Holly Bourne

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.

The Places I've Cried in Public

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.

The Places I’ve Cried in Public

Destiny Marley

Catia

it was a really deep book and i really liked it. its giving me 13 reasons why vibes. 5⭐️

Victoria

“The trauma it causes is just the same as if he had hit you.” […] "Trauma is trauma. Your brain and body don't differentiate between physical and emotional abuse. They only respond to attack. Attack that you didn't deserve, Amelie. Nobody deserves to be treated the way this boy treated you."

Trigger warning: abuse, manipulation, rape

I’ll write a more thorough review at a later time but for now, here’s what I’m gonna say:

• I threw this book about 7 times. 
• I smacked the heck out of this book more than a dozen times. 
• I screamed at this book (more like screaming at the characters) maybe hundreds of times. 

It’s incredibly powerful and painful and Holly Bourne did an excellent job with this.

Meg Ferguson

This book allowed me to look at my trauma in a different light. Allowed me to view my mistakes in a less critical way. This book emphasises the importance of self love and self worth. It explains, and shows, how easy it is to be caught up in a whirlwind of bad relationships and psychological abuse. But it’s not love, and never can, or will be. Some books will provide friends, not characters. People who will stay with you forever; Amelie is one of those. Her story (as fictional as it may be) will hold a place in my future, because stories like her’s are all too real and need to be heard.

Molly Mason

I'm halfway through this book and honestly every night on my way home I have considered leaving it on the doorstep of a charity shop. 

I don't know whether I'm officially too old for these garbage YA-love stories or whether this one is just extra cringey. 

The girl is annoying and boring. Like After's Tessa x1000 and I'm sorry but the guy, Reece, is in no way cool or attractive. 

What year is this book supposed to be set in because there's no way anyone in sixth form would be walking around in floral granny dresses, cardigans and trilby hats anymore. This is not 2009.

Salem Jackson

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

I loved this book. I loved it so much with the topic it chose to talk about and the narrative that went along with it. That being said I hate this book for how much pain I am now in due to reading it. Amelie was in an abusive relationship. Let’s get that clear first. And the thing is, most of her abuse wasn’t physical, that’s one of the things I liked about the story. Her abuse was emotional, it was manipulative, it was gaslighting, it focused on how abuse doesn’t just come in the form of a punch or a kick or a hit. It showed that abuse comes in many forms and ways and abuse can happen with the smile on someone’s (the abusers) face. It showed that the survivor would go to lengths to excuse the behaviour, blame themselves for the abusers actions, and it shows how they finally realize that love isn’t supposed to hurt in this way. 

It brought out a powerful message that abuse isn’t something that’s easy to spot at first, that as you look back you may realize little things you hadn’t noticed before. It showed there would be a time where you think it’s your fault, but it also showed that you can recognize it, it’s not your fault, and that you can heal from it. It didn’t end with Amelie healing all the way, it showed that she was beginning her journey to healing. She’s starting, and the first step was revisiting those memories and seeing how she was the one being hurt.

Melsriana

This book is so so good. It was intense, it was emotional but it was so important and it helped me a lot. People were right. Girls should read this book, especially if you’re heartbroken over someone or struggling in a toxic relationship. This will make you realise your self-worth. Thankful for this book. Love every second, every page of this book. Thank you so much x

Honestly, I hadn't expected a lot from this book, but after the first chapter I was absolutely hooked. Such an important topic and it's written in a way that you get the right information at the right stage in the book.

Adéla Kubíčková

Na knihu jsem se velmi čekala. Četla jsem ji v angličtině a omg ta obálka a ořízka. Styl psaní mi velice sednul a kniha se četla jednoduše. Pořád jsem však čekala na nějaký velký bum, které nakonec přišlo, ale bylo velmi očekávané. Myslím si, že kniha se zabývá důležitými tématy a že by se mohla zalíbit hodně čtenářům.

Tanja Hoffmann

3.5 
The writing is a bit cringy at times, which I didn't expect from the author, but story is well told and so so important! It feels like you're healing alongside of Amelie. It's also super engaging and I sped through it.

Ruth Parker 

I love Holly Bourne and this book just broke me. It stuck with me and I think it’s a must read. I hope to read more from Holly Bourne, especially her adult books. She plays with tropes and smashes expectations in her stories. She writes believable and broken characters and I trust her to write books I’m going to love.

nicola casaclang

TW - SA
raw. very raw. a very good insight into emotional abuse and the psychology of grief and trauma. from a teenage girl to another (or not!), it’s not cute and fluffy, nor will it make you audibly “Awwwww”. it was turbulent and heavy, but the endearing narrator makes it believable. i think exposure of these kind of topic in YA is very important. who knows,,,, maybe it’ll save a few tears of my own.

Helena

Imzy

This book is so different from any book I've ever read before. It doesn't take a toxic relationship and make a fantasy out of it, showing people that it's okay to be treated badly, like every other book. I think this book is really important for the strong lessons it portrays.

I also loved the structure of the book. How it switched from past to present so we got both her destruction and reconstruction at the same time.

All in all, it was a great book; very hooking.

The Places I've Cried in Public

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