The Places I've Cried in Public (A BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick): 1

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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) 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. These useful springboards for debate and learning contain short, relevant extracts from the book along with a selection of thought-provoking discussion questions and flexible activities that include roleplay, vlogging, mind-maps and memory maps.

Nothing that incriminating, of course. Nothing that couldn't be shushed away with a "you're too sensitive/needy/clingy/crazy". But damaging, nonetheless.The Nottinghill Carnival takes central stage in this story about families, memories and the power of dance and festivals. Author Yaba Badoe tells... When her dad is made redundant, their family is uprooted from Sheffield to the South of England, meaning Amelie leaves her friends, and boyfriend behind. She and Alfie have an agreement, they’ll meet again at university but in the meantime, they are free to live their lives apart. But this story isn’t about Alfie, the boy who is there as an example of a healthy relationship. 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.

Because of that, it took me a bit to get into the story. Nevertheless, I definitely wanted to finish it and over the course of the book, the story started to get better, especially the last part of it. I definitely got emotionally connected to Amelie, understood how she felt and was very proud as she started to understand that all of what happened wasn’t her fault. The way Reese treated her started to make me feel angry and I just wished I could tell her to run away from him. Every time I start another Holly Bourne book, I’m scared. I think, “Is this the time? Is this the book where Bourne lets me down, and I have to be disappointed??” And the answer is always no, as it is with The Places I’ve Cried in Public. I read this mostly in private, but otherwise there would have been some public tears, let me tell you. Themes: coming of age, love, first love, grief, abuse, trauma, forgiveness, toxic relationships, manipulation, therapy, mental health

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Reading it in my perspective, at first it seemed so shallow, so irrelev The trademark heartbreaking Holly Bourne moment I’ve come to expect near the climax of every book happens here too, of course, when Amelie visits her old friends in Sheffield and Everything Goes Horribly Wrong. One reason I read these books so fast is simply because I need to get through them as fast as possible, like ripping off a band-aid, because these are emotionally draining books. And yes, Amelie certainly makes mistakes—she is, like all of us, flawed on top of being young and inexperienced in these things, and I appreciate that we get lots of facets of her character. She screws up bad with Alfie; she gets her former best friend upset … it’s a whole thing. There are a few other details that really make this book stand out. You are looking for a piece of honest, no-nonsense teen literature that will empower students, make them feel like they are not alone and help them make healthy, confident decisions. 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.

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.A school project gives Amelie the idea. She’ll create a memory map of all the places he made her cry. Afterwards, puzzled Amelie decides to revisit all the places she cried when with Reese and in the process of doing so, and replaying events with the benefit of hindsight, begins to realise that consistency is a highly underrated love trait, especially when compared to lying, cheating and the trauma of abuse.