Firstly, I want to mention that this book has the best acknowledgements ever. If you read this book (which you should), don't skip the acknowledgements!! 
 Also, take note of how the titles of chapters change.. 
 3.5 stars 
 The problems that I had with this book are minimal, and were quite easy to look past since it just seemed quite unique otherwise. 
 Definitely a book that the mature teen should read! 
 "Nothing about me is real." 
 This book is so wonderfully candid about how difficult it is to fit in as a teenager, the extents to which someone might go to remain invisible. How acceptance can drive your actions. 
 Poor Pen basically pretends she doesn't have a personality at all, so desperate is she to be invisible! 
 He also manages to perfectly capture just how 
 awkward 
 it is to be a teenager. 
 I cringed and raged and was just a bit traumatised by her relationship with Paul. He gets mad when he realises she has opinions.. and then there is the manipulative intimacy.. And it was realistic in its gruesomeness. 
 And while I hated it, I understand its role in this story! 
 Penelopes parents are religious, overly so, and she feels more boxed in by it since she doesn't quite feel the same. Her parents also fight all the time, and because of this she thinks that's how relationships are. 
 She is also (more than somewhat) sex obsessed. And ashamed of it (thank you overly religious parents). 
 Benedict. Man, I love me a good nerd. Benedict is just so well written, he is socially awkward but still unabashed about who he is. But while he wants to make friends, he isn't really looking to change who he is. 
 I enjoyed what his family dynamics added to the story and his emotional growth. 
 "Yes, umm, okay, let me say it a different way. I've thought about this a lot recently. I've thought about all the time I've judged people and I realized I only did that because deep down I didn't feel confident about myself. So we judge to inflate our self-worth. Thus, if I ever judge you, you can say, 'Benedict, why is your self-worth low today?'" 
 I loved how Gottfred managed to create such unique and different voices in his alternating POVs. While some of his writing was a bit stilted, I loved the messages and what he did with his story. 
 Read this book people!!