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Review: Faceless by Alyssa Sheinmel

 Faceless by Alyssa Sheinmel




BLURB

"When Maisie is burnt in a terrible accident, her face is partially destroyed. She's lucky enough to get a face transplant, but how do you live your life when you can't even recognize yourself any more? As Masie discovers how much her looks shaped her relationship to the world, she has to redefine her own identity, and figure out what 'lucky' really means."


MY THOUGHTS

  • Struggled through the first few chapters.
  • Cringed at times, but kept reading.
  • Got better halfway.
  • Different mindsets.
  • Sweet and sad.


This one is a toughy. While I don't really like the story, I couldn't put it away and stop reading. I just had to know what happened to Maisie in the end.


I don't know if that says more about me or the book, to be honest.


I struggled a lot through the first few chapters, and came very close to giving up. Maisie's accident happens in chapter 1 or 2, but from there she just kept whining for about 4 chapters. And I have never been in that situation, but no one wants to read constant whining, right? 


"I think I've earned the right to be a little bit rude" 


You probably already have this down as a negative review, and you're probably right (I don't know, I haven't finished writing it yet), but let me get this straight: there are parts of it I like.


I guess the best way to describe it is good writing and characters shoved together with a bad  storyline. Doesn't make a great combo.


It did get a bit better halfway, what Maisie lessens the complaining a good bit. 


“Oh my god, would people please, please, please stop calling me lucky?”


It was very interesting, as well, to see the different mindsets around disabilities from disabled people themselves. Some were very hopeful, but some were quite negative (Maisie). I had never viewed it from that perspective before.


It does also stand to the writer's skill that I was nearly crying in parts, even though the storyline wasn't great. I got quite involved in Maisie's life, and was sad at some of the more emotional scenes. 


It also really showed the power of friendship and how difficult it is to stay friends with people after drastic life events.


It helped me to appreciate my friends even more. I have one especially close friend, and I could absolutely see the similarities between the close friend in the book and my friend (shoutout to her, by the way!)


Another thing I can relate to is the enjoyment she got from her jogs in the morning. I recently started walking in the early morning, and can see how enjoyable it can be.


“Because I do want to live. For whatever that’s worth.”


So, in summary: I enjoyed the writing style and characters, but wasn't content with the storyline. It provided a good insight into disabilities but there was a lot of moaning.


I would give it 60/100, on the basis that the writing was good, but the storyline left a lot to be desired.


I'm not quite sure what genre it fits into, as it is a little bit of everything, so I will say Young Adult, because that's what it's aimed at


STATS

Score: 60/100

Age group: 10+

Genre: Young Adult

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