The next book to be featured on the Jo Whiley Radio 2 Book Club will be The Places I’ve Cried in Public, the powerful YA novel by Holly Bourne. It was released on 3 October and Holly will be on the show on Monday 21 October.
We have the chance for you to win 10 copies of this fantastic novel for your reading group! Please enter by Friday 25 October.
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We have an exclusive extract available for you to read.
Know a teacher interested in reading this book with their class? Shapes for Schools have created some brilliant resources for young people looking at the themes for the book.
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.
Selection panel review
The book was selected with the help of a panel of library staff from across the UK. Our readers loved The Places I’ve Cried in Public – here are some of their comments:
“I enjoyed it. It charts the tribulations of Amelie as she struggles to adjust to a moved from Sheffield to London, leaving behind her boyfriend Reece and school friends. She makes a pact to go to Manchester University to be with her boyfriend but that all changes when she meets another young attractive singer at her new college. It feels so real and everyone can associate the teenager angst about confidence, trying to establish yourself at a new school while dealing with the heady feelings of love and rejections. I like it that it has details of places to contact if you are facing similar situations as Amelie and I think it will help young people who are experiencing similar feelings of loneliness and rejection.”
“I really enjoyed the story and the messages it gave. When so much research shows that self-esteem is such a factor in outcomes for young people (especially girls) this will be an important read for them. The characters are well developed and the anxieties very real. It will resonate with young listeners and their parents.”
“This is definitely a book that has stuck most in my memory. It’s well written and addresses some important topics. It manages to capture teen angst about friendships and relationships very well and the portrayal of a controlling partner is nicely done.”
About the author
Holly Bourne is an author and a journalist. Holly’s first two books, Soulmates and The Manifesto on How to be Interesting, have been critically acclaimed and translated into six languages.
The first book in the Spinster Club series, Am I Normal Yet?, was chosen for World Book Night 2016 and was shortlisted for the YA Book Prize. The Spinster Club series has also inspired the formation of Spinster Clubs across the UK and Ireland. Before becoming a full-time author, Holly was editor of TheSite.org – a charity-run advice and information website for young people.
Get involved
Tune in to Jo Whiley’s show on Monday 21 October to hear a live interview with Holly.
Have you read The Places I’ve Cried in Public? You can share your thoughts with us on Twitter using #PlacesIveCried.
You can see what other readers thought or add the book to your group’s reading list, and you can also follow Holly on Twitter.
Planning to buy The Places I’ve Cried in Public for your book group? Buy books from Hive and support The Reading Agency and local bookshops at no extra cost to you.
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You can join the Radio 2 Book Club Facebook group, and also follow Jo Whiley on Twitter.
