It Sounded Better in My Head

by Nina Kenwood

• ISBN10: 1250219264
• ISBN13: 9781250219268
• Publish Date: 7 April 2020 (first published 6 August 2019)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Flatiron Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 272
• Language: English

Reviews

[alindstadtcorbeax]

Star Rating: —> 5 Stars

This was just absolutely so REAL and RELATABLE. The MC has anxiety, I am 1000% positive of this, because I do, very badly. I was so happy to have this rep shown so very accurately. Anxiety is (one of the) bane(s) of my existence. I overthought everything my entire life, actually, and this is definitely shown through the MC of the novel. She is 18, and has never had a boyfriend (samerz, well, sort of) and truly liking a boy & him liking her back for one, shocks her, and secondly, is absolutely both intoxicating & terrifying for her at the same time.

Which brings me to...

Details on our main character, Natalie.
(and me? Sorry about that haha, just... ahhh it was the best to re-live that time of my life ☺️, even if it was hard & pretttty much terrifying).
She truly did remind me of myself in a LOT of ways.
The anxiety, obviously, I mean... social situations with people I didn’t know were my greatest fear, lol, which is the same for her as well, as is relying on her sense of humor depending on who she is with. Sometimes she just retreats completely, as did I! Alllll of which we see through Natalie’s inner dialogue and she’s SO funny about it. I loved it. LOVED IT!

Seriously... this book is so ridiculously funny. I was laughing out loud the entire time. I loved it; it felt so good to laugh so hard☺️.

This book was like re-living my senior year and first semester of college lol. I honest to God was so picky & anxious and all that about guys (plus I always ended up being the girl who got stuck falling for the guy who was secretly trying to make their ex jealous without realizing it at first. See? What I mean about re-living those years? Yeah. I’m right in those moments), that I never had a PROPER boyfriend (aka for more than 3 weeks

[Kat @ Novels & Waffles]

The best thing about 'It Sounded Better In My Head,' was definitely Natalie. Natalie is our protagonist and she was SO VERY RELATABLE. There were myriads of moments where I found myself thinking, “Oh my gosh, same!” – something that very rarely happens to me while reading. Her narrative voice was realistic, authentic, and made me feel seen. All the insecurities she feels, all the crushing self-doubt she experiences, took me back to my own teen years and articulated the way I felt then very aptly.

That being said, the romance was just...average. Like plain vanilla pudding, it failed to offer anything particularly special or memorable. Don't read this book for the romance; read it for the candid way the author captures the stresses of growing up.

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Natalie's life was undergoing some BIG changes. As if her exams weren't stressful enough, she had to await her university assignment, which would have a big influence on her future. She was also trying to adjust to the changing dynamic in her friend group, now that two parts of the trio were romantically involved. And to top it all off, her parents announced, on Christmas!, that they were getting a divorce. All of this was enough to elevate Natalie's anxiety levels, but THEN, she started receiving attention, of the romantic sort, and was totally at a loss for how to handle the situation. Natalie kept imagining, in her head, how all these scenarios would play out, but her reality never seem to match.

I have to say, they write some really charming, heartwarming, and relatable coming-of-age stories in Australia. I immediately bonded with Natalie, because I could tell we were kindred spirits, and I found her story so real and honest.

Natalie had suffered from cystic acne in her younger teens, and though she was able to control it, via several medications, she still bore all the physical and emotional scars. This image of herself as ugly, scarred, and unlovable was heartbreaking. The way she felt the need to hide herself, or camouflage any and all imperfections broke my heart. I have been suffering from cystic acne for over 30 years, so I related to Natalie so much. When she talked about how painful it was, or how much unsolicited "advice" she got from others, who have no conception of cystic acne, I felt her frustration.

Because I empathized with her on such a deep level, and saw a little slice of my life in her's, I really needed her to break-free of her past, to allow herself to take chances, and to begin to see herself in the present. Kenwood did me such a solid by gifting me with such a brilliant character to root for. She was super insecure, and slightly neurotic, but I loved her to pieces, and every bit of progress she made in her life was a reason for me to celebrate.

I went on and on about Natalie's health issues and insecurities, but make no mistake, this was a fun and funny book. People are throwing around the word "rom-com", and I am perfectly onboard with using that term to describe it. I especially saw the comical side of this story, when Natalie got herself into some sort of awkward situation. Lots of fun to be had, and many of those best moments occurred between Natalie and her love interest.

Due to her acne and poor self image, Natalie had yet to have won any boy's attention. Now, she was navigating a whole new world, and she was doing it in a hilarious and heartfelt way. I adored all the banter between the two, and they had some of the most painfully awkward conversations, but I gave Natalie a lot of credit for being honest and putting herself out there.

Not all the interactions were comedic, though. I was an absolute super-fan of this couple, and it was because you could see them, slowly, learning how to be together. Not only were they taking the time to understand one another, but they were learning how to be vulnerable with each other. They were sweet and adorable, and this is what I think first love should be.

Overall: A wonderful and amusing story of first love and self acceptance, which was sweet, charming, and relatable.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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[Kelly]

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.

[Sarah Says]

It Sounded Better in My Head is a new #LoveOzYA Contemporary YA Romance that is adorable, entertaining, relatable and warmed my heart. And while it may be a romance, there is also a heavy focus on friendship – which is always a winner for me.

The story begins: Natalie’s parents are getting divorced, her two best friends are hooking up, she’s just finished high school – Her whole world is changing at a rapid speed and she struggling to keep up.
Cue a kiss from a cute boy, who in her mind is way out of her league, and she is foundering all over the place. Natalie has no idea what the kiss meant. We the reader know right away. But it’s fun watching all the adorable awkwardness of Natalie trying to figure it out.

18-year-old Natalie is an easily likeable protagonist. Natalie spent her early teens with serious skin problems that needed a lot of heavy medication to get under control, thanks to those years she has zero self-esteem, endless anxieties and still sees herself as “gross”.

This is a story that deals with figuring out what to do once high school is over, a story of navigating first loves and how friendships change and grow. It also deals the fallout of parental divorce. The romance is soft and beautiful, and keeps the story feeling light while some heavier things are dealt with.

It sounded better in my head is an adorkable, fast flowing, easy to read, heart-warming story that I can see myself picking up again if I’m in need of a pick me up.

Who would like it: any #LoveOZYA aficionados. Fans of Rainbow Rowell and Jenn Bennett. Lovers of soft and sweet getting-to-know-myself-while-getting-to-know-you romance.