True Face

by Siobhan Curham

[Jo]

Originally posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.

I don't generally read non-fiction, but when I heard about True Face by Siobhan Curham, I knew I had to read it. Young girls deal with such self-esteem problems, and are constantly being told by the media how they should look, and to strive for the "perfect" unattainable look. And here is a book especially for teens to combat those issues, and help them towards self-love, self-confidence and a healthy self-esteem.

True Face is a fantastic book, and so important. This is not like your usual non-fiction growing up books. This isn't a book about body changes and hormones, etc, this is a book about stepping back from the pressure to be someone you aren't, and get back to the real you, behind the masks - back to our True Face.

I am fortunate enough that my self-esteem and self-confidence aren't in too bad a shape, but I really, really struggled as a teenager. I didn't fit in, and being ginger and very skinny, I stuck out like a saw thumb. Add to that the fact that I was bookish, did well in school, didn't listen to the "right" music, wasn't rolling my skirt up, or walking around with the latest designer coat/bag/shoes, didn't have a boyfriend, and was pretty well behaved, I attracted negative attention. I was mildly bullied, and made to feel like I simply wasn't good enough. I can't tell you how big a difference True Face would have made to me back then.

True Face takes you through the masks we put on to try to fit in, asks you to think back to who you were when you were a child before self-esteem issues kicked in, experiences you've been through that may have caused you to get to a point where you started pretending, and then leads you through discovering who you really are behind the mask. With examples from Curham's own life and various people who share their stories, Curham gets you thinking about where things went wrong, and about how fantastic you are, the real you, and how there's no need to hide. True Face even tackles how to deal with that inner voice that tells you you aren't good enough, and how to ignore what we're told by the media. With the help of writing exercising to help you really dig deep, True Face is a fantastic book to help readers discover the "true you" - or, rather, come to realise just how wonderful the reader is and how unnecessary it is to fake it. True Face also goes into body image, romance, toxic friends and aiming for your dreams.

At times, True Face feels like it's aimed at younger teenagers with phrases such as Inner Voice of Doom, and possibly even a little cheesy, but this is easily overlooked with how great this book is overall, with the potential this book has to help so many young girls and women. Although I'm pretty sorted now, as I was reading, I was nodding along as I thought back over my own life. I had to sort through my self-esteem issues myself, and it took me a long while to figure out for myself where my problems stemmed and how to change my thinking about them, and with the help of a fantastic friend who has only ever seen the great things about me, but how much quicker this could have occurred if I had True Face, and how happier I could have been in my own skin much sooner!

Having had to work things out for myself, I can honestly say this book is absolutely spot on, and will help so many teens. True Face is inspiring, empowering, and ultimately freeing. An incredibly important book, and one all teen girls should own.

Thank you to Faber & Faber for the review copy.