Being fresh out of high-school, Natalie is getting anxious about the next big step that she’s about to take in a couple weeks. She’s headed to university and she couldn’t be more stressed about it. Thankfully, she has her two best friends, Lucy and Zach, who recently just hit it off as a couple. Although Natalie is 100% supporting their relationship, she couldn’t help but keep second-guessing her role in their friendship circle. She thought she might have experienced something that would lead her and Zach to a couple instead, though she had no intention to break her best friends apart. Never in a million years. Yet she couldn’t stop overthinking why Zach chose Lucy over herself, leaving her with her worst internal monologue and self-hatred that she’s not as good as Lucy. While struggling with all of these thoughts, unexpected news comes from her parents. They are getting divorced. The worst part yet? They knew that their separation was coming for ten months before they decided to share it with Natalie, leaving her with no opportunity and space to protest since their separation was incredibly calm, polite, and has been agreed mutually.
This YA contemporary debut was an extraordinary coming-of-age story. It was great following the quiet and shy Natalie, and how she experienced best-friend drama, parents’ separation, unexpected romantic encounter, and most importantly, how she struggled with her insecurities. While I personally never expect a lot from this genre (considering the repetitiveness and how a few tropes have been used too many times in various media outlets), I find it surprising that I had so much fun with It Sounded Better in My Head. Yes, there were tropes that have been used many times, but there’s something about Kenwood’s work that made it engaging and incredibly entertaining. She managed to capture the intensity of disagreement between friends, the unavoidable self-doubts that most teenagers can’t help, and the annoying yet silly family banter. These fun and witty scenes were especially my favourite because they were not artificial whatsoever, which resulted in earnest laughs that made me eager to keep flipping the pages.
Kenwood heavily centered her story on Natalie and her struggles ever since she’s a teenager and how it built up until she became a young adult. I don’t think Kenwood wrote Natalie’s experiences perfectly, but I’d be lying if I said I couldn’t relate to her character multiple times throughout the story. Self-hatred was an issue that even now, being in my 20s, is something that I have to deal with regularly. Witnessing how Natalie had to go through the similar experience was hurtful. She keeps seeing herself as a failure and hating on her body while in fact, she’s a fun, smart, and witty person. I feel as if I’m seeing a bit of myself in her.
On the other hand, another saddening representation also comes from Lucy. Being a social person who couldn’t be more excited to talk to multiple groups of people, while also having a great best friend and a loving partner, she seems to have it all in life. That’s before we know about her controlling and strict mother, pressuring her for getting into law school ever since she’s 13, when she doesn’t even understand college yet. Her storyline was also another of my favourite to follow.
Lastly, the romantic aspect of this book, which is Natalie’s first love experience with Zach’s brother, Alex. It might be too assuming for me to label it as a first love, but it was definitely not a first crush either. I enjoyed this aspect quite a bit and it wasn’t all lovey-dovey or cringey. I do think a few parts were necessary to point out (the rapid fire inappropriate questions that Natalie asked Alex, her jealousy over Alex’s ex-girlfriend, the revelation of Alex’s cheating, the fear of their first sexual intercourse, etc). Slthough they were embarrassing, they happened in real life to real teens. I think Kenwood did a great job featuring all of these sensitive issues in her story.
In conclusion, It Sounded Better in My Head was a compelling coming-of-age story that I wasn’t quite expecting. It was diverse, genuine, and not holding back from representing multiple issues that teenager face, especially ones that they had to face during the confusing age of 17 and 18 where you’re not quite a teenager anymore but also not fully an adult yet.
It Sounded Better In My Head is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
From debut author Nina Kenwood comes a tender, funny, and compulsively readable novel about first love and its confusions, and all of the awkwardness of teen romance.
When her parents announce their impending divorce, Natalie can’t understand why no one is fighting, or at least mildly upset. Then Zach and Lucy, her two best friends, hook up, leaving her feeling slightly miffed and decidedly awkward. She’d always imagined she would end up with Zach one day―in the version of her life that played out like a TV show, with just the right amount of banter, pining, and meaningful looks. Now everything has changed, and nothing is quite making sense. Until an unexpected romance comes along and shakes things up even further.
It Sounded Better in My Head is a compulsively readable love letter to teenage romance in all of its awkward glory, perfect for fans To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and Emergency Contact.
What a great review!!! absolutely loved it!