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The Places I've Cried in Public
Amelie loved Reese. And she thought he loved her. But she’s starting to realise love isn’t supposed to hurt like this. So now she’s retracing their story and untangling what happened by revisiting all the places he made her cry.
Because if she works out what went wrong, perhaps she can finally learn to get over him.
Because if she works out what went wrong, perhaps she can finally learn to get over him.
368 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 3, 2019
About the author
Holly Bourne
27 books5,878 followersHolly started her writing career as a news journalist, where she was nominated for Best Print Journalist of the Year. She then spent six years working as an editor, a relationship advisor, and general ‘agony aunt’ for a youth charity – helping young people with their relationships and mental health.
Inspired by what she saw, she started writing teen fiction, including the best-selling, award-winning ‘Spinster Club’ series which helps educate teenagers about feminism. When she turned thirty, Holly wrote her first adult novel, 'How Do You Like Me Now?', examining the intensified pressures on women once they hit that landmark.
Alongside her writing, Holly has a keen interest in women’s rights and is an advocate for reducing the stigma of mental health problems. She’s helped create online apps that teach young people about sexual consent, works with Women’s Aid to spread awareness of abusive relationships, and runs Rethink’s mental health book club.
Inspired by what she saw, she started writing teen fiction, including the best-selling, award-winning ‘Spinster Club’ series which helps educate teenagers about feminism. When she turned thirty, Holly wrote her first adult novel, 'How Do You Like Me Now?', examining the intensified pressures on women once they hit that landmark.
Alongside her writing, Holly has a keen interest in women’s rights and is an advocate for reducing the stigma of mental health problems. She’s helped create online apps that teach young people about sexual consent, works with Women’s Aid to spread awareness of abusive relationships, and runs Rethink’s mental health book club.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,811 reviews
May 27, 2021
Who are you going to trust? The calm boy whose voice doesn't wobble, who can explain reasonably and using examples, why everything is fine-- or the crying girl saying she can feel something is wrong?
Over the last few years, I've become a big fan of Holly Bourne. Her contemporary novels combine some humour and charm with more serious issues, like abuse, sexual assault, and mental illness. I'm not sure which I'd consider her "best" work, but The Places I've Cried in Public was certainly one that shattered me.
At first, I wasn't completely sold on it. I like reading about tough subjects, but not books that are overly maudlin in tone, and I was initially put off a little by the MC doing nothing but crying. It begins to make sense very quickly, though.
I personally related to Amelie in a number of ways. Both of us are Yorkshire girls, both of us left the comfort of the world we knew to go to the south of England where people say "bath" like "barf", yet make fun of our accents, and don't know that gravy on chips is the best thing ever. For Amelie, though, the change was much harder. She left her friends and loving boyfriend right in the middle of her A levels, out of necessity for her dad's job. She went to a new town and school where she had no friends, no support group, no one to "get" her and make her feel important.
Until Reese.
I swelled under the compliment and he looked at me with such wonder that I found myself believing him. Maybe I do have a way with words. Maybe I am wise for my years... There's nothing more intoxicating than seeing your best self through the lens of someone's adoring eyes.
You've probably guessed this already, but it's not a romance. This is a book about that insidious form of emotional abuse that grows, slowly, out of a relationship you thought was wonderful. Very few authors manage to portray this right, I think. Very few successfully show how someone can fall in love with a person who is manipulating and hurting them. Bourne does, though, and it makes for an emotional and skin-crawling read.
I burned with fury while reading this book, and I hurt for Amelie so much. There was one horrible part of the book (CW: ) that I do find myself wishing wasn't added, just because I really appreciated the way this book focused on a more covert kind of abuse that I've seen too often and is harder to pinpoint. I cannot tell you how many friends I've comforted because the guy they were seeing was playing mind games, making plans then cancelling last minute, blowing hot and cold, or making snide comments about their appearance, clothes, or interests.
Nothing that incriminating, of course. Nothing that couldn't be shushed away with a "you're too sensitive/needy/clingy/crazy". But damaging, nonetheless.
Onto the next Holly Bourne book.
January 3, 2020
wow. i am really quite taken aback by this novel. the synopsis gave me ‘500 days of summer’ vibes, but what is actually present is a detailed reflection on what it means to be in a healthy relationship.
this is extremely deep for a YA novel, but i can only commend HB for writing something so powerful as this. its not fluffy, its not adorable, it didnt make my cheeks hurt from smiling so much, but it is real. and its so important that those in the YA age range are getting exposure to this kind of thing. this may not be the most enjoyable or entertaining of stories, but it is so, so necessary.
PS - i dont want to give away anything about the story as the synopsis is quite vague, but there is some triggering material in this novel. feel free to message me if you want more info before picking this up.
↠ 4 stars
this is extremely deep for a YA novel, but i can only commend HB for writing something so powerful as this. its not fluffy, its not adorable, it didnt make my cheeks hurt from smiling so much, but it is real. and its so important that those in the YA age range are getting exposure to this kind of thing. this may not be the most enjoyable or entertaining of stories, but it is so, so necessary.
PS - i dont want to give away anything about the story as the synopsis is quite vague, but there is some triggering material in this novel. feel free to message me if you want more info before picking this up.
↠ 4 stars
April 13, 2020
[3.5 stars]
Trigger warnings for narcissistic emotional abuse and rape.
This story was a lot. A lot to handle, a lot to process and a lot to take in. It's about our main character who is reliving a relationship she initially believed to be amazing. She was convinced that the guy she met was it for her, based on the emotions she would experience when she was around him.
This spark and connection they immediately formed didn't allow her to have a birds-eye view of the relationship. She was in it too deep, he became her focal point quite quickly and everything was romanticised, hence why the red flags were ignored.
So we go on this journey to figure out what happened in the relationship and what its downfalls were. It's told in a past and present narrative and we see her analysing the relationship through an internal monologue.
I really did appreciate the overall message of this story. Holly Bourne has a serious knack for writing stories that are really relevant to young girls, though the situation our main character finds herself in is one that can happen to anyone.
The reason why I'm not giving it a higher rating is that I didn't fully connect to the character. Though I could sympathise, I couldn't empathise though it is an emotional story. I think the writing hindered me from connecting to her. The excessive crying seemed unnecessary, though understandable in certain parts. Though the story is raw, it's the type of rawness that grates at you, if that makes any sense. It was uncomfortable to read and I was numb by the end of it. I couldn't figure out what I was feeling, but I knew I didn't connect to the story as much as I would've liked.
All in all, it is a book I recommend. It's important and it has value and it's something everyone needs to be aware off.
——————
Read for the OWLs Readathon.
Subject: Muggle Studies.
Trigger warnings for narcissistic emotional abuse and rape.
This story was a lot. A lot to handle, a lot to process and a lot to take in. It's about our main character who is reliving a relationship she initially believed to be amazing. She was convinced that the guy she met was it for her, based on the emotions she would experience when she was around him.
This spark and connection they immediately formed didn't allow her to have a birds-eye view of the relationship. She was in it too deep, he became her focal point quite quickly and everything was romanticised, hence why the red flags were ignored.
So we go on this journey to figure out what happened in the relationship and what its downfalls were. It's told in a past and present narrative and we see her analysing the relationship through an internal monologue.
I really did appreciate the overall message of this story. Holly Bourne has a serious knack for writing stories that are really relevant to young girls, though the situation our main character finds herself in is one that can happen to anyone.
The reason why I'm not giving it a higher rating is that I didn't fully connect to the character. Though I could sympathise, I couldn't empathise though it is an emotional story. I think the writing hindered me from connecting to her. The excessive crying seemed unnecessary, though understandable in certain parts. Though the story is raw, it's the type of rawness that grates at you, if that makes any sense. It was uncomfortable to read and I was numb by the end of it. I couldn't figure out what I was feeling, but I knew I didn't connect to the story as much as I would've liked.
All in all, it is a book I recommend. It's important and it has value and it's something everyone needs to be aware off.
——————
Read for the OWLs Readathon.
Subject: Muggle Studies.
January 17, 2020
➽ book 5 out of 100
I think this book is a very important contemporary novel, but I cannot say I enjoyed reading it. I think I need to say straight off the bat, that the synopsis of this book is quite vague and it makes it sound essentially just like a break up story; but I must say that in my opinion this novel is a very tragic story of a rape and abuse victim coping with PTSD.
Let’s start with the easy stuff. This book is about a teenage girl called Amelie who adores music and vintage cardigans. She has just ended a relationship with a guy called Reese (who is literally the devil but more on that later) and she is completely and utterly broken by it. I really enjoyed that the narrative was told in dual timelines - and I liked that we learnt what happened during the relationship and how it began at the same time as knowing what Amelie was currently going through. Holly Bourne definitely knew how to weave the timelines together so it flowed naturally and didn’t take me out of the story. It was also told in second person, with Amelie speaking directly to Reese, which I thought was a nice and unique touch.
On that note, I did have a rather love-hate relationship with the author’s writing style. I loved the touches of British slang and humour that I miss in a lot of the American YA that I read, but one of my pet peeves is when dialogue or angry thoughts are written in all capitals. It’s such a minor thing, but wow it grinds my gears and loses so much of the impact for me. I also find lyrics for fictional songs in books so jarring. I don’t know why but it makes me uncomfortable. Lyric writing and novel writing are two very different things so I find it awkward when a character gets told that she’s an amazing lyricist, but then we read the lyrics and they’re actually not that great. It’s just awkward to me. But these are such minor things in context of the novel.
Okay, the characters. I really enjoyed Amelie as a main character. She was super endearing and I liked being with her for the entirety of her journey, it was just difficult watching her be so hard on herself all of the time. Reese on the other hand. My god. He is Satan incarnate. When we first meet him, he is described as being super hot and super confident, although I found this incredibly hard to believe as he was constantly described as wearing a waistcoat and TRILBY HAT for gods sake. We are supposed to hate this character, as he is abusive and manipulative and evil, however I wish at the beginning at least we got to see him how Amelie saw him. I didn’t believe there was any way she could have been attracted to this guy and fallen in love with him because he was such a prick from the moment we met him. I understand not seeing red flags through rose-tinted glasses but come on. I wish the author had made him just a little bit more likeable in the beginning so the juxtaposition of how Amelie felt at the beginning of the relationship compared to the end was just a little bit stronger. That being said, Reese’s moments of gaslighting and emotional manipulation were incredibly uncomfortable to read, which I think was the authors intention. It definitely made me super angry and packed a large punch.
The last half of the novel is where I really began to be emotionally affected. This is when Amelie starts to stop blaming herself for everything that happened and we watch her journey to recovery. The scenes with the therapist were some of the strongest scenes in the book, as well as her reconciliation with her ex-boyfriend where she tells someone what happened for the very first time. I think this aspect of the novel is the most important and why I would recommend picking it up. However I did find the depiction of sexual assault to be quite brutal, so I think if you’re someone who struggles to read about those sort of topics, maybe skip this one.
Overall, it wasn’t the most expertly written book I’ve ever read, but I think it explores some very important topics and is a book I wish I had read when I was a teenager. I’m interested to read more of Holly Bourne’s work so if anyone has any recommendations for me, please let me know in the comments!
tw: sexual assault, controlling relationships, emotional abuse and manipulation, gaslighting, social anxiety, cheating, ptsd
Finished copy kindly gifted to me for review by Harper Collins New Zealand.
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“You never know if happy memories are going to become sad ones. They glow and shine in the vast realms of our subconscious, making that part of our brain feel like it’s filled with glitter. We pick them up and cradle them like expensive cats, or wriggle into them like they are jumpers we’ve left to warm on a radiator. Until the day when, for one reason or another, life can suddenly make this happy memory into a sad memory instead. Good memories exist in the naivety of not knowing any better.”
I think this book is a very important contemporary novel, but I cannot say I enjoyed reading it. I think I need to say straight off the bat, that the synopsis of this book is quite vague and it makes it sound essentially just like a break up story; but I must say that in my opinion this novel is a very tragic story of a rape and abuse victim coping with PTSD.
Let’s start with the easy stuff. This book is about a teenage girl called Amelie who adores music and vintage cardigans. She has just ended a relationship with a guy called Reese (who is literally the devil but more on that later) and she is completely and utterly broken by it. I really enjoyed that the narrative was told in dual timelines - and I liked that we learnt what happened during the relationship and how it began at the same time as knowing what Amelie was currently going through. Holly Bourne definitely knew how to weave the timelines together so it flowed naturally and didn’t take me out of the story. It was also told in second person, with Amelie speaking directly to Reese, which I thought was a nice and unique touch.
On that note, I did have a rather love-hate relationship with the author’s writing style. I loved the touches of British slang and humour that I miss in a lot of the American YA that I read, but one of my pet peeves is when dialogue or angry thoughts are written in all capitals. It’s such a minor thing, but wow it grinds my gears and loses so much of the impact for me. I also find lyrics for fictional songs in books so jarring. I don’t know why but it makes me uncomfortable. Lyric writing and novel writing are two very different things so I find it awkward when a character gets told that she’s an amazing lyricist, but then we read the lyrics and they’re actually not that great. It’s just awkward to me. But these are such minor things in context of the novel.
Okay, the characters. I really enjoyed Amelie as a main character. She was super endearing and I liked being with her for the entirety of her journey, it was just difficult watching her be so hard on herself all of the time. Reese on the other hand. My god. He is Satan incarnate. When we first meet him, he is described as being super hot and super confident, although I found this incredibly hard to believe as he was constantly described as wearing a waistcoat and TRILBY HAT for gods sake. We are supposed to hate this character, as he is abusive and manipulative and evil, however I wish at the beginning at least we got to see him how Amelie saw him. I didn’t believe there was any way she could have been attracted to this guy and fallen in love with him because he was such a prick from the moment we met him. I understand not seeing red flags through rose-tinted glasses but come on. I wish the author had made him just a little bit more likeable in the beginning so the juxtaposition of how Amelie felt at the beginning of the relationship compared to the end was just a little bit stronger. That being said, Reese’s moments of gaslighting and emotional manipulation were incredibly uncomfortable to read, which I think was the authors intention. It definitely made me super angry and packed a large punch.
The last half of the novel is where I really began to be emotionally affected. This is when Amelie starts to stop blaming herself for everything that happened and we watch her journey to recovery. The scenes with the therapist were some of the strongest scenes in the book, as well as her reconciliation with her ex-boyfriend where she tells someone what happened for the very first time. I think this aspect of the novel is the most important and why I would recommend picking it up. However I did find the depiction of sexual assault to be quite brutal, so I think if you’re someone who struggles to read about those sort of topics, maybe skip this one.
Overall, it wasn’t the most expertly written book I’ve ever read, but I think it explores some very important topics and is a book I wish I had read when I was a teenager. I’m interested to read more of Holly Bourne’s work so if anyone has any recommendations for me, please let me know in the comments!
tw: sexual assault, controlling relationships, emotional abuse and manipulation, gaslighting, social anxiety, cheating, ptsd
Finished copy kindly gifted to me for review by Harper Collins New Zealand.
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May 11, 2021
This book made me really, really hate John Mayer. A random thing to say maybe, because he isn't even mentioned in this novel? But the toxic relationship Holly Bourne had described here reminded me so much of what went on between Jessica Simpson and John Mayer, according to Simpson's memoire, I couldn't help thinking of Mayer as total and utter shit human and abuser. I'd already thought that after reading Open Book, but this novel brought it home how insidious this whole hot-and-cold act is, with constant gas-lighting and getting off on never-ending breaking up and making up with your emotionally worn-out partner.
Now, I hope to god Mayer isn't as much of garbage as Reese is in this novel, because men like Reese can rot in hell for all I care.
Now, I hope to god Mayer isn't as much of garbage as Reese is in this novel, because men like Reese can rot in hell for all I care.
October 28, 2019
“One of the things the brain does to feel safe, is it creates an intense bond with the person who hurts us. It’s the egos way of protecting itself.” .... if only for this three lines ... you have to read this book. Thank you Holly Bourne.
June 1, 2020
“Abuse is also when your personality is attacked, not just your body. Abuse is feeling like you constantly have to walk on eggshells around the person you're supposed to love. Abuse is being cut off from your friends, even if you could never prove it was their idea you did it. Abuse is being made to feel you're going crazy. Abuse is being lured in with grand promises and wild declarations of love that can never be sustained. Abuse is being pushed into doing sexual things you're not comfortable with. That is also called rape, another word that has taken me some time to feel belongs to me. Abuse is intentionally humiliating you. Abuse is constantly blaming you for everything, and never them.”
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that's it. That's the review. If this quote didn't make you pause and immediately want to check out what this book, you're doing life wrong.
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that's it. That's the review. If this quote didn't make you pause and immediately want to check out what this book, you're doing life wrong.
Read
September 18, 2019A really good and insightful glimpse into the psychology of grief, via sexual awakening, abuse, trauma, forgiveness and therapy. The voices are authentic; the protagonist both endearing, funny, naive, ultimately wise, and always wholly believable. The turbulence of first love, with all its dizzying highs and lows, is beautifully represented. I wish it had been around at the time, to give it to my teenage self. It might have saved a lot of tears.
March 21, 2020
Mmmmmhmmm, Only heartbroken people should read this, i think they'll be able to relate. To the unbroken hearts like mine, i think you'll find this depressing and uncomfortable. I had to push myself to read until the end.
April 15, 2022
*ATWTMV Starts playing in the background. Okay scratch that, play the whole RED album*
This book is not a walk in the park
It comes loaded with the safety switched off
It won't make you laugh.
It is not cute.
It really is a punch in the gut.
A punch that leaves the word REAL written all over in bold in its wake.
(Did anyone get the reference? okay nevermind)
This is a story of surviving love. Or put more clearly, this is a story of surviving what you thought was love.
Trigger Warnings- rape, trauma,abuse
I picked this up because of the title. I don't know what it really is but I feel like I have to go read some book at that very moment when the title is awesome.
And I did exactly that.
You never know at the time, do you? You can
never know if a moment is going to make your life
better or rip it apart and piss on the pieces. What scares
me most of all, Reese, is that now, back in this stuffy
refectory, with my soul sucked dry and my heart
beyond repair…I…I…
I still worry I’d do it all over again.
Reading this book is important. It is something we must all read. Pick this up. I repeat, PICK THIS UP!!
This book is like the YA version of It Ends with Us- feminist to the bones and written in a much better way and a more believable and real ending.
If You liked IEWU, you will love this even moreand it will make you cry more as well
If I were to make a playlist for this book it would be I knew you were trouble over and over and OVER AGAIN.
And it just is so accurate. Like, I could copy-paste the lyrics and it would all be correct.
Amelia has it all going fine. Cool, understanding parents, Alfie-her best friend and boyfriend( who is super awesome because any person who gets me a sticker saying I'M NOT SHY, I’M JUST HOLDING BACK MY AWESOMENESS SO I DON’T INTIMIDATE YOU is hella awesome) and Jessa. It is all good until one day Amelia has to move out because of her dad's job.
A new college. A new city and that is when she meets Hannah-who gets the best friend of the year award-on the very first day and makes a friend.
But that is also when she meets Resse who is mister-charisma-spills-from-me, I'm-a-human-attracting-magnet.basically-the-everyday-fantasy-YA-love interest (yeah, tall, brooding, is in love with you from day 1 !!!!instant connection!!!! keeps staring at your face and keeps reminding you that it's in a romantic not creepy way.)
“I’ve wanted to do that since the moment I saw you sing.” He drew back and stared at me some more. “There’s something about you, Amelie… I can’t describe it.”
RED FLAG. RED FLAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
Amelia feels a special connection with Reese from the very first day that she meets him. She thinks he really gets her (which in a way he does) but what she doesn't see right then is that she is being controlled.
*I knew you were trouble starts playing the background*
Once upon a time A few mistakes ago I was in your sights You got me alone
You found me
You found me
You found me
And she sticks with him. Despite the warnings, the red flags, despite everything Hannah said. Despite EVERYTHING because she believes she has fallen in love.
I knew you were trouble when you walked in
So, shame on me now
Flew me to places I'd never been
Now I'm lyin' on the cold hard ground
and then 'it' happens. One by one.
And it leaves Amelia broken. Broken in a way that can never be mended.
And so starts the process of crying in public (and the title starts making sense)
No apologies
He'll never see you cry
Pretends he doesn't know
That he's the reason why
You're drowning
You're drowning
You're drowning
There is more to the story. A LOT more. But I'm not going to say more than this so as not to spoil but read this. please read this.
Girls cry on park benches. Girls cry in train station waiting-rooms. They cry on the dance floor of clubs.
Girls cry at the bus stop. Girls cry at the back of lessons. They sit on the pavement and cry on cold
concrete at two a.m., their shoes held in their hands.
Girls cry in school bathrooms. Girls cry on bridges.
They cry on the stairs of house parties.
Things I liked about this book
➸The way it is written- The Book is about Amelia trying to get over Reese and to do that, she makes a map connecting all the places she has cried in public because of him. Every paragraph of Amelia visiting a new place is followed by another one about why she cried in the first place
➸The Chapter names- They are all based on the names of the places or the reasons why she cried and absolutely no idea why, but I loved them.
➸The Message it carries- abuse needs to be addressed. It is not your fault. You didn't do anything wrong. Talking helps. Get it out. In the open.
You can’t force pain to leave until it’s ready to
➵4 Stars
This book is not a walk in the park
It comes loaded with the safety switched off
It won't make you laugh.
It is not cute.
It really is a punch in the gut.
A punch that leaves the word REAL written all over in bold in its wake.
(Did anyone get the reference? okay nevermind)
This is a story of surviving love. Or put more clearly, this is a story of surviving what you thought was love.
“He loved me", I say. Because that’s what you always said, after you did anything bad.
Trigger Warnings- rape, trauma,abuse
I picked this up because of the title. I don't know what it really is but I feel like I have to go read some book at that very moment when the title is awesome.
And I did exactly that.
You never know at the time, do you? You can
never know if a moment is going to make your life
better or rip it apart and piss on the pieces. What scares
me most of all, Reese, is that now, back in this stuffy
refectory, with my soul sucked dry and my heart
beyond repair…I…I…
I still worry I’d do it all over again.
Reading this book is important. It is something we must all read. Pick this up. I repeat, PICK THIS UP!!
This book is like the YA version of It Ends with Us- feminist to the bones and written in a much better way and a more believable and real ending.
If You liked IEWU, you will love this even more
If I were to make a playlist for this book it would be I knew you were trouble over and over and OVER AGAIN.
And it just is so accurate. Like, I could copy-paste the lyrics and it would all be correct.
Amelia has it all going fine. Cool, understanding parents, Alfie-her best friend and boyfriend( who is super awesome because any person who gets me a sticker saying I'M NOT SHY, I’M JUST HOLDING BACK MY AWESOMENESS SO I DON’T INTIMIDATE YOU is hella awesome) and Jessa. It is all good until one day Amelia has to move out because of her dad's job.
A new college. A new city and that is when she meets Hannah-who gets the best friend of the year award-on the very first day and makes a friend.
But that is also when she meets Resse who is mister-charisma-spills-from-me, I'm-a-human-attracting-magnet.
“I’ve wanted to do that since the moment I saw you sing.” He drew back and stared at me some more. “There’s something about you, Amelie… I can’t describe it.”
RED FLAG. RED FLAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
Amelia feels a special connection with Reese from the very first day that she meets him. She thinks he really gets her (which in a way he does) but what she doesn't see right then is that she is being controlled.
*I knew you were trouble starts playing the background*
Once upon a time A few mistakes ago I was in your sights You got me alone
You found me
You found me
You found me
And she sticks with him. Despite the warnings, the red flags, despite everything Hannah said. Despite EVERYTHING because she believes she has fallen in love.
I knew you were trouble when you walked in
So, shame on me now
Flew me to places I'd never been
Now I'm lyin' on the cold hard ground
and then 'it' happens. One by one.
And it leaves Amelia broken. Broken in a way that can never be mended.
And so starts the process of crying in public (and the title starts making sense)
No apologies
He'll never see you cry
Pretends he doesn't know
That he's the reason why
You're drowning
You're drowning
You're drowning
There is more to the story. A LOT more. But I'm not going to say more than this so as not to spoil but read this. please read this.
Girls cry on park benches. Girls cry in train station waiting-rooms. They cry on the dance floor of clubs.
Girls cry at the bus stop. Girls cry at the back of lessons. They sit on the pavement and cry on cold
concrete at two a.m., their shoes held in their hands.
Girls cry in school bathrooms. Girls cry on bridges.
They cry on the stairs of house parties.
Things I liked about this book
➸The way it is written- The Book is about Amelia trying to get over Reese and to do that, she makes a map connecting all the places she has cried in public because of him. Every paragraph of Amelia visiting a new place is followed by another one about why she cried in the first place
➸The Chapter names- They are all based on the names of the places or the reasons why she cried and absolutely no idea why, but I loved them.
➸The Message it carries- abuse needs to be addressed. It is not your fault. You didn't do anything wrong. Talking helps. Get it out. In the open.
You can’t force pain to leave until it’s ready to
➵4 Stars
November 14, 2022
I really enjoyed Holly Bourne's Spinster series. I did not like this much.
Well written story of a young girl, just moved from her home town Sheffield down south. Amelie is an excellent singer who is basically accosted by another musician in her new school who is a selfish dick, but of course she does not see it. So a very painful trip for the reader, some good stuff for someone maybe living through a hell like this, not me.
2.5 rounded up as I do like Ms Bourne's writing and the issues she raises.
Well written story of a young girl, just moved from her home town Sheffield down south. Amelie is an excellent singer who is basically accosted by another musician in her new school who is a selfish dick, but of course she does not see it. So a very painful trip for the reader, some good stuff for someone maybe living through a hell like this, not me.
2.5 rounded up as I do like Ms Bourne's writing and the issues she raises.
October 6, 2019
This book follows Amelie, a sixteen year old who moves Down South from Sheffield, leaving behind friends, a boyfriend, and sixth form for an unknown town somewhere insignificantly near London. She's musical. She's self-deprecating. She wears granny cardigans and vintage dresses. She likes her parents. What happens (or more specifically who happens) after she joins a new college makes up the rest of the book.
Amelie's first person narrative has a very strong voice, and as frustrating as it is to follow her poor judgement at times, it couldn't be written any other way and ultimately allows the reader a full and compassionate understanding of how quickly she slipped into a dark place. Amelie is thousands of young women and there has never been a more important time for young people to read this book. I'm not going to be any more specific than that because SPOILERS, but I have never read a book that more accurately places a prevalent, but underrepresented issue, under such close scrutiny. It's raw and unforgiving and it needs to be.
That said, I'm not quite sure I've got the words to articulate how utterly, utterly important this book is. I nearly typed that it's a 'wonderful' book, and it is, truly a wonderful book. But at the same time it's more than that. It's important and painful and for these exact reasons, I both want to read it again immediately and never pick it up again. I don't want to lend it to anyone either, because this book has instantly become personal for me. It's not just Amelie's story, it's large parts of my own story too, and I've never seen a more accurate portrayal of what it really FEELS like to live through the sort of relationship Amelie experiences, and to live after it too.
Holly Bourne has articulated something I've never had the ability to do myself and when I read the last chapter I cried out of relief that someone else had voiced this with so much respect.
I would give more stars if I could. I'm in my (late) twenties and I've needed this book for years.
Holly, you're a bloody good egg.
Amelie's first person narrative has a very strong voice, and as frustrating as it is to follow her poor judgement at times, it couldn't be written any other way and ultimately allows the reader a full and compassionate understanding of how quickly she slipped into a dark place. Amelie is thousands of young women and there has never been a more important time for young people to read this book. I'm not going to be any more specific than that because SPOILERS, but I have never read a book that more accurately places a prevalent, but underrepresented issue, under such close scrutiny. It's raw and unforgiving and it needs to be.
That said, I'm not quite sure I've got the words to articulate how utterly, utterly important this book is. I nearly typed that it's a 'wonderful' book, and it is, truly a wonderful book. But at the same time it's more than that. It's important and painful and for these exact reasons, I both want to read it again immediately and never pick it up again. I don't want to lend it to anyone either, because this book has instantly become personal for me. It's not just Amelie's story, it's large parts of my own story too, and I've never seen a more accurate portrayal of what it really FEELS like to live through the sort of relationship Amelie experiences, and to live after it too.
Holly Bourne has articulated something I've never had the ability to do myself and when I read the last chapter I cried out of relief that someone else had voiced this with so much respect.
I would give more stars if I could. I'm in my (late) twenties and I've needed this book for years.
Holly, you're a bloody good egg.
December 2, 2023
"𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦, 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦? 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰? 𝘖𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦, 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦?"
➺ "The ghosts of past-Amelie brush past me - oh, how carefree she was."
i'm currently crying over 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘫𝘰𝘩𝘯, 𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦 and 𝘷𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦 because, oh, wow, never have songs ever fit a book better.
while those songs solely depict unhealthy relationships, this book also shows what a healthy relationship should look like. i've learned quite a bit out of amelie's story and i'm 𝘴𝘰𝘴𝘰 proud of her for getting away from that famefucker (iykyk) reese.
my only complaint is that reese was literally weird and unlikeable from the start and i wish holly bourne would've made us fall for him along with amelie at first. (i mean he called her "my canary") that way the reader would've felt themselves more in amelie's position. amelie was relatable anyway and i love her. the side characters are rather shallow, but since this book 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲, it didn't bother me. this is amelie's story, not anyone else's and especially not reese's. i love how amelie shows remorse, not trying to shove the blame away, while also knowing it is reese, who is to blame.
i wish we got a bit more of her parents's reactions.
the scenes when reese was worst to amelie are never shown like the others are. on the one hand, i wish there would've been more of that, but on the other hand i love how amelie perhaps doesn't show us those memories because she wants to believe reese is a good person for the longest time.
lastly, i just need to mention the writing. if i'll ever write a book i want to be able to write like that, so effortlessly, seamlessly, intimately and beautifully.
"Crying is a very obvious sign that something isn't going right in your life. You should not ignore tears."
"Guts and hearts aren't always the most compatible - I'm starting to learn that. They pull in different directions, ignoring one when they really shouldn't."
➺ "The ghosts of past-Amelie brush past me - oh, how carefree she was."
i'm currently crying over 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘫𝘰𝘩𝘯, 𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦 and 𝘷𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦 because, oh, wow, never have songs ever fit a book better.
while those songs solely depict unhealthy relationships, this book also shows what a healthy relationship should look like. i've learned quite a bit out of amelie's story and i'm 𝘴𝘰𝘴𝘰 proud of her for getting away from that famefucker (iykyk) reese.
my only complaint is that reese was literally weird and unlikeable from the start and i wish holly bourne would've made us fall for him along with amelie at first. (i mean he called her "my canary") that way the reader would've felt themselves more in amelie's position. amelie was relatable anyway and i love her. the side characters are rather shallow, but since this book 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲, it didn't bother me. this is amelie's story, not anyone else's and especially not reese's. i love how amelie shows remorse, not trying to shove the blame away, while also knowing it is reese, who is to blame.
i wish we got a bit more of her parents's reactions.
the scenes when reese was worst to amelie are never shown like the others are. on the one hand, i wish there would've been more of that, but on the other hand i love how amelie perhaps doesn't show us those memories because she wants to believe reese is a good person for the longest time.
lastly, i just need to mention the writing. if i'll ever write a book i want to be able to write like that, so effortlessly, seamlessly, intimately and beautifully.
"Crying is a very obvious sign that something isn't going right in your life. You should not ignore tears."
"Guts and hearts aren't always the most compatible - I'm starting to learn that. They pull in different directions, ignoring one when they really shouldn't."
December 4, 2020
Un libro muy necesario. Esta no es una novela romántica. Trata sobre lo que nos pasa cuando lo que creemos que es amor resulta ser todo lo contrario. El libro analiza las relaciones de pareja tóxicas, cómo ignoramos las señales que indican comportamientos destructivos y los intentamos justificar e incluso ignorar porque estamos ciegos.
Es una novela juvenil pero vale para todos los públicos. Excelente.
Es una novela juvenil pero vale para todos los públicos. Excelente.
September 20, 2019
Wow
This book is so important
Review to come
This book is so important
Review to come
October 14, 2021
Reading it in my perspective, at first it seemed so shallow, so irrelevant and honestly I was a bit disappointed about the reason for of all Amelie's crying, that it was after all about a stupid boy. I assumed it would be more profound. But as I read further, it was actually everything I was expecting. It was in fact very relevant and meaningful and so necessary. I shouldn't have doubted Holly Bourne because she is amazingly adept at writing about teenage crisis, about what it feels to fall in love at that age.
She's excellent at putting these feelings into words that make you feel and relate and just like that, my icy heart thawed for Amelie and her little journey in tracing back the places she cried in public to find herself again. I know it sounds pretty dramatic but I remember vividly how it really feels that way when you're a teenager and are going through these emotions that sometimes you literally can't breathe. And as the story progresses, it unravels the darker side of Amelie's experiences because the supposed innocent relationship became so much sinister when she suffered abuse at such a tender age.
How accurate this book is, how people mistake abuse as love and I am just so proud and thankful of the author for her consistent courage in writing about bold topics that need to be read. If there is one YA author that I would absolutely recommend for the importance of her work, Holly Bourne is definitely it.
She's excellent at putting these feelings into words that make you feel and relate and just like that, my icy heart thawed for Amelie and her little journey in tracing back the places she cried in public to find herself again. I know it sounds pretty dramatic but I remember vividly how it really feels that way when you're a teenager and are going through these emotions that sometimes you literally can't breathe. And as the story progresses, it unravels the darker side of Amelie's experiences because the supposed innocent relationship became so much sinister when she suffered abuse at such a tender age.
How accurate this book is, how people mistake abuse as love and I am just so proud and thankful of the author for her consistent courage in writing about bold topics that need to be read. If there is one YA author that I would absolutely recommend for the importance of her work, Holly Bourne is definitely it.
April 13, 2020
Book #8 for O.W.L.s readathon. ✔
Actual rating: 3.5 ⭐
Decided on a rating but don't know if and when I will review it. Too many feelings that haven't quite settled yet.
-------------------------------
Review and rating to come when I can put my feelings into words that make sense
TW: Narc/emotional abuse and rape.
Actual rating: 3.5 ⭐
Decided on a rating but don't know if and when I will review it. Too many feelings that haven't quite settled yet.
-------------------------------
Review and rating to come when I can put my feelings into words that make sense
TW: Narc/emotional abuse and rape.
January 3, 2022
One of the things that made me pick up this book was - Crying. I cry often as much as I smile. (Add- unnecessarily.) I cry when someone is mean or rude to me. I cry when I parents raise their voice even a little octave. I cried when my principal scolded me (I might have to add - it wasn't even my fault!). I cried when my boss or clients chastised me. I cry when there are emotional scenes in movies or books. I even cried when Bella returned home to Lucas in 'A Dog's Way Home'. I cry at the weddings. Recently, I cried when I could not figure out which laptop should I buy. Crazy, pathetic me? Right?
I thought this book is just made for me.
Was it? I don't know!
What I know is - this is something really powerful. We all read our love stories where in the end, the hero and heroine get together and have their happy ending. But not all the love stories end that way now, do they? (Add to the fact that I and we read dark romances where unhealthy relationships are advertised.)
Amelia was going through a bad time when she met Reese. And they fell in love. Or she thought. And then she goes back to the places she cried, just like a memory map. It was also told by Amelie where she speaks directly to Reese, which was and I must say - smart and unique. It made everything more intense.
As I said, this a very poignant story. It is raw. And it would make you uncomfortable. It would make your heart heavy and you - sad. It gives you insight on grief, assault and abuse, trauma and importance of therapy. But most important - what is a healthy relationship. When you must know your relationship is going in wrong direction and when to listen to your instincts. I really appreciate the author for writing something with such a strong message.
When I am rating this book - it is entirely based on how I felt about it. I don't want to talk about the characters or the writing. And this line - just hit me so hard.
I thought this book is just made for me.
Was it? I don't know!
What I know is - this is something really powerful. We all read our love stories where in the end, the hero and heroine get together and have their happy ending. But not all the love stories end that way now, do they? (Add to the fact that I and we read dark romances where unhealthy relationships are advertised.)
Amelia was going through a bad time when she met Reese. And they fell in love. Or she thought. And then she goes back to the places she cried, just like a memory map. It was also told by Amelie where she speaks directly to Reese, which was and I must say - smart and unique. It made everything more intense.
As I said, this a very poignant story. It is raw. And it would make you uncomfortable. It would make your heart heavy and you - sad. It gives you insight on grief, assault and abuse, trauma and importance of therapy. But most important - what is a healthy relationship. When you must know your relationship is going in wrong direction and when to listen to your instincts. I really appreciate the author for writing something with such a strong message.
When I am rating this book - it is entirely based on how I felt about it. I don't want to talk about the characters or the writing. And this line - just hit me so hard.
Who are you going to trust? The calm boy whose voice doesn’t wobble, who can explain reasonably, and using examples, why everything is fine – or the crying girl saying she can feel something is wrong?
September 6, 2022
the writing really wasn't it. every time the author expressed their character's emotions THROUGH ALL CAPITAL LETTERS or just does this “!!!” i just… like miss are we a wattpad novel in 2013? another thing that made the writing really cringy in my opinion was the fact that sometimes it felt like something was meant to be funny when it was actually just really not (exhibit a: poop jokes).
but this was a book about sexual abuse and toxic/abusive relationships, which is a really sensitive topic that isn't represented enough in the media and i honestly think that it was done really well in this book. it was amazing to see the main character grow so much throughout the story and see a therapist and realize that this relationship wasn't love.
but this was a book about sexual abuse and toxic/abusive relationships, which is a really sensitive topic that isn't represented enough in the media and i honestly think that it was done really well in this book. it was amazing to see the main character grow so much throughout the story and see a therapist and realize that this relationship wasn't love.
May 12, 2020
4 Stars!
Firstly I just want to applaud Holly Bourne for putting trigger warnings at the front and back of this book with places people can contact if they need help and support.
I can honestly say going into this I didn't necessarily know what happened in this, I've only read one other book from Holly Bourne and I really enjoyed that, and I was then like I kind of want to read more, bought two of her books and then picked this.
It was a rollercoaster of emotions and it was extremely difficult in some places to read what Amelie had to go through. This book really does make you think about certain things when it comes to love. Amelie and Reese are in a relationship and it appears to be the "All Consuming" type of love. There's some very and not so subtle nods to what is happening and the more I read the more I just knew what was going to happen (well part of it) and my heart well and truly broke.
Something that I feel I took away from this, is the power of friendship, Amelie had so many bad things happen and the friendships that came from this, was such light in a dark book.
The thing with this book is, I found it very very difficult to stop reading, I couldn't tell you the last time I read a full book in a day but this was one of them. I took a lot away from this book and some things that were wrote I agreed with (obviously it is very precise to the book)
A hard hitting, but very open, real and honest book. I think Holly Bourne is one of those authors where I want to carry on picking up their work because each time I read something by them, they bring something new and open my eyes to more and more,
A very well done and important book, please be warned that this book does contain Trigger Warning, and if you would like me to tell them to you my inbox is always open.
Okay this is a tough one to review. It’s one in the morning and I am tired, but I NEEDED to finish this story. This is something that needs to be told.
Very very powerful.
Full RTC
Firstly I just want to applaud Holly Bourne for putting trigger warnings at the front and back of this book with places people can contact if they need help and support.
I can honestly say going into this I didn't necessarily know what happened in this, I've only read one other book from Holly Bourne and I really enjoyed that, and I was then like I kind of want to read more, bought two of her books and then picked this.
It was a rollercoaster of emotions and it was extremely difficult in some places to read what Amelie had to go through. This book really does make you think about certain things when it comes to love. Amelie and Reese are in a relationship and it appears to be the "All Consuming" type of love. There's some very and not so subtle nods to what is happening and the more I read the more I just knew what was going to happen (well part of it) and my heart well and truly broke.
Something that I feel I took away from this, is the power of friendship, Amelie had so many bad things happen and the friendships that came from this, was such light in a dark book.
The thing with this book is, I found it very very difficult to stop reading, I couldn't tell you the last time I read a full book in a day but this was one of them. I took a lot away from this book and some things that were wrote I agreed with (obviously it is very precise to the book)
A hard hitting, but very open, real and honest book. I think Holly Bourne is one of those authors where I want to carry on picking up their work because each time I read something by them, they bring something new and open my eyes to more and more,
A very well done and important book, please be warned that this book does contain Trigger Warning, and if you would like me to tell them to you my inbox is always open.
Okay this is a tough one to review. It’s one in the morning and I am tired, but I NEEDED to finish this story. This is something that needs to be told.
Very very powerful.
Full RTC
September 10, 2022
A rainy Saturday is the day I've read my 1000th book. I purposefully picked a Holly Bourne book because she has yet to let me down although I would have wished for a happier read. It's an intense and heartbreaking story that - percentage wise - does contain little positivity. As I'm in a bit of a rough spot myself at the moment this maybe wasn't the best pick. I still devoured it like I usually do Holly's books. It is important that such stories are told to make victims of abuse feel less alone and definitely less at fault.
To anyone who has ever experienced abuse: it's not your fault. You are good enough. You are brilliant, in fact. And incredibly brave to still be here, to prevail. Carry on ❤️
To anyone who has ever experienced abuse: it's not your fault. You are good enough. You are brilliant, in fact. And incredibly brave to still be here, to prevail. Carry on ❤️
August 11, 2019
i'm not gonna review this cause i work for the publisher and i am the most ethical bitch u ever did meet however i would recommend this book and thats all i'm gonna say hashtag coy
October 20, 2019
IMPORTANT QUESTION:
Does every copy have a signature of Holly on the first page? OR DID I RECEIVE A SIGNED FIRST EDITION.
Does every copy have a signature of Holly on the first page? OR DID I RECEIVE A SIGNED FIRST EDITION.
December 5, 2023
✨ 4 stars ✨
"𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥'𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘸."
"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴, 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳."
Omg, this book...😭
I liked what the author did here, she wrote about the hard things we can go through during a toxic relationship and how we tend to idealize the person's acts of violence towards us.
Is a book that tells the story of Amelie after she broke up with her boyfriend (who was a sweetheart), but she had to leave him because she had to move to another city. That's where she met Reese, who at first is very kind and sweet to her, but then little by little begins to show his true self. And it's horrible...very horrible. So Amelie decides to draw a map and go to all the places where she cried in public where Reese was the main reason.
The story was so sad and heartbreaking. I just wanna hug Amelie so bad and tell her that she's brave and everything is going to be okay. 😔🫶🏻💗🫂
"𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘴- 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦."
"𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥'𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘸."
"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴, 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳."
Omg, this book...😭
I liked what the author did here, she wrote about the hard things we can go through during a toxic relationship and how we tend to idealize the person's acts of violence towards us.
Is a book that tells the story of Amelie after she broke up with her boyfriend (who was a sweetheart), but she had to leave him because she had to move to another city. That's where she met Reese, who at first is very kind and sweet to her, but then little by little begins to show his true self. And it's horrible...very horrible. So Amelie decides to draw a map and go to all the places where she cried in public where Reese was the main reason.
The story was so sad and heartbreaking. I just wanna hug Amelie so bad and tell her that she's brave and everything is going to be okay. 😔🫶🏻💗🫂
"𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘴- 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦."
November 18, 2020
Trigger warnings: emotional abuse, rape
I've always admired Holly Bourne's work and this book is no exception.
This delicate novel explores a concept that is rarely touched upon in YA books and it's done in such an exceptional way. The book is told through two different timelines, a before and after if you will, and I believe it was the right choice to tell this story in the best way possible.
I'm making a memory map. About you and all the places you've made me cry.
Amelie's journey to understanding what happened in her relationship with Reese is not an easy one, but it's a journey of discovery and acceptance of herself that she desperately needed after what she went through. I was glad she had people who helped her along the way.
I really appreciated how the author showed the differences between Alfie and Reese, for me it was crystal clear: it was the difference between a loving relationship built on trust with a nice childhood friend and an unloving one where there were so much abuse and pain caused by a manipulative boy.
This story isn't easy to read, but I think it's important, because as we know these things unfortunately do happen and we definitely need to be aware of them.
I've always admired Holly Bourne's work and this book is no exception.
This delicate novel explores a concept that is rarely touched upon in YA books and it's done in such an exceptional way. The book is told through two different timelines, a before and after if you will, and I believe it was the right choice to tell this story in the best way possible.
I'm making a memory map. About you and all the places you've made me cry.
Amelie's journey to understanding what happened in her relationship with Reese is not an easy one, but it's a journey of discovery and acceptance of herself that she desperately needed after what she went through. I was glad she had people who helped her along the way.
I really appreciated how the author showed the differences between Alfie and Reese, for me it was crystal clear: it was the difference between a loving relationship built on trust with a nice childhood friend and an unloving one where there were so much abuse and pain caused by a manipulative boy.
This story isn't easy to read, but I think it's important, because as we know these things unfortunately do happen and we definitely need to be aware of them.
August 30, 2020
Note: I read this for the YA Book Prize 2020 (I'm one of the judges, hooray!).
December 9, 2019
This was my first Holly Bourne read but I have come away a little unsure if her writing style is for me. I am a stalwart fan of British contemporary YA, some of my favourite YA is UK written and based, because of course I want that real connection with my culture.
It took me a good third of the book to really get settled into the story and the characters. Overall, I didn’t really connect with any character in the book and I feel that I should have connected with Amelie. She irritated me on and off. Needless to say, I hated Reese, however I did like her friends, Hannah, Archie and Jessa. I would have loved more about these friendships.
Bourne narrates some important themes in this book in the form of insidious and manipulative behaviour in a significant other. In fact the behaviour was much more than that. There was a slow reveal of what that ‘more’ is and some of the handling of how that reveal happened was a little messy in execution for me, losing some clarity of the severity and wrongness of the behaviour. I also struggled with the past and present timelines, they just didn’t flow well in and out of one another but I did get used to the framing eventually. I don’t normally struggle with this approach but there was just something about the chop and change that made it difficult to stay inside the story.
There were some strong elements that really captured me but they were small parts of the story. I thought how the counsellor and counselling was represented was realistic and positive. I thought the assault element took an less talked-about path that was good to have out there in literature without being too graphic. I also liked the music teacher and the tentative confidante that was offered and appreciated.
I am left with questions however, why was there no mention of reporting this heinous crime? This was a problematic big hole in this story that is meant to and will influence young people having some similar experiences told in this story.
I have rated this 3 stars for the important themes, but I do feel it could have been executed better both in writing dealing with such sensitive topics.
Thank you to the publisher and Amazon Vine for the finished review copy.
This review can be found on A Take From Two Cities here.
It took me a good third of the book to really get settled into the story and the characters. Overall, I didn’t really connect with any character in the book and I feel that I should have connected with Amelie. She irritated me on and off. Needless to say, I hated Reese, however I did like her friends, Hannah, Archie and Jessa. I would have loved more about these friendships.
Bourne narrates some important themes in this book in the form of insidious and manipulative behaviour in a significant other. In fact the behaviour was much more than that. There was a slow reveal of what that ‘more’ is and some of the handling of how that reveal happened was a little messy in execution for me, losing some clarity of the severity and wrongness of the behaviour. I also struggled with the past and present timelines, they just didn’t flow well in and out of one another but I did get used to the framing eventually. I don’t normally struggle with this approach but there was just something about the chop and change that made it difficult to stay inside the story.
There were some strong elements that really captured me but they were small parts of the story. I thought how the counsellor and counselling was represented was realistic and positive. I thought the assault element took an less talked-about path that was good to have out there in literature without being too graphic. I also liked the music teacher and the tentative confidante that was offered and appreciated.
I am left with questions however, why was there no mention of reporting this heinous crime? This was a problematic big hole in this story that is meant to and will influence young people having some similar experiences told in this story.
I have rated this 3 stars for the important themes, but I do feel it could have been executed better both in writing dealing with such sensitive topics.
Thank you to the publisher and Amazon Vine for the finished review copy.
This review can be found on A Take From Two Cities here.
September 21, 2020
rip my heart.
Amo a Holly Bourne desde que leí It Only Happens in the Movies, es auténtica, sarcástica y honesta. Así que cuando vi este libro no dudé ni un minuto antes comenzar a leerlo. A pesar del título esperaba algo divertido, inteligente, sí, pero también ligero.
Sólo acerté con lo de inteligente.
The Places I've Cried nos muestra el desarrollo y las consecuencias de una relación abusiva, con cruda honestidad. Amelie, la protagonista, está decida a entender que fue lo que salió mal, a entender su dolor para poder superarlo. Para ello decide armar un mapa de recuerdos y recorrer cada punto donde Reese la haya hecho llorar. Es una historia difícil, donde la intensidad va en crescendo, con alta carga emocional y, me atrevo a decir, no para todo público.
Debido a lo angustioso de los temas que trata, no es un libro que se "disfrute", así que el hecho de que gusté o no se reduce a la capacidad del lector para sentir empatia. Sin esto, puede que más de uno se aburra, y lo siento. Con esto, cada página leída será como una puñalada, y también lo siento.
La escritura de Holly continúa siendo genuina y poderosa; aún en los momentos más difíciles logra transmitir la fuerza vulnerable pero resiliente de la juventud, sin caer en melodrama. Esto hizo que todo se sintiera aún más auténtico... y yo sufrí las puñaladas. Lloré como hace mucho no lloraba con un libro: de tristeza pero también de alivio... que refrescante es ver una afección mental tratada con el respeto que merece.
En resumen, uno de mis favoritos de este año, un libro importantisimo que muestra:
- lo fácil que es perdernos
- que es difícil, pero también posible, volver a encontrarnos
- el poder de la terapia como herramienta de sanación
- y, por sobre todo, la importancia de escucharnos (aún cuando nadie más lo haga)
Amo a Holly Bourne desde que leí It Only Happens in the Movies, es auténtica, sarcástica y honesta. Así que cuando vi este libro no dudé ni un minuto antes comenzar a leerlo. A pesar del título esperaba algo divertido, inteligente, sí, pero también ligero.
Sólo acerté con lo de inteligente.
The Places I've Cried nos muestra el desarrollo y las consecuencias de una relación abusiva, con cruda honestidad. Amelie, la protagonista, está decida a entender que fue lo que salió mal, a entender su dolor para poder superarlo. Para ello decide armar un mapa de recuerdos y recorrer cada punto donde Reese la haya hecho llorar. Es una historia difícil, donde la intensidad va en crescendo, con alta carga emocional y, me atrevo a decir, no para todo público.
Debido a lo angustioso de los temas que trata, no es un libro que se "disfrute", así que el hecho de que gusté o no se reduce a la capacidad del lector para sentir empatia. Sin esto, puede que más de uno se aburra, y lo siento. Con esto, cada página leída será como una puñalada, y también lo siento.
La escritura de Holly continúa siendo genuina y poderosa; aún en los momentos más difíciles logra transmitir la fuerza vulnerable pero resiliente de la juventud, sin caer en melodrama. Esto hizo que todo se sintiera aún más auténtico... y yo sufrí las puñaladas. Lloré como hace mucho no lloraba con un libro: de tristeza pero también de alivio... que refrescante es ver una afección mental tratada con el respeto que merece.
En resumen, uno de mis favoritos de este año, un libro importantisimo que muestra:
- lo fácil que es perdernos
- que es difícil, pero también posible, volver a encontrarnos
- el poder de la terapia como herramienta de sanación
- y, por sobre todo, la importancia de escucharnos (aún cuando nadie más lo haga)
“I can take my journey and my scars and I can use the lessons they gave me to ensure my future path has fewer tears in it. There’s a trail of salt across the country, from the tears that rolled down my cheeks, but it ends here.
I hardly ever cry any more.”
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