MOVIE NIGHT
by Lucy Courtenay
Pages: 314
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
Publication Date: January 11th 2018
Received From: Hodder Children's Books
One: I am hopelessly in love with Hanna Bergdahl. Two: for the first time since our recent reunion Hanna Bergdahl appears to be single. And three: I am in stuck in that inescapable netherworld of demons and acne - the Friend Zone.
Two best friends. One crush.
Sol and Hanna were best friends at primary school and after reuniting at college, they spend approximately seventy per cent of daylight hours together.
When disaster strikes at a New Year's Eve party and Hannah sees new boyfriend Danny Dukas kissing Lizzie Banks, a New Year's Resolution is formed. Sol and Hanna will watch one film a month for twelve months until the next New Year. After all, films hold answers to life's hardest questions. Maybe they'll figure out why they are both members of the dumpee club.
Only Sol Adams has a new year's resolution of his own: to kiss Hanna Bergdahl before the year is over.
When I read The Kiss I was completely enamoured with the way in which Lucy Courtenay constructs a contemporary romance. There was this added element of movie magic and I'm so happy that has carried on to her new book Movie Night. This book is unbelievably cute, laugh out loud funny at times and the quintessential YA will they, wont they romance that will turn your insides gooey.
Movie Night is told from the perspective for our two main protagonists. First you have Hanna, the sixth form girl who fits in with the popular kids, changes boys like they're shoes and gets along with mostly everyone. Then there is Sol, Sol grew up with Hanna but moved away when he was younger. Now Sol is back he and Hanna are inseparable but he likes to keep things to himself, like the fact he has been in love with his best friend Hanna for longer than he can remember. Then one New Years Eve Hanna sees her boyfriend kissing someone else and on that night while comforting her Sol and Hanna make a pact. For the next year they are going to watch one movie a month together, because movies always have happily ever afters and maybe together they will find the answers they are looking for. But with Sol trying to hold Hanna at arms length and Hanna slowly realising just how much he keeps from her their friendship is pushed to breaking point. It is a story about friendship, first love and learning to be who you want to be, not just who you are told to be.
Throughout this book Sol and Hanna grow so much as characters, both together and apart that its hard not to love them. Movie Night is one of those coming of age stories that suck you in because you as a reader feel like you can connect with the characters. The book is written over the space of a year, a year that has our main protagonists applying for university and making big decisions about who they want to be.
The characters melt your heart and the story keeps up pace throughout. The family dynamics are intriguing and if your favourite thing in this book isn't Nigel then I don't know what's wrong with you. There are moments in this book that show how hard it can be at that age and the pressure of some of the choices that need making but there is also a humour to it as well. It is the mix of depth and light heartedness that really elevated this book for me.
Overall, Movie Night was one of those books I could read over and over again. It hit me right in the feels and from the very first chapter I needed to know if Sol got the girl. It is hard enough being a teenager but when you're in love with your best friend? Well that's when it gets complicated.
**I received this book as an ARC from Hodder Children's Books to read & review. This is a 100% honest review.**
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