Overall this was a fun listen (and I really enjoyed the narrator!), but there were still a lot of things that didn't fully work for me, so this rating feels fair.

I really liked that this book discussed bad acne and skin problems, and the impact that can have on teenagers as they're growing up, and how it continues to affect them long after. I never struggled with bad acne, just other skin issues, so it was an interesting perspective to read and hear, even though it was heartbreaking to see how much it impacted Natalie, and that she could never really escape it. I can't say anything about the authenticity of this part of the book, but it felt honest and real, and eye-opening in a sense too.

I was on board with Natalie and Alex at first, but then it both felt like it moved too fast and not at all. The build up was real cute, and I could see myself really enjoying the relationship, but at some point I sort of stopped seeing it, and the book never fully brought me back to enjoying it again. I feel like not enough time was really spent fixing the issues they had, since the book was quite short overall and there was a lot of other stuff going on at the same time.

I generally liked Natalie, though sometimes I got really frustrated with some of the things she said to people around her. A lot of it was fair (at least coming from her perspective), even if harsh at times, but it just went too far here and there without ever really backtracking. I wasn't too annoyed with this while listening, but overall I don't know if I actually liked Natalie, and I feel like a stronger resolution could've fixed this a bit more for me.

Overall I enjoyed my time with this book, though it doesn't feel super memorable as a whole. I might still try some more by this author, depending on the premise! The Australian perspective is always fun to see too, and a bit refreshing compared to most US-centric high school books out there.