It Only Happens in the Movies by Holly Bourne

It Only Happens in the Movies by Holly Bourne
Pages: 411
Release Date: 2017
Rating: 💜💜💜💜
Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository

Audrey is over romance. Since her parents' relationship imploded her mother's been catatonic, so she takes a cinema job to get out of the house. But there she meets wannabe film-maker Harry. Nobody expects Audrey and Harry to fall in love as hard and fast as they do. But that doesn't mean things are easy. Because real love isn't like the movies...


I love the film (500) days of Summer. The way it examines love in our world and how our expectations don't always match up to our reality fascinates me. As someone who falls in love easily but rarely acts I have been known to build up a daydream of the life I could have with the person, only for it to all come crashing down around me. In many ways I am like Tom from the film, because I want more than the person I like can give to me.

And that's exactly what this book was like. The main character, Audrey, falls hard for a boy she meets working at a movie theatre and is willing to do almost anything to stay in a relationship with Harry (the bad boy of the novel). It was interesting going into this book because you knew it wasn't a love story from the get go. Audrey has sworn off love, and announces this several times at the start of the novel, so you know that we aren't being shown a love story. But holy cow does Holly Bourne take us for a ride.

If you have ever read any of Holly Bourne's books before you have learnt that nothing is ever as it seems. Every single one of her novels has had at least 3 major plot twists that each serve a different purpose. The first one is the one you see coming, the second one is the one that changes the entire dynamic of the story and the third one leaves you in tears. This book was no exception, with each one of these living up to and crushing all of my expectations for the novel. The characters were so well written that it felt like this story was happening to your closest friends, and you just wanted Holly Bourne to LET THEM HAVE A HAPPY ENDING!

One thing I've always admired about Holly Bourne's books is the fact that the side characters aren't neglected, no matter how little time they spend actually appearing on page. From the neurotic cinema manager to Harry's group of friends I really felt like I connected to each character and got to see the deeper parts of their character. No one was a perfect person, with no flaws. Everyone had multiple sides to them, and you could understand their motives for all of their actions (even if you didn't enjoy them). Like all of Holly Bourne books I've read, this book made me feel like I'd lost a friendship group the moment I turned over the last page, which is the beauty of a well-written novel.

Possibly my favourite part about this book was all the pop culture references that were made between the characters. This has become an increasing trend in YA books, with some people falling flat but Holly Bourne has always had a way of interweaving her world with world that seems so effortless. The references to Kill Bill,  the Marvel universe, and literally every romance movie worth watching added so much to this book as you got to get inside the brain of the characters and understand the connections they are making as they are making them.

The ending made me sob for a good two or three minutes with how perfect it was. You get to see just how much Audrey has grown as a character, and also the influence she has had on Harry as a person. It was one of the most beautiful endings to a YA romance I have ever read and exceeded my expectations on so many levels. And even though I knew what was coming the second time I read this book, it still made me weep like a Disney princess (dramatically throws self on bed).

Overall this book is well worth the read, even if you aren't the biggest fan of romance, because it is so much more than a love story. It has a feminist take on the typical romance novel that takes down all your expectations and rebuilds them into the story you didn't realise you needed (plus it has zombies, which is pretty awesome).

Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Pages: 103
Release Date: 1606
Rating: 💜💜💜💜
Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository

Macbeth himself, a brave warrior, is fatally impelled by supernatural forces, by his proud wife, and by his own burgeoning ambition. As he embarks on his murderous course to gain and retain the crown of Scotland, we see the appalling emotional and psychological effects on both Lady Macbeth and himself. The cruel ironies of their destiny are conveyed in poetry of unsurpassed power.


In an attempt to read more old/classic books I decided to read another play by Shakespeare because why step out of comfort zones if you don't want to. Right?

I love Macbeth. I've read it before, but that was 5 years ago, so I felt it was time to revisit this world of turmoil and see what does down. I  hadn't forgotten as much as I thought I had, which isn't that surprising when you realise that the play is only 103 pages long.

My favourite fact about this play is that it is so short because James 1 didn't like long plays and Shakespeare wanted to make sure he paid attention for the entire duration of the play, because we all know that Shakespeare is the Queen of Sass. As a result this play is short and full of jokes, although there is just the right of murder in here to balance the play out. The way that Shakespeare showed the characters' slow descent into madness was almost poetic, as with each act you could see more and more of their sanity disappear.

In a way this play is very similar to Hamlet: people hung up on power eventually kill everyone before conveniently dying themselves. Plus, female suicide! But all jokes aside there are clear parallels, from the language used to the characters involved, that made this play seem oddly familiar to me. I think Shakespeare had a thing for corrupt countries that needed saving.

In conclusion, I still love Macbeth. I think it is a great book to read if you are just starting off with Shakespeare, as it is short and has iconic lines such as 'You egg!' The English in this play isn't hard to understand and you can fall into the story quite fast. With all the action and adventure that takes place, it is easy to forget that this play was written 500 years ago.

The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher

The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher
Release Date: October 18, 2016
Pages: 272
Rating: 💜💜💜
Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository

When Carrie Fisher discovered the journals she kept during the filming of the first Star Wars movie, she was astonished to see what they had preserved - plaintive love poems, unbridled musings, and a vulnerability that she barely recognised. Now her fame as an author, actress, and pop-culture icon is indisputable, but in 1977, Carrie Fisher was just a teenager with an all-consuming crush on her co-star, Harrison Ford. 

Before I start getting into the nitty-gritty of my review I would just like to say on record that I adore Carrie Fisher. I think her sense of humour is incredible, I relate to her self-deprecation as a defense mechanism and her efforts to normalise mental health were incredible for me. I wouldn't necessarily say she is a role model of mine, but I wouldn't be disappointed if I ended up like her. And now, into the review.

Carrie's personality shines through in this book. It's hard to avoid, mainly because it is written by her, but also because there is no escape from her humour. Normally she is on stage or on a talk show with at least one other person, but here it is all her and I lived for it. She was apologetically rude about people she didn't like, she spoke truthfully about the whole film industry, and she wasn't afraid to call herself out for things that she did 40+ years ago. I was genuinely laughing out loud at certain parts of this book, because the way she talked about her experiences were so blunt and startling that you just couldn't help but laugh. My favourite part was when she was talking about going to conventions or talk shows and kept referring to them as 'lap dances'. No joke there is a section of the book which about 20 pages long where she just talks about giving lap dances and I lived for it.

My problem with this book, and the only reason why I rated it so low, was the fact that there was very little Star Wars in this book. I know Carrie opens the book with a statement about how she isn't Princess Leia and this book is about her, but I would have liked to know more about the dynamic between the actors on set, rather than her relationship with Harrison Ford. The main portion of this book was based around her obsession (?) for her older married co-star, although there are no details. Carrie Fisher plays coy about the whole, talking of their passionate weekend and their intense feelings. It was interesting reading this book and wondering what Harrison Ford's response was going to be, because I felt like Carrie Fisher painted him in a rather poor light. He seemed cold-hearted and distant, rather than the American granddad everyone knows him as. As I didn't really enjoy reading about their relationship, especially when it switched to Carrie's diaries my enjoyment of the book dropped dramatically.

The redemptive quality of this book was that is is a honest, raw example of unrequited love. Everyone can relate to this story, even if they aren't having an affair with a far older famous man. No matter what age you are (although probably older than 15) you will have liked someone who doesn't like you back. When reading Carrie's story I could see elements of myself in her story, with her hatred for the other person's lack of love to the blind optimism that comes with a crush, the hope that this person might like you back.

Carrie Fisher may have been a princess but she was our Queen. She knows how to entertain, which may come from years of practice, and she knows how to be relatable. It felt like listening to the advice of an older student, one who has given up on school but wants to leave a legacy. And that is exactly what Carrie Fisher has done. She has left the greatest legacy of all time.

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
Release Date: September 9, 2005
Pages: 271
Rating:💜💜💜
Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository

Elsewhere is where 15-year-old Liz Hall ends up, after she has died. Here Liz will age backwards from the day of her death until she becomes a baby and is returned to Earth.  Liz spends her hours mourning for what, and who she has lost. But is it possible that a life lived in reverse is no different from a life lived forward? And can Liz ever find peace in a world so different, yet so similar to her own?

This book wasn't what I was expecting, and I'm still not sure if that is a good thing or not. I am a big fan of books about life after death, with one of my favourite books being The Messenger of Fear by Michael Grant, so I was very excited for this one. I think I went in with a strong pre-conceived idea about what the content of the book was going to be, because I read this book feeling let down.

The premise of this book was actually really interesting. The idea put forward in this book was like a mixture of the Catholic and Muslim belief system, with people getting to experience both Heaven and reincarnation. The idea that humans are recycled throughout the years is genuinely a very interesting thing and it fascinated me. Imagine being friends with someone who used to be Marie Curie or Charles Darwin; even if you didn't know it would be so cool.

However, the plot of overshadowed by several romance plots and a lot of teenage drama. Even the romance was questionable when you consider the fact that much older people end up falling in love with much younger people, because they have aged backwards to be the same age. It is the standard Benjamin-Button phenomenon, which makes you question what love actually is. (For reference, this a 15 year old girl who ends up with a 35 year old boy (who was married) because he looks 17).  Although the romance was sweet, it felt uncomfortable to me in a way that it might not for a younger reader. On that note, a lot of the jokes fell flat or just weren't recognisable as jokes. I didn't actually realise some of the passages were meant to be jokes until I read them in people's Goodreads reviews.

I don't want to seem like a Debby-downer, but another thing I didn't like about the book was the fact that animals could talk. I thought it could have been a cool concept, especially as it seemed that the animal languages were actually things that you could learn, rather than just generic English for all(!). However, any talking down by an animal was jarring and actually seemed to take away from the plot, rather than add anything important, especially as the animals were constantly talking in broken English. I think this concept would have flowed better if they could construct complete sentences and speak English, rather than the broken tongue they were given in this book.

It felt almost like a book for 10 year olds, with talking animals and mermaids that swam in the oceans, rather than the Young Adult book it is advertised as.  The ideas were all presented in a young way, as if it was a simple book to introduce children to the concept of philosophy. I'm kind-of upset that I din't read it when I was younger, because this book actually had quite a few gems in it, and had a interesting perception of mortality. Definitely give it to you child or younger cousin because it was quite lovely and is a good introduction into the concept of death.

"A life isn't measured in hours and minutes. It's the quality, not the length.”

The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James

The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James 
Release Date: July 3, 2018
Pages: 290
Rating:💜💜💜💜💜
Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository

Romy Silvers is the only surviving crew-member of a spaceship travelling to a new planet, on a mission to establish a second home for humanity. Alone in space, she is the loneliest girl in the universe until she hears about a new ship which has launched from Earth - with a single passenger on board. A boy called J. But as their relationship grows, mysteries about who J is start to arise. Sometimes, there's something worse than being alone...

This book was something else. I went into it a little wary, because I very rarely read sci-fi, and the last one I read was absolutely awful. However, this one far exceeded my expectations (as you can see by my rating). It was quite literally out of this world.

This book is about learning to be yourself by yourself, about learning not to be lonely, and about being absolutely terrified with no one to help you. It plays on your worst fears, creating feelings of pure loneliness just by placing the right words on the page. I read this at night whilst on a road trip, and the fear that I felt reading this book was almost crippling (I didn't talk for about 2 hours because I was so hooked by this book, which is quite an achievement for me!)

The problem with trying to review this book is that it is best if you going into it knowing as little as possible. I actually bought this book over the summer, and forgot about it until I was going through my bookshelves and looking for books to get rid of. I thought it was a shame to get rid of it without at least trying the first chapter, so I picked up there and then to try out the first chapter. And boy was I shocked by what went down. This book is packed with so many twists, turns and the most mysterious story line I've read in a while.  Therefore, I recommend that you go into the book having only read the blurb (and this review, obviously!)

What I will say is that this is a sweet and representative book. Romy is one of the most relatable characters I've ever met, with her anxiety being the best written disorder I've ever read about. She appears in control of her anxiety, and you can't believe that she suffers from anxiety, and then the next second she is on the floor unable to breathe because the universe seems to big. I also loved that she was this nerdy little girl who wrote fan-fiction and seen her favourite TV show so many times she had memorised the lines, because it once again made her more relatable. Romy could have been a completely unrelatable character, as she literally lives in space and is trying to re-establish humanity on a different planet, but this familiarity of a nerdy girl made me realise the amount of trauma she is going. Also, Romy is the biggest romantic in the world and I adored the romance throughout the novel. I don't think I've shipped two characters as hard as these ones.

In conclusion, I loved this book and it has fuelled a new urge in me to read more sci-fi books. The book is just as gorgeous as the cover, and I think Lauren James has really developed as a writer. I think this book is perfect for people who are trying to move from young adult contemporaries to sci-fi books because it acts a mash-up of both the genres. As someone who didn't particularly like sci-fi you can trust me when I say that this was a great introductory sci-fi novel.

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Release Date: May 4, 2010

Pages: 344

Rating: 💜💜💜💜💜

Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository

Amy is not looking forward to her summer. Her mother decided to move across the country and now it's her responsibility to get their car from California to Connecticut. The only problem is, since her father died in a car accident, she isn't ready to get behind the wheel. Enter Roger. An old family friend, he also has to make the cross-country trip - and has plenty of baggage of his own. The road home may be unfamiliar but together, Amy and Roger will figure out how to map their way.

This book was a really cute way to start the year. Although it's set in Summer, and therefore was a complete juxtaposition to the weather outside, it was a lovely read. I think I read this in about 5 hours because I couldn't bring myself to put it down; the writing was captivating and the characters were fun to read about.

I think my favourite think about this book was the fact that it stuck to the fact that it was a book about a road trip. Some road trip books I've read seem to forget this, focusing on the romance and placing the road trip in places that were convenient. But Morgan Matson did a fantastic job at making the road trip take the front seat and the romance happening around it. Even better, she related the different locations in the novels to different developments in their relationship. With each location they ended up in Amy and Roger left closer together, whether it was from dealing with an ex or visiting a childhood holiday destination. Not only did Matson push the road trip aspect of the book through the adventures they had, she also included playlists and scrapbook-y items throughout the book to make you feel more immersed throughout the novel. (I'll include the playlist here (I didn't put it together but I did listen to it whilst reading the book)). I love it when books do this because it adds that little bit extra to the general reading experience, as you get to actually look at the places which Amy and Roger pass through.

Speaking of Amy and Roger, I was delighted to see that they were both beautifully flawed people who are forced to work through their problems, using each other as their motivation to let go and move on from previous experiences. Watching them grow closer together and begin to understand each other in ways that no one else could was beautiful, making for a very cute read as they grew to trust and rely upon the other throughout the road trip from California to Connecticut, with their chemistry growing at a similar rate.  Naturally, Amy and Roger weren't the only characters in the book (although the focus was obviously placed on them). I think this rings true in every single Matson book I've read, but the secondary characters were well developed and felt just as important as the main characters. It is so common for the side characters to feel 2D and boring, but I can honestly say that it felt like all the characters in the novel were alive and breathing. It was weird, but when I got to the end of the book I was wishing that I could get another novel that just told me about what the other characters were getting up to. Matson's talent for writing characters meant that the book felt like it was alive, breathing, and had a life of its own.

Overall, I loved this book. It was a warm, summer read that kept me out of the January slump that everyone appears to suffer from. The characters were lovely, the general story was sweet and there was enough hard hitting content that I was engrossed. This was the best fictional trip I've ever read about, and am now planning a road trip of my own!

Are We All Lemmings and Snowflakes? by Holly Bourne

Are We All Lemmings and Snowflakes? by Holly Bourne
Release Date: August 9, 2018
Pages: 397
Rating:💜💜💜💜💜
Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository

Welcome to Camp Reset, a summer camp with a difference. A place offering a shot at "normality" for Olive, a girl on the edge, and for her new friends, who are all dealing with their own battles. But as Olive settles in, she starts to wonder - maybe it's this messed up world that needs fixing, not them. And so she comes up with a plan. Because together, snowflakes can form avalanches...

TW: bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, OCD, rape, assault, basically all mental illnesses

Wow. What a book.

Every single book I've read by Holly Bourne has instantly become one of the best books I've read that year and this was no exception. Admittedly, this was the first book I read this year so it didn't have any competition but I can still tell that this book is probably going to be one of my favourites of the year.

I recently reread Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne so it was interesting to see how the mental illness rep differed in both books. Obviously both books were bound to be different as they were discussing different mental illnesses, but the way she talked about both illness was marginally different. In AINY? Bourne focuses on Evie getting better and her journey as she tries to face the world with OCD. But in AWALaS? it is clear that Olive doesn't want to 'fix' herself and is instead coming to terms with her mental illness. It was really interesting to see the two different ends of the stick, especially as both girls are trying to get better and find a way to cope with their illnesses.

This book is so brutally honest, which is something I've always admired in Holly Bourne. Olive's journey isn't a straight road to recovery and she most certainly isn't a likeable character all the time. But you see her struggles and you recognise them. She thinks she's a bad person and that reflects onto her choices. She is manic at times, doesn't think about other people's opinions and obsesses over tiny things, but she is also funny and supportive and a good friend. Holly Bourne shows both sides of Olive to tell the reader an important message: mentally ill people are still people. They have their quirks, sure, but at the end of the day they are just like everyone else.

Holly Bourne's writing style is also so perfect for the topics she writes about; the right amount of quirky and serious. The general tone of the book is light-hearted and fun, reading like a typical YA romance. And then you suddenly realise that you're reading about a girl having a mental breakdown and it shocks you. I felt immersed in the plot the entire time, especially as how fast-paced it is. I could have happily read another 300 pages of this book but at the same I thought it ended a the right time. She created a punch that was a hard enough to keep you shocked and soft enough to leave you satisfied.

As I said at the start of this review I think this going to be one of my favourite reads of the year. Not only that, but I think it possibly could be one of my favourite books of all time. The story was so beautifully constructed, with the characters becoming familiar friends within the first 50 pages. Holly Bourne know how to write a heart breaking book and I applauded her for that.