Holly Bourne

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

West Virginia

From award-winning author Holly Bourne comes a clever, deconstructed rom-com that proves that in real life "girl meets boy" doesn't always mean "happily ever after" . . . or does it? At turns funny, feminist, and achingly real, this read is perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Patrick Ness, and Julie Buxbaum.

Audrey is over romance. While dealing with her parents' contentious divorce, a breakup of her own, and shifting friendship dynamics, she has every reason to feel cynical.

But then she meets Harry, her fellow coworker at the local cinema. He's brash, impulsive, and a major flirt. And even though Audrey tries to resist, she finds herself falling for his charms.

But in this funny, insightful, and ultimately empowering novel, love--and life--isn't what it's like in the movies.

It Only Happens in the Movies

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Audrey gave up on romance before meeting aspiring filmmaker Harry at the cinema where they work, but soon they are deeply in love--and not like it is portrayed in movies.

Sprayed edges. One of my favorite reads of 2022!

Pennsylvania

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.

The Places I've Cried in Public

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Paperback (1 to 2 lbs)

New Hampshire

A Novel

April is kind, pretty and relatively normal--yet she can't seem to get past date five. Every time she thinks she's found someone to trust, they reveal themselves to be awful, leaving her heartbroken. And angry. Until she realizes that what men are really looking for is Gretel. Gretel is perfect--beautiful but low maintenance, sweet but never clingy, sexy but not a slut. She's your regular, everyday Manic-Pixie-Dream-Girl-Next-Door with no problems. When April starts pretending to be Gretel, dating becomes much more fun--especially once she reels in the unsuspecting Joshua. Finally, April is the one in control, but can she control her own feelings? And as she and Joshua grow closer, how long will she be able to keep pretending?

Pretending

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North Dakota

'The most perceptive book I have ever read about the female interior' DOLLY ALDERTON 'Identifiable, heart-breaking and wickedly funny. I'd say this is one of my favourite books of the year' GIOVANNA FLETCHER 'Bourne holds a mirror up to contemporary aspiration' SUNDAY TIMES ***** Everyone wants to be Tori Bailey. A straight-talking, bestselling author, she's inspired millions of women around the world with her self-help memoir and uplifting posts online. What's more, her perfect relationship with her long-term boyfriend is the envy of all their friends. But Tori isn't being honest. While everyone around her is getting engaged and having babies, Tori's boyfriend will barely look at her, let alone talk about marriage. And when her best friend Dee unexpectedly falls in love, suddenly Tori's in danger of being left behind. Tori's built a career out of telling women how to live their best life, but is she brave enough to admit it's not what she wants? ***** The debut adult novel by bestselling author Holly Bourne is a blisteringly funny, honest and moving exploration of love, friendship and navigating the emotional rollercoaster of your thirties. Everyone is raving about this book! Brutally honest, appallingly funny and very moving - so accurate on the female interior, and the loneliness life in the public gaze. I want to read everything Holly Bourne has written now' ROSIE WALSH 'It'll resonate with anyone trying to convince themselves that sticking it out is better than being alone.' EMERALD STREET 'Relatable for any woman navigating emotional time bombs' RED 'It speaks so many truths about being a woman in your thirties; friendships, love and what a fickle beast social media can be. ' CLEMMIE HOOPER 'Hilarious and painfully true' GRAZIA 'Sure toresonate with anyone navigating the emotional minefield of their thirties'RED ONLINE 'Funny, real and heartbreaking. I haven't been this obsessed with a book in years.' LUCY VINE 'Injected with such reality it can't help but be hilarious'TIMES 'A very funny novel that lives up to its hype' THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

How Do You Like Me Now?

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This Summer's Hottest Book

'The most perceptive book I have ever read about the female interior' DOLLY ALDERTON

'It is so good! It is so honest about being a woman and all the things that are expected of us ... I enjoyed it very much.' MARIAN KEYES

AS DISCUSSED ON THE SARA COX SHOW AND BBC WOMAN'S HOUR
A STYLIST MUST READ BOOK OF 2018
A RED MAGAZINE BEST BOOK OF 2018

*****

'Turning thirty is like playing musical chairs. The music stops, and everyone just marries whoever they happen to be sitting on.'

Who the f*ck is Tori Bailey?

There's no doubt that Tori is winning the game of life. She's inspired millions of women to stick two fingers up at convention with her bestselling memoir, and she has the perfect relationship to boot.

But Tori Bailey has been living a lie.

Everyone around her is getting married and having babies, but her long-term boyfriend won't even talk about getting engaged. And when her best friend Dee - her plus one, the only person who understands the madness - falls in love, suddenly Tori's in terrifying danger of being left behind.

When the world tells you to be one thing and turning thirty brings with it a loud ticking clock, it takes courage to walk your own path.

It's time for Tori to practise what she's preached, but the question is: is she brave enough?

*****

The debut adult novel by bestselling author Holly Bourne is a blisteringly funny, honest and moving exploration of love, friendship and navigating the emotional rollercoaster of your thirties.

Everyone is raving about this book!

'Truly a f***ing good novel' EVENING STANDARD

'Relatable for any woman navigating emotional time bombs' RED

'Bourne holds a mirror up to contemporary aspiration, deftly probing the dissonant dualism between the shinier selves projected online and people's offline reality.' SUNDAY TIMES

'Identifiable, heart-breaking and wickedly funny. I'd say this is one of my favourite books of the year' GIOVANNA FLETCHER

'Funny, sad, honest, insightful, up-to-the-minute. Kept me guessing (and hoping) to the last page' ROISIN MEANEY

'Sure toresonate with anyone navigating the emotional minefield of their thirties' - RED ONLINE

'Smart, witty and perceptive. Razor-sharp on friendship, self-image and self-deception' LUCY DIAMOND

'Sublime, perfectly observed' LAURA JANE WILLIAMS

'Bourne incinerates the lies we're all capable of telling ourselves in this raw and very funny book; it'll resonate with anyone trying to convince themselves that sticking it out is better than being alone.' EMERALD STREET

'Funny, real and heartbreaking. I haven't been this obsessed with a book in years.' LUCY VINE

'Injected with such reality it can't help but be hilarious'TIMES

'Well-written, genuinely funny and movingly honest. It could be a life-changing read for many.' - SHEERLUXE

Texas

Evie, Amber and Lottie: three girls facing down tough issues with the combined powers of friendship, feminism and cheesy snacks. Both hilarious and heart-rending, this is Evie's no-holds-barred story of struggling to live a "normal" teen life in the grip of OCD, from the acclaimed author of THE MANIFESTO ON HOW TO BE INTERESTING

Ages:14+

 



The groundbreaking and bestselling first Spinster Club novel from YA star Holly Bourne - "A brutal and brilliant takedown of how we talk about mental illness, feminism, and friendship." The Guardian All Evie wants is to be normal. And now that she's almost off her meds and at a new college where no one knows her as the-girl-who-went-nuts, there's only one thing left to tick off her list...But relationships can mess with anyone's head - something Evie's new friends Amber and Lottie know only too well. The trouble is, if Evie won't tell them her secrets, how can they stop her making a huge mistake?

Am I Normal Yet?

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"Holly Bourne's unique voice immediately invites you in and you can't look away. Gritty, funny and poignant." --Beth O'Leary, author of The Flatshare A darkly funny story about two women who reunite after a decade of estrangement, only to confront the forces that destroyed their friendship in the first place. The world was a very different place in the early aughts, when Fern and Jessica became best friends. It was a compliment to get groped in a club, normal to have your arse rated out of ten in school and unremarkable that a song about a man murdering his pregnant wife was the number one Christmas hit. Not that the two girls noticed any of that. They were too busy growing up, trying to find themselves, and experimenting with love, alcohol and drugs amid their near-obsessive friendship. Until one day something happened to make Fern cut Jessica out of her life completely. Fifteen years later, the pair is reunited in a very changed world. Fern's a successful mental health columnist, waiting for her perfect boyfriend to finally propose. Whereas Jessica is a single mum who has done very well out of her divorce. Tentatively, they try to rebuild their friendship. Soon, though, old and unhealthy patterns start to reemerge. Have things really gotten better--for these two best friends, or for women in general? Set within two timelines, When We Were Friends is an unflinching celebration of female friendship and how much it has to overcome.

When We Were Friends

Every so often, two people are born who are the perfect match for each other. Soulmates.

An epic, electrifying and extraordinary debut novel about falling in love, from the acclaimed Holly Bourne. Soulmates do exist. But not as you think.Every so often, two people are born who are the perfect match for each other. Soulmates. But what if meeting your soulmate is earth-shattering - literally?After a chance meeting at a local band night, Poppy and Noah find themselves swept up in a whirlwind romance unlike anything they've ever experienced before. But with a secret international agency preparing to separate them and a trail of destruction rumbling in their wake, they are left with an impossible choice between the end of the world, or a life without love...

Soulmates

Hard to find in the US! #ya #contemporary #fiction #mentalhealth #youngadult #self-empowerment #paperback 

A trailblazing and painfully honest novel about mental health, friendship and making this crazy world a kinder place, from the author of the bestselling Am I Normal Yet? Welcome to Camp Reset, a summer camp with a difference. A place offering a shot at "normality" for Olive, a girl on the edge, and for her new friends, who are all dealing with their own battles. But as Olive settles in, she starts to wonder - maybe it's this messed up world that needs fixing, and not them. And so she comes up with a plan. Because together, snowflakes can form avalanches... "Holly Bourne applies her inimitable surreal humour to the dark reaches of the disordered mind..." The Guardian

Are We All Lemmings and Snowflakes?

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Lottie is starting a supersonic feminist experiment. For one month she's going to call out every instance of sexism she sees. But when her project hits the headlines, the trolls come out to play - and they are VICIOUS. Lottie's not a quitter, but best friends Evie and Amber are worried. What if Lottie's heading for burnout...or worse?

What's a Girl Gotta Do?

The dramas, the traumas, the rumours - it's time to expose it all...Mean Girls meets To All The Boys I've Loved Before in this painfully relatable high-school takedown from the queen of UKYA. Working on the school newspaper, Paige is used to dealing with fake stories. How popular girl Grace is a such an amazing person (lie). How Laura steals people's boyfriends (lie). How her own family are so perfect (lie). Now Grace and friends have picked their "best" high-school moments for Paige to put in the all-important Yearbook. And they're not just fake. They're poison. But Paige has had enough of all the lies in her life. And with the help of Elijah - the only boy who could ever understand her - she's going to reveal the truth, whatever the cost... Paige Vickers: Most likely to...bring down the mean girls.

The Yearbook

Sara Barnard

Tanya Byrne

Non Pratt

Melinda Salisbury

Lisa Williamson

Eleanor Wood

The Breakfast Club meets One Day in Floored, a unique collaborative novel by seven bestselling and award-winning YA authors: Sara Barnard, Holly Bourne, Tanya Byrne, Non Pratt, Melinda Salisbury, Lisa Williamson and Eleanor Wood. When they got in the lift, they were strangers (though didn't that guy used to be on TV?): Sasha, who is desperately trying to deliver a parcel; Hugo, who knows he's the best-looking guy in the lift and is eyeing up Velvet, who knows what that look means when you hear her name and it doesn't match the way she looks, or the way she talks; Dawson, who was on TV, but isn't as good-looking as he was a few years ago and is desperately hoping no one recognizes him; Kaitlyn, who's losing her sight but won't admit it, and who used to have a poster of Dawson on her bedroom wall, and Joe, who shouldn't be here at all, but who wants to be here the most. And one more person, who will bring them together again on the same day every year.

Floored

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Virginia

When the magic circle is set, I close my eyes and summon the power that I know is in me. I chant the words to this blessing spell like I've known them my whole life. "Spirits of Mother Nature," I say. "I call on you. I ask that you bless us all and bless our friendship that makes us stronger. Grant us strength in our together and strength in our apart." Best friends Sophia, Mia, and Alexis are clinging on to a spark of hope that maybe-just maybe-magic truly does exist. Could they really be witches with the power to cast life-changing spells? When the three friends gather to cheer up heartbroken Sophia, they're ready to put their theory to the test. But then long-held secrets are revealed, and hard truths start to hit home. Suddenly, their night of bewitching fun takes an unexpected turn. Union Square & Co.'s EVERYONE CAN BE A READER books are expertly written, thoughtfully designed with dyslexia-friendly fonts and paper tones, and carefully formatted to meet readers where they are with engaging stories that encourage reading success across a wide range of age and interest levels.

What Magic Is This?

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Oklahoma

Bree is a loser, a wannabe author who hides behind words. But when she's told she needs to start living a life worth writing about, 'The Manifesto on How to Be Interesting' is born. Six steps on how to be interesting. Six steps that will see her infiltrate the popular set, fall in love with someone forbidden and make the biggest mistake of her life.

The Manifesto on How to Be Interesting

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All Amber wants is a bit of love from her estranged mum. And she's hoping that a summer together at Mum's Californian kids' camp will help patch up her shattered heart. But then she meets Prom King Kyle - and offers her heart up for breaking all over again. Even with BFFs Evie and Lottie's advice, Amber's finding love hard. Is it worth the fight?

Browse by categories

Holly Bourne

It Only Happens in the Movies

Holly Bourne

The Places I've Cried in Public

Holly Bourne

Pretending

Holly Bourne

How Do You Like Me Now?

Holly Bourne

Am I Normal Yet?

Holly Bourne

When We Were Friends

Holly Bourne

Soulmates

Holly Bourne

Are We All Lemmings and Snowflakes?

Holly Bourne

What's a Girl Gotta Do?

Holly Bourne

The Yearbook

Holly Bourne

The Yearbook

Sara Barnard

Floored

Holly Bourne

What Magic Is This?

Holly Bourne

The Manifesto on How to Be Interesting

Holly Bourne

How Hard Can Love Be?