“Bad boys turned good, kisses in the rain, climbing through bedroom windows… It only happens in the movies. When Audrey meets Harry, it’s the start of a truly cinematic romance - or is it? Audrey knows that Harry is every movie cliché rolled into one. But she still chooses to let him into her heart…” A book by Holly Bourne, released in October 2017, ‘It Only Happens in the Movies’ is a story about Audrey Winters, following her life as a teenager experiencing a ‘cinematic love’.

What’s amazing about Bourne’s writing is that her characters feel real and genuine. Audrey’s reactions to things that happen to her are authentic, and better represent the emotional turmoil yet strength that so many young girls today have. She tackles particular stereotypes of teenage girls that many YA authors perpetuate in their writing, like their willingness to accept clichéd ‘compliments’.

Certain moments in the book really struck home. One such scene is Harry’s compliment, where he attempts to tell Audrey that “she’s not like other girls”. Her subsequent anger was shocking at first, but it caused me to question that ‘compliment’ - what do they mean, “I’m not like other girls?”. That statement is based on the idea that femininity inherently lacks value. Jessica Valenti said, “Being a woman is the ultimate insult. Now tell me that isn’t royally [messed] up.” in her book ‘Full Frontal Feminism: A Young Woman’s Guide to Why Feminism Matters’.

Showing the truth in life, even if it’s mediocre or upsetting, allows people to realise that all of it is normal. So many people relentlessly pursue a storybook ending, with a lover they always trust and get along with. In this process, they forget that disagreements are normal, that trust is earned, and that romantic love is not necessary for happiness.

I would recommend this book to anyone. The normalisation of these normally negative things and the genuine reactions of the characters makes this book one of the greatest that I’ve read.