The language might be a bit salty for many, as might be some of Kevin's adolescent fantasies. However, the story line which looks at the effects of extreme self-consciousness that can often accompany severe acne, coupled with the real and potentially terrifying side effects of a drug used to treat it, make for a gripping read. ( )

I appreciated the subject of this book (a teenage boy dealing with horrific acne), but too much of the book was crude and a bit too raw for me. Having said that, I know there’s an audience who would love it and it is going on my shelves even though I didn’t love it. ( )

Hmm....

You know how sometimes you get a book narrated by a teenager, but the writing is so sophisticated, you're like, "NOPE, there's no way this is a teenager, but gosh, the writing is still so beautiful"?

Yeah, this is that. But opposite.

I know the story is written in the point of view of a fifteen-year-old boy, but so many times, I was taken aback by how...crude the language was, and how immature the boys are! Guess it's been a while since I've been around 15 year-old boys. Or maybe I was lucky and never encountered these particular genre of boys.

I will admit that some of his jokes/comments were kinda funny in a shocking way, but most of the time, they just made me cringe. They were inappropriate, yes...but CHILDISHLY inappropriate. Like, I'd expect this level of childishness from my brother in sixth grade.

And Kevin. He has SO many issuessssss. I honestly don't know where to start.

For the majority of the book, it never really occurred to me that his medication might actually be the cause of his delusions. Oversight on my part, I guess. It's crazy and more than a little frustrating to read about how quickly he moves on from one outlet to another.

And from the start, writing seemed to be an important thing to him...so it's kinda sad how quickly he abandoned it.

And something else? He gets fixated on something, puts all his hopes and dreams and life's purpose into ONE thing SO quickly, that I'm not even surprised at how quickly it backfires. Still annoying though.

The ending almost made up for some of it though. It was kinda sweet at the end when Kevin finally realises how RIDICULOUSLY weird he's been acting. And makes up for it in a sweet way. If only we started on that a little earlier in the book.

Anyways, I suppose I'm not really the target audience for this book though. I'd like to say that if I WERE the target audience, I'd definitely enjoy this more, and maybe even find some relief knowing that all my awkward body and mental issues aren't familiar to just me. I still feel like the writing could still be nice AND still give me relief though. ( )

Teen Kevin has out of control acne and comparable insecurity. He often lives in his private narrative of the world and feels his isolation deeply. Kevin independently pursues a prescription drug treatment despite its serious side-effects. Is it working as it should? Are the side-effects as serious as he fears? Without sharing his anxieties his world becomes increasingly smaller. ( )

I'm not sure what originally drew me to this book. Maybe some desire to relive a bit of high school?

Kevin has severe acne, and is very self conscious about it. He's tried every medication there is (he thinks) and asks his dermatologist about Acutane. When he goes to the office for monthly blood tests, he meets Alex.

They form a friendship, whic he kind of overblows into some kind of fantasized relationship, complete with planning the things they'll do in the future.

I liked the look into a teenage guy's mind, and I did enjoy the dynamics between Kevin and Alex, in the beginning, and more at the end when he tries to right himself again. I also enjoyed that he tried to help his sister out with her issues, too.

The middle of the story is just repetitive, teenage boy stuff. Plus the gory horror obsession is just not my thing at all, so that put me off a tiny bit And I was kind of creeped out when he starts to get obsessive about Alex.

I could relate to some things, like going over and over conversations in your head, trying to say the right thing (I remember doing that, as a teenager, hell, sometimes I still do)

But on an overall level, this book just didn't work for me.

*I won a copy of this via a Librarything Giveaway* ( )