A review by spearly
It Sounded Better in My Head by Nina Kenwood

emotional lighthearted
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

But when people say you’ve got to love yourself first, they never explain how, exactly, you get past people screaming ‘gross bitch’, how you get past feeling like your best days are only your best days because you’re managing to hide the bad bits, how you feel desirable if no one has ever desired you.


Is this a romance? Sure. But more than anything, this is a poignant story about a girl with deep insecurities and self-doubt, navigating through her first kind-of-maybe relationship with her best friend's brother, all while her parents are going through a divorce.

I ugly cried. I don't think I've ever read a protagonist that felt so similar to myself. I understood Natalie so deeply, I cried for her, with her, and knew her pain and doubt and lack of self worth as surely as I've known my own. During the chapters with her parents, I was getting flashbacks to my own parents separation, which happened when I was 15. To be honest, it feels like Kenwood took a page out of my diary, as if she'd had a glimpse into my life and saw something there worth writing about. 

I loved every single character. Natalie, her parents, her friends, Alex. The relationships felt so authentic to me, and everyone was fleshed out, especially Natalie's parents. They reminded me so much of my own. Their chapters were probably the one's I got the most emotional at.

I know this book won't be for everyone. I only wish it had been around when I was in high school. Maybe I would felt a little less alone. (god, that's sappy and kinda sad. All this to say, it was a lovely novel and I will probably be thinking about it for a while.)

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