Bibliographic Information:
Title: It Sounded Better In My Head
Author: Nina Kenwood
ISBN: 978-1250219268
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Copyright Date: April 2020
Reading Level / Interest Level: Min/Max grade levels 8-12 (Novelist)
Genre / Format: Realistic Fiction, Romance / Book
Themes: Coming of Age, Complicated Families, Relationships
Awards or Honors: None as of the publication of this post.
Plot Summary: This coming of age rom-com is about an 18-year old girl named Natalie. Around Christmas, her parents decided to tell her that they are getting a divorce, and have already been separated for some time. Natalie feels betrayed by her parents. She then finds out that her two best friends (Zach and Lucy) hooked up and neither of them told her. Natalie had a crush on Zach and thought she’d end up with him someday. She has been struggling with internalized self hatred for most of her life. With Natalie's world feels like it’s upside down. An unexpected romance might be the perfect distraction from the chaos.
Author Background: Nina Kenwood is an author who lives in Melbourne, Australia. Kenwood received the 2018 Text Prize for her young adult novel It Sounded Better in My Head. She has worked in the book industry for ten years (Kenwood, n.d.).
Critical Evaluation for Books and Non-Print Items: This book is a beautifully told rom-com. We follow Natalie’s life as her planned out life is unraveling. Natalie is trying her best in traveling through uncharted waters. Her parents are divorcing, her best friends hooked up, and the three musketeers won’t be going to the same college after all. With everything in chaos she is trying to move on by pursuing a love interest, only to discover they may have another love interest she might wish to explore. The author handled the topic of sex and consent beautifully, with the female character and male character having strong communication.
Creative Use for a Library Program: College Talks
This book takes place in the summer between high school graduation and college. A character lied about their exams and had to admit to not being accepted to any college. College talks will bring in college graduates from the community to talk about what colleges they went to and any advice for prospective college students. This will be an open panel where the patrons will be able to ask any questions they may have. A list of scholarships and other financial resources will be provided, along with information on where to start. It is important to keep students motivated to continue their education.
Speed-Round Book Talk or Short Book Trailer: In what should have been the perfect year, Natalie soon finds out that she is not the center of her world. Her parents announce their divorce, then she finds out her best friend, who she thought was her soul mate, is dating and hooks up with her other best friend. Everything does not go according to plan, but will she have enough tools in her life to keep her sane?
Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation: Parents may disapprove of this book because there are teenagers exploring their sexuality. Some of the teenagers in this book sneak around in their parents homes to spend the night together. Some parents may also disapprove of their child reading a book where divorce and its consequences are explored. About 50% of married couples in the United Stated end in divorce (World Population Review, 2021). If stories are removed due to divorced families, that is sending the wrong message that these families are not normal. Representation in books is everything, and teenagers from divorced parents is something that needs to be seen as well. While the teenagers in the story are exploring their sexuality, they are doing so safely. There is a moment where the main character wants to have sex due to peer pressure, but her partner beautifully handles the situation by making Natalie realize she doesn’t have to give in to peer pressure, not everything has to be planned out: it will happen when she wants it to happen and when she is ready.
Reason for Inclusion: This book makes the collection for introducing safe sex topic and the unplanned chaos that life may bring. Natalie has everything laid out perfectly, until she doesn’t. She learns that her parents are also human and needed to let each other go. It was a part of keeping a healthy relationship with each other. Her parents still got along, but were not together. Natalie learns to find herself among the chaos because while life falls apart, she must keep going. Natalie struggled with self hate most of her life, which stopped her from going to social gatherings. Her relationship with Alex helps Natalie overcome some of these struggles. In a world where social media is increasing self hate in teens due to filters that make people look "perfect" this is an excellent book to help teenagers explore the importance of self esteem.
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