Published: 1st August 2016 
Publisher: Penguin Books Australia
Pages: 296
Format: Paperback
Genre: Young Adult
★ ★ – 2 Stars
A stranger rolls into town, and everything changes…
…especially for Austin Methune, when the stranger turns out to be his father, presumed dead, and his father turns out to be Shane Tucker, a big time musician—just the role Austin wants for himself.
Austin has a long history of getting himself into trouble, with the assistance of weed, inertia, and indifference. And he’s in deep trouble now—the deepest ever. He’s talented, though. Maybe his famous father will help him turn his life around and realize his musical dream.
But maybe Austin has inherited more than talent from Shane, who also does drugs, screws up, and drops out.
Austin is a tour guide to his own bad decisions and their consequences as he is dragged, kicking and screaming, toward adulthood.
I am not one hundred percent sure I would have read this book if it hadn’t have been for the review I’d read from Jess over at The Never Ending Book Shelf. Having finished it, I’m a little sad to say I stand by that opinion, though my 2 stars is more of a 2.75 really.
I didn’t like Austin at the beginning, I really didn’t. I thought he was foolish, another weed smoking idiot who didn’t take anything seriously and in doing so often ruined the experiences of others. He didn’t care what happened or who he hurt and his apathy was just as frustrating as he inability to be sensible and sincere. I was probably supposed to find it endearing or some charming characteristic of being a teenage boy but it never got past being an eye rolling annoyance. It wasn’t until the halfway point that my dislike turned to tolerance. I accepted Austin, I was disappointed in Austin and annoyed, but even I ended up with a little hope for Austin, albeit begrudgingly. All of which is growth in some way. I can’t say I liked him any better at the end, but you could say he learned some lessons and saw some improvement and that’s admirable.
This is certainly a coming of age story, learning who you are and what matters to you in the world. Each character has things to learn and grow, Austin probably more than others, but no one is without something. I liked that Rubens touches on how a bully is created, and understanding that bullies can be bullied themselves. Not to spoil anything I’ll just say I also liked the friendships in this story. I like that it often isn’t really a friendship and there are different kinds that work well together. It was unconventional and really interesting to read.
My favourite person was Josephine and I actually really liked Austin when he was with Josepine. She was strong and self assured, she knew who she was and had respect for herself which was fantastic. She also brings out the best in Austin and he seems quite nice when they are together. A lot of characters had aspects of them that I really liked. Rubens writes well developed characters, they are established and have their own complexities that make them feel real and allows you to have sympathies, opinions, and connections with them. I don’t want to say this book was terrible, because it actually wasn’t. I just didn’t get too excited about it, I didn’t mind the plot I thought it was clever and had interesting moments, but when I finished the book I wasn’t that impressed, which I’m a bit sad about to be honest. But it’s quite possible that it’s just me.
You can purchase The Bad Decisions Playlist via the following
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