I'm not entirely sure how to write this review.
I would not recommend this book to the majority of the people I know. Let's start with that.
That doesn't mean it's bad though. It deals in depth with some subjects which I know some people would find... uncomfortable.
After finishing Station Eleven, I resigned myself to the fact that I wasn't going to find another book to read that was on the same level. So I decided to pick a book from the other end of the spectrum. Can you even get more YA than Holly Bourne?
Not that I've ever read any of her books before. But her reputation precedes her.
I happen to have my own copy of It Only Happens In The Movies because it's a pretty well battered ex-library copy.
I wasn't sure what to expect, but a few pages in, I knew I extremely disliked the main character. I was gearing myself up for a silly, girly story which was actually about nothing more than your average romance.
But I was wrong. About a quarter of the way in, I realised how cleverly the writing was arranged. I was inside the brain of a 17-year-old girl. I was feeling her thoughts and feelings. The reason I didn't like the main character? Because she didn't like herself in the start of the story.
Now that's some clever writing there. That's the kind of empathy technique we need to see more of in YA fiction today.
Bourne delves deep into those subjects that most women are scared to put into their writing. The kind of things that all women know and deal with in everyday life, but we all are meant to pretend like it's nothing. I appreciated that.
And the ending!
Never have I been so thoroughly satisfied while also feeling all the sadness and feels and wow. I didn't cry but I sure did come close.
Bourne is a bold writer, but she manages to skirt just outside the area of "I HAVE AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE SO I'M GOING TO LECTURE YOU ALL BY MEANS OF MY NOVEL". She keeps the story upbeat and enjoyable, yet she only really covers what you need to know.
Overall, I was very impressed indeed.
I wouldn't recommend it, though.