Book Review: "Zitface" by Emily Howse

Title: Zitface

Author: Emily Howse

Publisher: Marshall Cavendish

ISBN, PUB Date: 978-0761458302, April 1, 2011

Reviewed by: Jennifer Shaw for Author Exposure

Olivia Hughes is a beautiful girl that loves being in commercials. She considers herself lucky, but her luck is about to change. Olivia is signed on for a national advertisement for a water park, only to wake up one morning to find a pimple on her chin. In her world, this pimple is a huge problem. She has a difficult time dealing with it and the bullying that comes along with it.

Zitface is a fantastic read for young girls entering puberty and experiencing the dreaded acne. Howse did a fabulous job adding bullying into this entertaining, fast-paced read. Bullying is sadly a big problem in schools today, so using it to tell Olivia’s story was perfect for Zitface.

The characters had very realistic qualities that teens can easily relate to. Each one brought something new to the overall plot. Olivia and Theo were my favorites of all the characters because they each had a specific issue that really drew me to them. While the other characters were great, they really didn’t stand out that much in the story.

In 202 short pages, Howse manages to reel you in and keep you enthralled in Olivia’s situation as she battles not only her acne and her friends, but her family situation too. This is a great book for tweens and teens alike, as it lightly touches on tough topics that our youth deal with regularly.