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The Places I've Cried in Public
by
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.
Kindle Edition, 368 pages
Published
October 3rd 2019
by Usborne Publishing
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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 ...more
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 ...more
[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 ...more
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 ...more
➽ book 5 out of 100
“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 kn...more
Sep 17, 2019
Joanne Harris
added it
A 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.
“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.
Without a doubt this book is important. I want to thrust it into the hands of every teenage girl ever and into the hands of many adult women too.
The Places I’ve Cried in Public chronicles the relationship between Amelie and Reese. Amelie is new in town and falls hard for dazzling Reese... but there is a darker side to Reese, an abusive side.
And so the book opens with Amelie in the present crying on a bench trying to figure out how she got to this place. How she has become the girl who cries all ...more
The Places I’ve Cried in Public chronicles the relationship between Amelie and Reese. Amelie is new in town and falls hard for dazzling Reese... but there is a darker side to Reese, an abusive side.
And so the book opens with Amelie in the present crying on a bench trying to figure out how she got to this place. How she has become the girl who cries all ...more
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.
...more
“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 comfortabl
...more
Wow
This book is so important
Review to come
This book is so important
Review to come
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. ...more
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. ...more
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 ...more
Amelie's first person narrative has a very strong voice, and as frustrating as it is to ...more
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 ...more
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 ...more
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.
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
...more
Mar 26, 2020
Stacey (prettybooks)
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
young-adult-fiction,
read-in-my-thirties
Note: I read this for the YA Book Prize 2020 (I'm one of the judges, hooray!).
...more
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 understan ...more
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 understan ...more
*2.5 stars
ma'am....the writing really wasn't it. i went 🤢🤢🤢 every time the author expressed their character's emotions THROUGH ALL CAPITAL LETTERS or just does this "!!!". like GIRL are we a wattpad novel in 2013? i don't think so. 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.
but this was a book about sexual abuse and toxic/abusive relationships, which is a really s ...more
ma'am....the writing really wasn't it. i went 🤢🤢🤢 every time the author expressed their character's emotions THROUGH ALL CAPITAL LETTERS or just does this "!!!". like GIRL are we a wattpad novel in 2013? i don't think so. 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.
but this was a book about sexual abuse and toxic/abusive relationships, which is a really s ...more
"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 who 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 w
...more
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 of ...more
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 of ...more
OMG what a gripping story on a difficult topic.
It can be so easy to raise red flags when you look from the outside. My alarm bells were triggered quiet early in the story, but I didn't anticipate how much further the abuse would escalate. How much courage it would take Amelie to get her life back in her own hands.
Addiction wasn't what I expected it to be compared with, but made me understand more why it's so difficult to recognize and acknowledge abuse in a relationship AND to act on putting an ...more
It can be so easy to raise red flags when you look from the outside. My alarm bells were triggered quiet early in the story, but I didn't anticipate how much further the abuse would escalate. How much courage it would take Amelie to get her life back in her own hands.
Addiction wasn't what I expected it to be compared with, but made me understand more why it's so difficult to recognize and acknowledge abuse in a relationship AND to act on putting an ...more
Actual rating 4.5 ⭐️.
This book has such an honest and important story. Even though it broke my heart multiple times, I‘d highly recommend reading it!
Content warning for emotional abuse, sexual assault & toxic relationships (and probably more)
This book has such an honest and important story. Even though it broke my heart multiple times, I‘d highly recommend reading it!
Content warning for emotional abuse, sexual assault & toxic relationships (and probably more)
"You don’t need dramatic settings to experience dramatic emotions."
TW: emotional abuse, anxiety, PTSD, rape
Ouch, my heart is heavy and broken.
I honestly do not understand how a book with a message such as this one is so underrated.
This book was so freaking intense – I was completely taken aback by how raw and powerful this story was.
I was expecting an insightful read about abuse and toxic relationships, but I was not expecting The Places I’ve Cried in Public to be such an impactful, outstandi ...more
TW: emotional abuse, anxiety, PTSD, rape
Ouch, my heart is heavy and broken.
I honestly do not understand how a book with a message such as this one is so underrated.
This book was so freaking intense – I was completely taken aback by how raw and powerful this story was.
I was expecting an insightful read about abuse and toxic relationships, but I was not expecting The Places I’ve Cried in Public to be such an impactful, outstandi ...more
Wow, this book touched so many chords... I can't even. The issue is so delicate, and I really hope you have never experienced such an emotional or physical abuse. But if you have, I pray you recognize it sooner rather than later and that you are strong enough to ask for help. Please, read this amazing piece of literature.
...more
this book is something
books that tackle difficult topics like abusive relationships (especially when the people concerned are teenagers) always takes a really fine, delicate hand and i feel like holly bourne really gave it justice.
she details the relationship in such a personal, raw way that you feel an instant understanding for the main character's pain. we start the story off knowing the end outcome of the relationship and through a series of flashbacks and explanation, the reader gets to foll ...more
books that tackle difficult topics like abusive relationships (especially when the people concerned are teenagers) always takes a really fine, delicate hand and i feel like holly bourne really gave it justice.
she details the relationship in such a personal, raw way that you feel an instant understanding for the main character's pain. we start the story off knowing the end outcome of the relationship and through a series of flashbacks and explanation, the reader gets to foll ...more
I was super-lucky and managed to win this in a raffle at YALC!
I honestly do not know how to express what I'm feeling without spoiling the book. But alas, I'll try. I've seen so many other reviews of this label the book as 'important' and I 100% agree. This is a must-read. It wonderfully articulates what a toxic, abusive relationship is like and how easy it is for the abuser to manipulate and control someone and make them think that it's love.
I felt so incredibly frustrated, sad, angry - SO! MAN ...more
I honestly do not know how to express what I'm feeling without spoiling the book. But alas, I'll try. I've seen so many other reviews of this label the book as 'important' and I 100% agree. This is a must-read. It wonderfully articulates what a toxic, abusive relationship is like and how easy it is for the abuser to manipulate and control someone and make them think that it's love.
I felt so incredibly frustrated, sad, angry - SO! MAN ...more
This book was truly incredible. It told a really brave and honest story, that I’m so so glad is being told in YA! If you wanna cry, want a book that will really make your feel something, pick this book up.
Wish I'd had this book when I was 18. Brilliant and important and wonderfully written.
...more
Nov 28, 2020
stefiereads
added it
I am not gonna rate this book because I did not read everything. BUT, I still want to say something.
I read around 100 pages and decided to just skimmed through it.
The first part of the book got me feel swoon and heartbroken at the same time as the story told in past and present. It is just got my feelings confused I guess.
When I skimmed through the story. I stopped at some parts where it was heartbreaking and sad. This book contained some heavy themes that are important to talk about. The main ...more
I read around 100 pages and decided to just skimmed through it.
The first part of the book got me feel swoon and heartbroken at the same time as the story told in past and present. It is just got my feelings confused I guess.
When I skimmed through the story. I stopped at some parts where it was heartbreaking and sad. This book contained some heavy themes that are important to talk about. The main ...more
rating to follow - that was a LOT to digest wow
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Books Ever After: Readalong 22 t/m 31 maart - The Places I've Cried In Public - Holly Bourne | 61 | 56 | Jul 06, 2020 01:21AM | |
| YA Buddy Readers'...: The Places I've Cried in Public by Holly Bourne - Starting January 15th 2020 | 6 | 14 | Jan 19, 2020 02:25AM | |
| Young Adult Conte...: #22 The Places I've Cried in Public by Holly Bourne | 6 | 23 | Nov 04, 2019 12:40PM |
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Holly 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-winni ...more
Inspired by what she saw, she started writing teen fiction, including the best-selling, award-winni ...more
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“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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24 likes
“It’s such a simple torture – the silent treatment. As basic as tripping someone over or pulling their chair out before they sit down. And yet it’s so very effective. When someone has the willpower to pretend you’re not there, it nullifies you. How do you fight against that humiliation?”
—
12 likes
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