Zitface

Thirteen year old Olivia Hughes is headed to another audition for a role in a commercial and this time she has that special feeling she's going to get the part. Turns out she was right and now she's going to be featured in a commercial for Wacky Water, a local water park. Her career as a budding actress is on its way or at least she thinks it is until she wakes up one morning and finds an enormous pimple on her chin. This is a pimple that gets bigger and bigger until she finally resorts to covering it up with a bandaid. That first pimple turns into three and then four and then more. The folks who hired her for the commercial send her to a dermatologist to get help. It's easy to see how Olivia's skin begins to affect her whole world. Her mother is worried about the Wacky Water contract and the cute guy who magically has fallen for her, starts looking elsewhere. Thirteen year olds are trying to figure out who they are, what makes them unique and what makes them fit in and fighting the acne battle can seem overwhelming. This story tracks Olivia's roller coaster ride as she and her mother try to find a way to conquer the skin eruptions and Olivia sorts out her sense of self, decides who her real friends are and finally figures out exactly which guy is her true white knight. The story reads like a day in middle school with ever-changing relationships, angst and the always present search for identity and has captures the inconsistency and immaturity of the age perfectly. Ages 11-14 202 pages