The Places I've Cried in Public by Holly Bourne, reviewed by Dawn Finch

First the blurb...

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.

Note - Trigger warnings in this book for abusive relationships and mental health issues

Amelie thought she was in love. Well, it certainly seemed like love and she imagined a future that was all about Reese and their life together, but what did she mean to him? She genuinely thought he loved her right back but is real love meant to hurt this badly? Does real love have so many tears, and so many places marked by crying? Amelie retraces the steps of her relationship with Reese to try to understand how she ended up here, and in doing so sees things with clarity for the first time.

As an adult reader, this book is full of all the terrible warning signs of an abusive relationship, but seeing this is perhaps something that comes to us with age. Amelie doesn't know what Reese is doing to her and doesn't have the tools to see the warning signs. Like many girls (and women) her love blinds her to the obvious. It's only when she gets help, therapy, and distance from the abusive relationship that she can begin to see the harm that has been done to her.

This is an incredibly powerful book about the subtle slide from devotion to obsession and from adoration to abuse. It is at times a traumatic read, but also one of gentle humour, sensitivity and caring. It's not a book that preaches, despite it delivering some very powerful life lessons. I wanted to be able to rescue Amelie. I wanted to sweep her away from her situation, and hug her, and give her a good talking to, and keep her safe. I think we have all had friends that we want to rescue, and have at times, maybe, needed rescuing ourselves. My hope is that if all young women have access to books like this, maybe they’ll be better placed to rescue themselves and others.

The Places I've Cried in Public by Holly Bourne is published by Usborne Books.

Reviewed by Dawn Finch, author and librarian.
@dawnafinch
www.dawnfinch.com

Usborne have a link to some resources that might be useful if referring to this book in a school setting.
https://usborne.com/browse-books/catalogue/product/1/14585/the-places-ive-cried-in-public/

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Teacup House – Meet the Twitches by Hayley Scott illustrated by Pippa Curnick review by Lynda Waterhouse

As soon as I heard about the Teacup House series I was intrigued. As a child I never owned a dolls’ house but I spent all of my time creating small worlds and building Lego homes. My favourite possession was a Quality Street tin filled with miniature tea cups, food and various household items so the opportunity to meet the Twitches, four tiny toy rabbits who live inside a tea cup, was not to be missed.

The Teacup House is given to Stevie Gillespie by her Nanny Blue on the day that she is moving from her flat in a tower block to a cottage in the countryside miles away. The only good thing about moving would be that she would be living closer to her dad but Stevie is sad to leave her school, her friends and her room where she loved to watch the clouds and think.

Teacup House is not a doll’s house, rather it is home to a toy rabbit family. There is a father, mother, sister and brother rabbit, Gabriel, Bo, Silver and Fig. These toy rabbits have a secret. They come alive when Stevie isn’t looking. During the move Gabriel gets dropped in the garden and Silver has to find an ingenious way to rescue him and bring him back to Teacup House.

The story is beautifully written, well-plotted and is pitched perfectly for readers of six years upwards. The language is rich but accessible and has a lovely warmth and gentle humour that makes it ideal for reading aloud.

The author and illustrator are perfectly matched too. Hayley Scott loves tiny things and when she was little she used to make tiny furniture for fairy houses, and Pippa Curnick describes herself as a bookworm and bunny owner. Her delightful illustrations enliven every page of the book.  I loved looking at the titles of the Twitch-sized books.

I am looking forward to meeting the feisty Stevie again and seeing what adventures and scrapes she and the Twitches get into next!

ISBN 978-1-4749-2812-0

www.usborne.com/fiction

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MORE OF ME - by Kathryn Evans

Reviewed by Jackie Marchant

First of all, a confession.  The author is a good friend of mine, and this review may well be thoroughly biased.  But I am being absolutely honest when I say I love this book, because I’ve been with it for such a long time, since Kathryn first tentatively asked her writing buddies (of which I am very glad to be one) to have a look at this mad idea she had for a novel.  I’ve been with it since I suggested that it was indeed mad but, if she could pull it off, it would be brilliant.  Of course, I didn’t doubt her for one moment . . .

And now I have the wonderful joy of reviewing the actual, published, much talked-about brilliant debut book! 

More of Me is about Teva, a sixteen year old girl with a very unique condition – every year she splits from herself and a new Teva emerges. That is, a whole new person, while the old one is left behind – whole.  While the new Teva goes out into the world to lead the life, the old one is left behind at home with all the other Tevas, shut away with their mother, who will do all she can to keep their secret hidden from the world.

If that wasn’t enough, the new Teva is faced with a couple of problems.  One is that her old self, now called Fifteen, does not want her near Ollie, the boy she began a relationship with, while the new Teva has her own inherited feelings for Ollie.  Then there is this constant feeling that there is a new Teva waiting to emerge, one that will confine existing Teva to the prison of home while living the life she should be leading. 

The conflict between Fifteen and Teva drives the narrative along with a conflict like nothing else I’ve come across.  At the same time, the real living younger versions of herself are perfectly portrayed, a bunch of identical siblings, each a year apart.  Then there is the mystery of how they came to be like that, and the dark secret that their mother is hiding.  But, as the Tevas grow older, the questions start demanding attention.

Along with shades of gruesomeness about splitting from your own self, there are moments of great warmth and humour in this book.  Teva is/are immensely likeable, which makes their situation all the more difficult to bear, until the dramatic ending when the truth is revealed. 

I don’t think I’m being biased when I say this is a witty, original, refreshing read – but you could always grab a copy to find out.  You won’t be the only one – I think this book is going to be hugely popular.

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CAVEMEN STICKER BOOK by Paul Nicholls, Non Taylor and Fiona Watt. Reviewed by Ann Turnbull.

This Usborne activity book is the sort of thing I would have adored as a child.  It's perfect for quiet indoor moments during the holidays.

The book is a large paperback and consists of about a dozen scenes of Ice Age life - cave interiors, a mammoth hunt, a river with reindeer, etc. - all of them enticingly empty, ready for whatever the child wants to put into them.  In the middle of the book are pages and pages of stickers - "over 400 stickers", the cover proclaims - and they are fun.  I like the child hitting its thumb with a stone tool and wailing; the hunter going cross-eyed as he tries to mend his spear; the inquisitive baby; the mum fitting a new dress on her daughter.  There are some satisfyingly gruesome pictures of butchery, too, with blood splashing around.  There is a cave bear, and swimming deer (just back and head, no legs).  Children who like intricate things will enjoy the many very small stickers: tools, bowls of food, pigeons that can be perched on rocks or trees; even tiny beads and bones.

Scattered throughout the book is also a surprising amount of information, making it suitable for a wide age-range.  Little ones will want to talk about the animals, while older children will enjoy learning about the Ice Age and making up their own stories and pictures.  Highly recommended.



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