It Sounded Better in My Head

It Sounded Better in My Head
Written by Nina Kenwood
Contemporary, Coming Of Age, #LoveOZYA
Published August 6th 2019
304 Pages
Thank you to Text Publishing
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★★★★★
When her parents announce their impending separation, Natalie can’t understand why no one is fighting or at least mildly upset. And now that Zach and Lucy, her two best friends, have fallen in love, she’s feeling slightly miffed and decidedly awkward.

Where does she fit in now? And what has happened to the version of her life that played out like a TV show, with just the right amount of banter, pining and meaningful looks?

Nothing is going according to plan.

But then an unexpected romance comes along and shakes things up even further.
Natalie has been blindsided by her parents separation, despite them having slept in separate bedrooms for the past ten months. Vowing to remain friends and speaking in calming tones, it's just another aspect of Natalie's life she no longer has control over.

Growing up, Natalie didn't have it easy, each day her body rallied against her, leaving her self esteem in a shambles and her confidence battered and bruised. Her painful acne outbreaks, heavy periods and wanting the world to open and swallow her whole and although her skin these days is a little clearer and she has friends she can turn to in her hours of need, Natalie still sees herself as the lonely girl who was so desperately in need of a friend.

I can't even begin to tell you how refreshing it is to see a young adult protagonist who's real. Natalie is the every girl, often painfully shy, an introvert who chooses to stay home as often as possible. Growing up, Natalie's confidence was non existent, especially with her painful acne breakouts. She would try to disappear behind the curtain of her hair and not draw attention to herself, it was easier to become invisible than to have people talking about your bad skin. But still, they did. When you're lacking in confidence and self esteem, any self perceived flaw makes you a target. Bad skin, weight and in my case, horrifically frizzy hair and outbreaks. If Natalie can talk about it, I can certain lay bare.

Fifteen was a difficult age for me. This was before the age of hair straighteners, when we would literally lay our head down on our mother's ironing board and iron our hair straight. If I had great hair then people wouldn't look too closely at my face, which was horrifically acne prone. Like Natalie, I was on medication twice daily to control my outbreaks but once I turned sixteen, it magically disappeared. Spoiler, my hair is still frizzy. Anyone who says being a teen are the best years of your life? They're either lying or too old to remember. Your teen years are some of the most difficult. 

Being a party person is completely overrated, just ask Natalie. She's content to hang with friends Lucy and Zach, both of who she met at a camp a few years ago. Natalie was the mutual friend until Zach and Lucy started hooking up, now they're in a relationship and although they include Natalie in most of their plans, it's a bit awkward when your two best friends are having sex and Natalie's sick of being the third wheel and wouldn't mind meeting her special someone. When Zach's super hot brother Alex and friend Owen invite Natalie to a party, her anxiety is sent into overdrive. Why are super hot people even talking to her, never mind inviting her to a party. It has to be a joke, right?

Oh the romance! Adorable. No doubt that Alex is hot but Natalie also assumes with his hotness comes arrogance and he's really quite a sweet boy who's just ridiculously good looking. He also thinks Natalie is beautiful. What I really liked about Alex was that he also allowed Natalie to set the parameters of their relationship and ensuring she was always comfortable. It was frustrating to see those around Natalie not so keen on their relationship, warning her that Alex would ultimately hurt her. Natalie seemingly felt as though they were insinuating that she was naive or Alex's interest would wander. Although their concerns came from a place of looking out for Natalie, it was disappointing that no one had faith in their ability to make it work.

Oh Natalie, I feel you. When you've been down on yourself for so long and watched enough eighties movies where the ordinary girl next door is invited on a date with the super hot random guy, it never ends well. If movies have taught me anything, we can't all be Drew Barrymore returning to high school, nabbing the hot unobtainable guy and the teacher. Especially as females, we convince ourselves that we're not worthy and when these moments of happiness present themselves, we're squinting and looking around for the asshole who's sniggering at our demise.

Natalie is the perfect example of pushing ourselves out of those pyjama wearing comfort zones, it's shit your pants scary but it's how we also grow as people. Through experiences. Natalie doesn't transform into the beautiful swan, she's beautiful as she is but she does start to realise her self worth and realise that not everyone is worthy of her. There's nothing sexier than a woman finding her confidence and Natalie is beginning to develop hers in spades.

It Sounded Better in My Head is a narrative that contains adolescent issues seldom mentioned in young adult literature, periods and the fear of bleeding through our underwear while in public, about polycystic ovary syndrome, painful acne, our confidence and worth. Even as adults, seeing a character like Natalie gracing our pages helps us to feel vindicated, that it's not just me who experienced this, Natalie is someone who understands the ache we carry through to our adult years, of our rattled confidence and the feeling of not being so alone.

I have never found a character more relatable than Natalie. She's you, she's the girl next door, she's your sister, your best friend. She's me. It's books like this that I needed as a teen, a friend, someone you can confide in. For the girl with breakouts and acne prone skin, the girl who made it through puberty with stretch marks, the girl who has no idea what to do with her pubic hair or the one who wears two pads and is still worried about a heavy period. Hands up who had at least one incident of bleeding through their pants in high school?

So embrace your weird bits because all women are beautiful. I've been there Natalie, hang in there girl. 

19 comments

  1. I always feel for the kids when the parents go through a separation of sorts. I also think I can relate with Natalie. I've always been an introvert when I was a teen and up to my adulthood now. This sounds so lovely, Kelly. <3

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    1. Sometimes it's also a relief for children, which is what happened in my case but Natalie found it difficult to come to terms with her parents separating and given they were both so cordial about the situation and wanted to remain friends, she couldn't grasp why they couldn't remain married. It's such a relatable narrative Joy, I see so much of myself in Natalie even as an adult.

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  2. Natalie sound so relatable! It's not often a book mentions menstrual cycles and how difficult/uncomfortable they can be. As a child, mine were very severe. My parents refused to even consider birth control because taking it would "give the wrong impression" about my virginity. I'm really happy you brought this one to my attention, and I just added it to my TBR! <3

    Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬

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    1. And the great news is that it's being published in the US as well! I was the same as a teen, my periods were random and when they finally arrived, they came with a vengeance. I was so paranoid that I was bleeding through onto my uniform and I felt so deeply for Natalie who I found so incredibly relatable. It's an amazing read and such an emotional journey, you'll absolutely love it!

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  3. I want this one!!! Talking about all the messy stuff is so important.

    My teens were very difficult too Kelly. Whenever I talk to my HS BFF, she looks back at it so fondly but yeah...not for me. {{hugs}}

    And curly hair was all the rage in my day. Lot of horrible perms lol

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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    1. I like that young adult in general shares all the positive experiences about being a teen but the reality is that it can be a terrible period for so many of us. We never read about horrific periods that look like a crime scene or issues with our reproductive systems or acne that could be mistaken for chicken pox. Even the flawed young adult characters are still these beacons of beauty and it's tiresome. This has been my favourite read this year, absolutely loved it.

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  4. Natalie is my spirit animal. And from personal experience, the fact that this actually deals with heavy periods? Wow. I’d love it for that alone, even if it didn’t deal with all sorts of other goodness

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    1. It discusses so many issues that teens with their periods face. I desperately needed this book as a teen, even as an adult I feel such a sense of kinship with Natalie. You'll absolutely love this one Verushka.

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  5. I love love love this review so much.
    I am so glad you loved this book. It made me so happy seeing all of your tweets, and comments regarding this book.
    And yes, I agree - whoever says the teen years are meant to be the best are so very clearly wrong.

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    1. I think we forget how difficult those years are. Such an amazing book and one I'll certainly read again and again.

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  6. I can relate to so much of what Natalie goes through in this book. I already love her and have yet to meet her. I still stuffer from cystic acne. It's painful and embarrassing, but at least other adults don't tend to tease you about it. This book isn't coming out until next year in the states, but it's an anticipated release for me. Great review!

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    1. It's magnificent and an amazing read! You could pick up the Australian published copy from The Book Depository rather than waiting until it's released over there. I absolutely loved it and can't wait to see what you think of it!

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  7. *puts hand up* Had to walk home from school holding my bag behind me to cover my leakage.

    Oh how I loved Natalie and this book! Natalie felt so real and I can really see teens relating to and connecting with her.

    Awesome review Kelly. XOXO Sarah.

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    1. Mine was tying my school uniform jumper around my waist, even now as an adult I check chairs when I get up after sitting for long periods. I don't think there's ever been a more relatable protagonist in young adult. Ever.

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  8. Oh wow, this just sounds like such a delightful read. Natalie sounds like a character that a lot of people will find very relatable, myself included. I'm glad the romance in the book works too. :)

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    1. It's absolutely brilliant Suzanne, I'd love to see what you think of it!

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  9. Oh wow, where was this book when I was younger??

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  10. Wow, this is a book I would have celebrated reading as a teen. I luckily escaped the horror of spots (or so I thought, and now I am the 28 year old who is still getting spots and doesn't have the skill to mask them with makeup) but I clearly remember the years of feeling so uncomfortable in your own body and constantly wanting to hide and escape attention as self confidence was not a thing I possessed. I may not wish to return to my teen years, but I most definitely want to read about Natalie because I feel like I can relate to her character even now.

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  11. This sounds fantastic. The teen years really can be rough, and I had all sorts of insecurities and anxieties growing up. I love books with main characters that just FEEL real, even if I can't relate to absolutely everything. There needs to be more YA books where characters deal with things like bad acne and heavy periods - it's not glamorous, and it can be embarrassing, but it's something people deal with all.the.time. Great review.

    Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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