Faceless by Alyssa Sheinmel

Pages: 341

Intended Audience: Teens

Genre: Drama / Adversity

Notes for Parents: Some mature content

The Back Cover

When Maisie Winters wakes up, she’s in the hospital.

The last thing she remembers is running through the hills of her neighborhood one misty morning. Slowly, she puts the pieces together: Before she could make it home, a storm gathered. Lightning hit a power line and sparks rained down, the hot-burning electrical fire consuming her. Destroying her face. Where her nose, cheeks, and chin used to be, now there is…nothing.

Maisie’s lucky enough to qualify for a rare medical treatment: a face transplant. At least, everyone says she’s lucky. But with someone else’s features staring back at her in the mirror, Maisie looks—and feels—like a stranger. The doctors promised that the transplant was her chance to live a normal life again, but nothing feels normal anymore. Before, she knew who she was—a regular girl who ran track and got good grades, who loved her boyfriend and her best friend. Now, she can’t even recognize herself.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

The author was inspired to write the story after reading an article in 2012 about a man who received a full face transplant. A face transplant is a medical procedure to replace all or part of a person's face using tissue from a cadaver. The world's first partial face transplant on a living human was carried out in France in 2005. The world's first full face transplant was completed in Spain in 2010.

What’s good?

Maisie defined herself by her ability to run and took her good looks, good friends, and good grades for granted. But after an accident alters her life, she struggles to figure out who she is and who she wants to be now that everything has changed. Maisie is a strong, realistic character, who’s search for identity amid adversity is a lesson in perseverance and resiliency. The medical information is fascinating, and thankfully presented in a way that’s easy to understand. Maisie’s unique situation is given perspective when she joins a support group and meets other who understand her many obstacles. The plot is fairly simple, with a few twists, and the pace is even. There’s a bit of romance, some humor, and plenty of emotion.

Best Part: Maisie’s friend Serena.

What isn’t good?

It felt like there was something missing. Or perhaps someone. She had her friend Serena, her boyfriend Chirag, and her parents, but why weren’t there more people rallying around her. Where were all her friends, classmates, teachers, teammates, neighbors? What about the media? The lack of attention, good or bad, felt like a missing element. Also, the ending didn’t resolve anything. It wasn’t terrible, but it felt unfinished.

Worst part: The “lucky” theme was annoying.

Recommendation ☺☺☺☻☻ (3/5)

It was good. I liked Maisie, the plot was interesting, and the story was a quick and easy read. The pace was steady, but my no means fast, and there wasn’t a lot of action. But the whole premise was intriguing and the problems Maisie came up against kept me engaged. Recommended.

Sheinmel, Alyssa. Faceless. New York: Scholastic, 2015.