It Only Happens in the Movies

Audrey Winters is off romance. Her mother is still suffering from her father's abrupt departure, and Audrey's not entirely over having "bought the I-lost-my-virginity-to-an-attractive-but-morally-bankrupt-asshole T-shirt." When she starts a new job at a fancy movie theater in Bridgely-upon-Thames, she recognizes coworker Harry as a charming flirt who hits on everyone. This doesn't make her immune to his charms, however, especially once she's starring in his zombie movie, a return to acting after her post-breakup retirement from high school theater. Seventeen-year-old Audrey is also working on a school project about romance movies, which she thinks encourage unsustainable relationship expectations. Alongside snippets of Audrey's rom-com essay, British author Bourne draws her protagonist as a believable mix of self-awareness and inexperience as she does her best to cope with her selfish father and hurting mother, her largely absent brother, and Harry's omnipresent ex. Audrey's struggles with whether to trust Harry and whether love is worth the pain it can cause are plausible, and though the book does fall prey to an old trope, with Audrey pitted against Harry's ex, it's a smart, funny, and emotionally satisfying rom-com. Ages 14 up.