It Only Happens in the Movies

Product Information

A few months ago, I wrote in my review of Love Is For Losers that every year I comb through a ton of YA looking for a specific type of humor and voice, but end up finding, on average, only two books a years that perfectly fit my reading taste. So, in 2020, It Only Happens in the Movies is the second such novel, and, naturally, I enjoyed it. 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.

This is literally one of the best representations of sex I've seen in a book. The way characters in this book deal with it are SO well done, not only boyfriends but friends offering support. AMAZING Add in newly divorced parents, a brother you never see, mounting schoolwork, and a UCAS application, all while dealing with a break-up from the boy you thought you’d marry, it’s easy to see why overworked schoolgirl Audrey Winters is feeling the strain. With faithful and straight-talking compan`ion, Leroy, at her side, she sets about trying to rebuild her life, her emotions and her attitude towards the ever complex topic of love. It Only Happens In The Movies is a a very mature, true-to-life book – romance isn’t always sunshine, glitter, and happy endings. Relationships require a lot of hard work and for the most past, things will be difficult. The book reminds us of that in an engaging manner, and will make you think twice the next time you watch a rom-com. Honestly, I didn’t love either of the main characters. Both of them are fine, but not stellar. There are aspects I loved about Audrey, such as her strength and her ability to call out misogyny (both in the movies and in society), but also, something about her didn’t sit right with me. She seemed whiny to me at times, but I also feel like she expects too much from Harry. Before they got together, multiple people warned her about him, and she knew he did certain things she didn’t like. Yet, she still had expectations that Harry would never have been able to meet. I was also put off by a scene near the end of the book, which I won’t spoil, but to me, it contradicted everything Audrey stood for earlier, especially about consent. I never really felt a spark in Harry and Audrey’s relationship, and I had trouble connecting with them. ❀ Feminist Message It Only Happens In The Movies tells the story of Audrey who, after going through a horrible break up and seeing her parents’ relationship collapse, is very much over romance. However, her world is soon turned upside down when she meets wannabe film-maker Harry. We follow the pair’s unconventional journey as Holly Bourne reminds us all that love in real life is nothing like it is in the movies.

About Holly Bourne

But wait, did I just say romantic? I guess I did even though the main purpose of the book is to contradict everything about romantic movies. It’s actually a blatant deconstructive analysis of romantic movies proving that real life romance is completely different. Holly Bourne definitely has all the right to say that It Only Happens in the Movies. If I were to describe the story of It Only Happens in the Movies it would be that it's a unflinching raw truthful look at 'Why love is never like the movies'. Audrey is a character that was very real, very believable and someone I very much empathized with. But, while I was reading it, I felt that Holly Bourne was so determined to counter the entire rom-com movies system, that storylines and characters didn't get their due justice. Audrey is also a really good main character - her feelings are complex and often conflicting, and they’re so totally real. Her worries about her body and her feelings are real, and are things that are often glossed over or sugar coated in many films and books. I liked how, after her failed attempt at sex with her ex, sleeping with Harry didn’t suddenly make singing angels descend from the heavens, blow Audrey’s mind and making her a Changed Woman. Sure, she liked sex, but it wasn’t life changing; it didn’t complete her. PDF / EPUB File Name: It_Only_Happens_in_the_Movies_-_Holly_Bourne.pdf, It_Only_Happens_in_the_Movies_-_Holly_Bourne.epub So I’m gonna be brutally honest and say that this book right here was a cover buy, for the simple fact that I didn’t have very many yellow books for my Bookstagram rainbow pictures and it was low-key stressing me out.

I feel like this was a big step forward from Holly Bourne’s others books. The subjects are pretty much the same - friendship, love, problems with parents, feminism -, but there is something new and fresh in her narrative style, something better.Overall, I LOVED THIS BOOK! I can't praise it enough, this is my first Holly Bourne book I've read, but if her other books are like this, sign me up! Armistice Day: A Collection of Remembrance - Spark Interest and Educate Children about Historical Moments Essentially, the story proves how almost every element of romantic movies is unrealistic through Audrey’s personal (firsthand and secondhand) experiences which she actually documents for her thesis. Why had I not thought about this topic for my thesis? Not only does Audrey have a pretty difficult home life (thanks to her dad for leaving their family for another woman, who was pregnant with his kids), she’s also suffering from heartbreak after her then-boyfriend dumped her one week after their failed sexual encounter. Audrey is embarrassed and bitter and swears off boys - especially boys like Harry, who just scream trouble, and who have the ability to break her already fragile heart. But can you really choose who to love?

I think the thing that I like the most about this book is how much it makes you think. It challenges the many clichés that you find in romance films, from the bad boy turned good, to dramatic kisses and The Big Obstacle at the end that tests their relationship. I loved how Holly dedicated different parts of the story to different clichés and explored them. a takedown of the bit in The Fault in Our Stars when the characters' steamy makeout happens in the Anne Frank House While in her other books the stories were just normal - as boring and predictable -, here the normality is a positive thing: Audrey is a normal girl with almost-normal problems, and she falls for Harry, a boy with normal problems; sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But it's this normality that makes you love the story even more, as in other great romantic movies - have you ever heard of The Notebook? She's just gone through her first breakup, she's seen her parent's divorce, she's read all the books and watched all the movies. I also really enjoyed Holly’s humour in this book. I have no idea why, as an English gal, I often find YA books set in England slightly cringey and childish. Honestly, I don’t know either, it’s really irritating. But Holly’s writing is witty and addictive, and I loved it.

Christmas Gifts

Feminism vibes and realistic touch to the sensitive issues like mental health, drug addiction, divorce✅ 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 devoured It Only Happens In The Movies within a few hours. With each chapter, I found myself being unable to put the book down for even a minute. What stands out the most about the book is how different it is from most Young Adult fiction. Holly has managed to turn your typical YA book on its head, going against stereotypes and covering topics which are normally avoided in a realistic yet humorous manner.