The places I have cried in public ( Surya and Inês)

[RoRo]

Here you guys go!!

[Surya]

Thank you RoRo. I'm done with today's pages too and I loved it. Although I feel like what's the point of discussion when Amelie herself is memory mapping all the incidents with her commentary inbetween chapters lol. So much fun to read those even though I just want to sit near Amelie and be there for her and be part of her quest 💚

[Surya]

I mean apart from wearing a hat indoors 😂

[Surya]

I don't like the way he charms Amelie. It feels like a kind of Love Bombing, where someone showers a person with excessive affection and attention in order to gain control or influence their behavior. It feels like manipulation at times, which I'm sure is what Reese is upto. I wish it was written in a third person format though, so that I wouldn't have any doubts about Reese's side of the story

[Surya]

Yeah, I like the way it's handled so far in first person. Like Amelie in her narration is putting enough blame on herself for not seeing it sooner and that's good writing. Otherwise we might be the one to analyse what he did wrong before the break-up or why they broke up. It's giving us a clear picture now, about every character so far

[Surya]

I think she would ultimately get her closure. This whole memory mapping thing will ultimately tell her what she now know about Reese. And even though she don't have friends now, I hope that changes with story progression.

The pages on being Homesick and moving to a new college were so good. I can relate to that sudden change where we feel like everyone knows everyone except us during the first day of college when you move.

[Surya]

You're lucky 😂

Wait! At what chapter are you at right now ?

[Surya]

Okay 👍 I'm reading it in Kindle and the pages are in different sizes 😂

Yeah, the bingo part was so funny. Reading about college and how people basically reinvent themselves for their first day is exactly portrayed. I'm so much like Amelie in real life, so her experience with performing before a crowd or getting attention makes me feel awkward 😬

[Surya]

Also the performance part was so funny. Like how Amelie has to go after a stand up comedy act which sucked 😂 Also her fears while performing are fun to read ( projectile vomit lol ) I'm gutted that there was no mime act 😁😂

[Surya]

Alistair is hilarious 😂 I would never wish my worst enemy to endure Alistair's classes. As if self introduction isn't hard enough already, he has to go and order others to sing it 😂 I've had professors ( kid you not ) like that in college and I always just wish they don't notice me 😄

[Surya]

Yeah, even though the bond is severed between Amelie and ( Hannah, Jack and Liv ) now, they are cool characters with each having a personality of their own. Yeah, Amelie does worry about her old gang but that's normal though since they must have been inseparable their whole lives before that and suddenly she's alone now. And if that isn't enough, Amelie is really shy and reserved, so she's bound to overthink about her old friends but I'm glad that didn't interfere with her feelings for Reese ( jerk ) majorly, so early in her college days.

[Surya]

I'm done with it too. Not much to unpack within two chapters but I really loved it 💚

[Surya]

Yeah, just tell me where I should finish, like before which chapter

[Surya]

Told ya YA books make me feel things 😂 that's why I never read YA books and if you hadn't requested a buddy read, I would never have opened this book. The name of the book itself is a red flag for me that it would be sad and angry 😂

[Surya]

So only one chapter for tomorrow ?

[Surya]

Yeah, that's okay with me. I'll be busy this weekend but I can read the daily limit easily 👍

[Surya]

I got two other books on the shelves too, so it's fine with me with our current pace. Also it makes the discussion more fun 😄

[Surya]

Yeah, I loved this chapter too and I liked how all the places she cried aren't that notable but still holds a important piece of what she has become today while narrating it. I don't get Reese at all, like is he a sociopath ? So far, everything fits the description for the way he acts.

[Surya]

I laughed so hard when she thought to herself "Nobody wants to be Yoko". I hope Reese's bandmates don't get mad at Amelie straight away 😂

Also when she thought about the farts in her first date with him 😆😆

[Surya]

they are so cool. I actually wondered why Amelie isn't as invested in their relationship. She could have coached Hannah and Jack on how to transition from friends to romantic partners but I don't think anybody would wish to be the third wheel 😂

[Surya]

Right now, I'm just dreading when everything falls apart. Like I already figured everything about Reese, but the question on why Hannah and Amelie are now apart is really bugging me. She must have screwed up really bad to lose her friendship with Hannah and Jack

[Surya]

Yeah, you're right. But Hannah wouldn't have minded though, like she seemed like a really nice person and I feel like Amelie would have avoided Reese entirely if Jack and Hannah were seeing different person 😂

[Surya]

It would be nice if their friendship break for a different reason but still involving Reese, so that we can all hate him even more 😂

Also I think the fallout from this chapter would be echoed in future, like when Alfie finds out about Reese or Hannah getting mad at Amelie for not heeding her advice about Reese. Did you like idea behind the story ? The fact that she's going to memory map the places as a project as well as getting closure

[Surya]

Me too. I feel the same way about the crying at the bus stop part. But I still feel like maybe Alfie is still rooting for Amelie and maybe he's just giving space for Amelie by not texting every once in a while. That's just a possibility and if it were true, then he might get upset about Amelie's relationship with Reese and it will make Amelie sad too, because she's the kind of person who cares about that.

I would have rooted for the same too. Even when (view spoiler)[ Reese told her about committing the biggest mistake of his life with breaking up with her, I didn't buy it for a single second (hide spoiler)]

I really love the narration and it's so elegant and funny but still carrying the weight of emotions Amelie is feeling at any given moment.

Where do we finish tomorrow ?

[Surya]

Sounds good. We might cover her gig at the Cube and I'm willing to bet that something would go wrong there 😂

[Surya]

I think he's just lying his way out of everything. Like he always asks for her answers and then say "omg, it's my favorite too" Classic Sociopathic behaviour to manipulate people. I genuinely think he's a stalker. Also it was easy for him to do that to Amelie because she's not wired like Hannah who can call out BS way sooner. In my eyes, Reese is seducing Amelie for his own gain, whatever that may be ( maybe he wants to be the boyfriend of the talented girl who won first prize, to maintain his popularity )

[Surya]

me too. I just wish he end up miserable and sad by the end of the book

[Surya]

I'll try to watch it before we finish the book. Always love having discussion with you lol. It's going to be a busy weekend for me with my sister's marriage and the reception later on. Maybe I'll watch it on Monday 👍

[Surya]

But I really love this book and like I said it's really easy to read. So we can continue with our current pace. Also I just found out Moxie was directed by Amy Poehler, wouldn't miss it for the world 😂

[Surya]

Yeah 👍 we can unpack more tomorrow 😄

[Surya]

I loved her on Parks and Rec and SNL. She's really witty and hilarious and I'm a fan and now that you mentioned she also appear as an actor in the movie, there's no way I'm missing it lol

[Surya]

You will love it ( but I'm sure you won't hate it 😂 )

Anyways see you same time tomorrow 🤗

[Surya]

Hey, yeah, I loved Hannah in this chapter and you were right all along, Amelie's infatuation with Reese broke them apart and it's really sad when a friendship fails. I was a bit mad at Amelie for being so stupid this chapter. Reese literally never congratulated her for her opening act and I was waiting for him to say that and he never said and it bothered me that Amelie didn't even notice

[Surya]

The infatuation is really creepy, especially last chapter (view spoiler)[ where there was a line about "Reese's Pee - mason jar", (hide spoiler)] that was really gross and it pretty much summed how much obsessed she is with Reese. He's a douchebag but Amelie really made it easy for him. And I guess I was right, that he somewhat used her gig to promote his music ( which wasn't that good )

[Surya]

exactly, I was enraged when that happened and I'm glad Hannah called her out sooner. But was she about to say something else about Reese before Amelie ran out of the restroom ?

[Surya]

That looks more plausible. I'm just sad that he made her cry on her best night and ruin the only friendship she had so far in that town. I'm hoping for some counseling session in future with Mrs Thomas in future.

Also, as if all that thing he did isn't enough, he was planning to post that on YouTube ? I don't think he really loves her, it just seems like a calculated scheme to get more popular using Amelie in the crossfire. How sick and twisted is that ugh!!

[Surya]

Yeah, it kinda felt weird that Amelie didn't text Alfie after the first day. Yeah, College is all about reinventing ourselves but that doesn't mean you leave your old friends down the drain. And Alfie was technically her friend first then boyfriend, so it doesn't make any sense that she hasn't told him about Reese or even about his new friends, her gig at Cube or her achievement at talent contest. And she should know that it's not all about her, maybe Alfie could be going through something terrible and she didn't even bother checking up with him ? What's up with that

[Surya]

If Alfie had ignored her texts, then maybe there's a good reason for her to stop texting him. But that didn't happen and now that we discussed about it, I can finally understand why she thinks she's stupid. She couldn't have predicted about Reese ( because not many can ) but other things were perfectly in her reach and she fumbled. I just hope she understood all these now.

[Surya]

Yeah, good places was good but it kinda lacked some emotions for me. I'm glad she also focused on good times but that also meant seeing Reese in a way I don't want to see and ultimately my hatred for Reese made me not enjoy that chapter. But it had it's moments, like her feeding the ducks and the coffee discussion ( even though Reese's part in that scenes ultimately ruined it for me at the end)

[Surya]

Also one last discussion about the Cube, did you see how Reese changed his words in a matter of minutes when talking about "anxiety before performing to live audience". He first said that Amelie is worrying too much but when The Contenders's Mike told Amelie that is good to feel nerves, Reese told that he said the same thing which was just too far from what he said. That moment and him bragging about co writing the songs ultimately made sure he's the ultimate douchebag.

[Surya]

I know reminiscing about good times is just as important as thinking about bad times, but come on, Reese is unlovable 😂 I just hate him so much 😢 and if that chapter had focused on Hannah, that might have become my favourite chapter 😂

I remember everything in that chapter because I read both those chapters under an hour so that I can then discuss it with you lol

[Surya]

Where should we finish tomorrow ? 😄

[Surya]

Inês :)) wrote: "(sorry for disappering but something came up) tomorrow we finish right before Leadmill, Shefield"

It's fine, I'm literally reading and having the discussion with you about the book while inside a marriage hall where my sister's getting married tomorrow 😂

[Surya]

I'll pass along the compliments 😄 thank you

[Surya]

I loved today's chapters too and Yeah, I knew it's on the cards ( seeking help ), also I'm glad it made her a better narrator than she already was in the story. (view spoiler)[ I really hated Reese today for the way he managed to make Amelie feel today after she randomly sang with a busker in the bridge. A good boyfriend/girlfriend would have pointed out to Amelie how she didn't feel nervous when she randomly sang with that person and would be proud of that Achievement, but instead we had our douchebag there, feeling bad for his lack of talents, taking it out on Amelie. It got me really mad even though it was nice of him to set up a treasure hunt date (hide spoiler)]

[Surya]

Yeah, the term inconsistent fits him but also I feel like he was wrong from the first moment ? Like, the entire relationship feels like he wanted to be with Amelie because she won that day. I don't know what he would have done if she had came third or second that day ?

[Surya]

Yeah, I loved her parents. Even though her mom was hard on her, I can understand their pain too, seeing their only daughter struggle like that for weeks. The councelling session with Joan felt good, dissecting how wrong this relationship was from the start. It will maybe make Amelie not love him anymore or atleast believe that it's not her fault

[Surya]

Exactly, it was bugging me for a while and now that he feels threatened whenever she books a gig or showcase her talent, it's just really awful

[Surya]

I'm glad that someone finally pointed out what's wrong in that relationship. Now Amelie have a reason to believe that it's not her fault that everything is miserable now. It will do her self confidence a lot of good, which is nice since she have to come with a really good coursework assignment if she wishes to pass music class. I really want her to score better than Reese by the end and maybe give him a dressing down on how less talented he must be if she can come up with a great work in less time than him 😂😁

[Surya]

It makes perfect sense 😂 Like she can't impulsively make decisions that will hurt her sanity but also at the same time there's an imaginary line in a relationship which shouldn't be crossed and Reese crossed that when he got mad at Amelie for him getting bad grades and then not apologising for it. I don't even like the way he treats her in front of his bandmates 😤