with angst; there was a rush of multiple emotions wreaking havoc to my very core. And amongst the suffocation, the bitterness, the anger, and the despair, the most dominant was the anger. So much anger. While the authors managed to capture a side of humanity that is unfortunately real – the bloodlust that makes good people do bad things and call them justice - sometimes I felt like they overdid it. There was simply too much drama. There was not a single decent character in the entire book, with the exception of Chase, the love interest. I suppose what the authors wanted to show was that one action, no matter how devastating it is, cannot dictate a person’s life, that there is one point where punishment is enough, that not everything is painted in black and white and I get it, I admire it even. But that absence of even one person who was sympathetic to Chase or supportive to Beth, who was not judgmental and thirsty for retribution felt way too manipulative, a means to bring them together and justify why Beth ended up falling for the guy responsible for her sister’s death.

And that brings us to Beth’s character. She was extremely juvenile about everything: the way she handled her grief, her reckless decisions, even the way she stalked Chase was nerve-wracking. As the story progressed I wished she would cut everyone off her life, I cannot fathom how she forgave her friends for the things they said and did (or didn’t do). She was throwing tantrums instead of growing a backbone, she was a hypocrite when it came to the way she treated Chase, and even though towards the end she did the right thing, it was not enough to make me forget all those times I wanted to yell at her (to be honest, though, I wanted to yell at everyone).

All those points I raised above do not mean that One Small Thing was a bad book. On the contrary, I finished it in two days, I wanted to spend more time with this story, witness more sweet moments between Beth and Chase, revel in their healing process, first and foremost as individuals and then as a couple. Chase was the one small thing that lightened my reading experience, my heart ached for him, I felt his remorse every time he spoke or allowed bullies to mistreat him because he thought he deserved it.

Even though I prefer the lighthearted and adorable When It's Real, I swallowed Erin Watt’s second YA novel as well; One Small Thing is a bittersweet, intense and meaningful story that deserves 3.5 big stars for all the small things.

I DEVOURED this book in a day! Like seriously could NOT. PUT. IT. DOWN! I felt this book a bit darker YA read for me as the main characters are dealing with some heavy issues. It definitely is an unconventional story with the plot taking you in way different directions than you can imagine. At times, being a mom, I was thinking would I want my high schooler reading this. Some of the things the main character goes through I found tough, but with today's culture and my feelings after reading the book it is a must! ONE SMALL THING touches on High School bullying, how to rise above the darkness, death, accidents, forgiveness, letting go, underage partying, and just about your typical life of a teenager in an affluent community. I LOVE Chase throughout the story he broke my heart, but Erin Watt put it back together for me!

I really enjoy reading forbidden romances. This is one of the ultimate forbidden situations. I loved Beth and Chase.

Chase was so wise beyond his years. He has a real understanding of how rare true forgiveness is. He never dismissed other peoples' feelings instead trying to understand how other people feel.

Beth - Was like a flower trying to bloom. Trying to find her place and get out of the thumb of her helicopter parents. I adored her powers of empathy.

So many important ideas addressed in this book and it's a perfect one for teenagers to read.
Gosh, I am just having a hard time letting these two go. This story was riveting and I was glued to the pages. So good.

This book was AMAZING. 5 stars. This girl loses her sister and her parents become extremely strict on her so she doesn’t end up like her sister. She feels suffocated in her own home. She can’t even go to the college she wants. Her texts are being read by her parents. She has zero privacy. It’s how they found out about a party she went to. She wanted to be wild and crazy for once. She ended up giving up her virginity to a hot guy at the party. When she goes back to school to start her senior year there he is. All of her friends tries to keep her away from him. She thinks it’s because he must be a player. He must have some kind of bad reputation with women. Turns out it’s for something much more serious. What a serious page turner. I loved it. It’s amazing. I can’t say that enough.

I loved this. The story was beautiful and dealt with serious topics very well. The relationship was beautifully complicated and I loved them. The antagonist of the story felt very real which is sad that such a bad person feels so familiar.

Another Erin Watt book I couldn’t put down. Beth and Chase’s story is amazingly written, you can identify with their emotions and conflicts, as well as Beth’s friends and family.
It reminds you that “one small thing” every day is all you need to keep going and not let yourself “drown” in the grand scheme of life.

I loved this. The story was beautiful and dealt with serious topics very well. The relationship was beautifully complicated and I loved them. The antagonist of the story felt very real which is sad that such a bad person feels so familiar.