A Review of It Only Happens in the Movies

It Only Happens in the Movies is a novel by Holly Bourne, author of the Spinster Club series. Audrey is in the second year of sixth form, and a new job at a movie theatre. She's coping with her parents divorce, and her ex-boyfriend dumping her after their first time having sex. Her brother has moved to University, and she's feeling increasingly distant from her friends. When she meets Harry, she assumes he's trouble, and everyone else tells her that, too. But he could be just the type of trouble she needs.

This was my first Holly Bourne book, and this was the book I needed five, even ten years ago. So much of my life mirrors Audrey's. A dropped interest in drama? (Mine was because of a bad teacher, but still.) Painful first-time sex? An impending move of my parents when I went to Uni? (Mine was because of them moving voluntarily, but it was still so weird to come home to a different house in a place I didn't know, and just feeling so uneasy with something they were so excited about.)

Audrey has a huge, justified, hate of romance movies, but she also obviously did like them once. Many fans of these movies know they are unrealistic, but enjoy them as a form of escapism. Audrey never does assume fans of these movies are idiots themselves, so I'll give her credit for that. And I like her point that they give as unrealistic an idea of women as they do of men. In fact, I'd love to see a romantic movie with a protagonist with the insecurities that she lists. I think it could be a way to give more rounded characters in them. Also, I love that she has a passion, but she dropped it because of her ex-boyfriend. Ehh... She loved drama and wanted to go to RADA, obviously with a dream of acting professionally. Why would she give this up because of a arsehole like her ex?

Because he is, in fact, a total arsehole. The first word Audrey uses to describe Harry is "fuckboy" but this applies more to her Milo. He dumped her for after they attempted to have sex for the first time, which they stopped because it was too painful for Audrey. And the manner in which it happens is almost sexual assault. Sure, Audrey does say yes but her body language starts saying no during it. This is why we need education on consent in schools - to let people know that they should check in with their partner throughout sex, and be aware of their physical cues during it. Even if this wouldn't stop Milo, Audrey would realise that what he did was just awful. But she still displays attraction to him in the first part of the book? Surely, as soon as someone does this, that is grounds for "fuck him, I'm just going to try extra hard to enjoy life to make him suffer."

Alice, Becky and Charlie are Audrey's best friends, who exist to be her best friends. Alice gets some decent development, and manages to be the most supportive best friend ever. Leroy is Audrey's other best friend, and is well fleshed-out for a side character. He has a boyfriend, also into drama, and is a gaming YouTuber with a specialism in Mario Kart.

Harry is a total flirt, every movie cliche rolled into one. However, he knows when to tone down his teasing based on the tone of someone's voice. And at one point, he pulls "you're not like other girls, are you?" on Audrey, leading her into a rant that everyone needs to read. But after she explains how it's "sexist bull..." he apologises. And no "I'm sorry if," a genuine apology. I was rooting for you. However, thinking back on it now I can see a lot of things he did were problematic, and I don't think he and Audrey would have worked long term, even if he hadn't cheated.

There are some problematic terms used in this book, but I think it's more Bourne drawing on her own experiences about what teenagers say and think. Also, there is a lot of girl hate in the book. I actually don't mind a slight amount of bitchiness, since there are some nasty people in the world, and teenagers should learn how to deal with that. But I wanted to find out that Jessie feels guilty about splitting up a family and that's why she acts cold towards Audrey and Dougie. I was expecting Courtney to find out how Milo treated Audrey, after which she dumps him. I want to hear that Rosie doesn't automatically see Audrey as competition. I want to know about Mariana's hourlong commute from a poorer area and the large family she has to support, which is why she's determined to run such a tight ship, so she keeps her job. In real life, everyone is going through things you know nothing about. I know that books can't develop every minor character that exists, but I like to imagine how their lives are when we don't see them on page.

I think I would recommend this book to people who like movies, even romance movies. Like I said, there's no judgement from Audrey about people who do like them, and the book itself is more of an affectionate parody. I also think this is one book where the target audience of teenage girls will get a lot out of reading it, not that it can't also be enjoyed by people outside that demographic, either.