I'm gonna start this review off with an embarrassing confession... I read the first 10% of this book at home, then the next 89% of it at work, and then the last 1% of it in the car on the way home from work... I had like three pages left and I just had to know what happened so as soon at I hit the red light near the EarthFare I knew it was my chance to read the last three pages... Bad move on my part. As I read the last few sentences I started balling my eyes out and completely forgetting I was at a stop, until the guy behind me honked his horn at me bringing me back to life.
Making Faces was just that amazing. It makes you want to read between red lights and at any chance you can get. Making Faces surrounds three main characters. Fern is the girl who is forever overlooked. She's the bookwork, small, sweet, with red hair. Bailey, Ferns cousin and best friend, is the sweet caring boy who is suffering from muscle dystrophy. And Ambrose Young, school's star athlete and overall talented guy. Fern has admired Ambrose from afar for as long as she can remember, and he only notices her after an odd event plays out. But even after that things seem to go back to the way they were. That is until 9/11 happens and it hit Ambrose in a way he didn't see coming. Even though he is so gifted he still feels like he needs to do more. He decides to sign up for the military and to serve in Iraq and talks his four friends into coming with him.
That's where the story will takes off, because Ambrose is the only one who returns, but even he doesn't come back in one piece. Ambrose and Fern's relationship is the definition of hope. Their relationship is sweet, playful, and deep. Harmon again writes such strong leading characters and gives them so much depth. Fern, though shy is far from weak. Ambrose who to the eye is strong is so weak. Them being opposites gave this book such balance. I liked that Fern shows him that there is more to life and a person than what meets the eye. That you can either run and hide or face things head on. That it's okay to let people in. That looks might be the thing that originally draws you to a person, but it's not the thing that keeps you there. Their relationship shows you that being together is a give and take situation but you both have to be willing to do both. You have to know when to push and when to ease up. Their relationship is such gold.
"You are still beautiful," Fern says softly "I think that statement is more a reflection of your beauty than mine."
Even with these two character being as amazing as they are there is no doubt who stole the show... Bailey. His and Fern's friendship is probably, if not, my favorite friendship I've ever read. There aren't even words to describe how amazing it is. Everything that comes out of his mouth is written with such a force. He is unlike any character I've ever had the pleasure of reading. He alone would be a reason I would recommend this book. The characters in Making Faces are flawless.
The plot of this book is so different. At first with how everything was laid out I didn't think I would like it. The timeline bounces around from the past the the present, and I didn't think thing would come together... But when they do, and everything is reveal, it is mind blowing. Everything from the flashbacks, the old stories, the current events, the the title of the chapters are so well thought out. When I started too figure everything out I was taken back by how incredible this truly was. Even when there were a few moments towards the end when I knew what was going to happen next, and things were playing of cliche, the ending itself made up for anything that could have happened. The last few paragraphs made up for anything that would ever be lacking.
It's a book with so many layers, and so many lovely messages. This is a book that is tattooed on me and will forever leave a lasting impression.
"True beauty, the kind that doesn't fade or wash off, takes time. It
takes incredible endurance. It is the slow drip that creates the
stalactite, the shaking of the Earth that creates mountains, the
constant pounding of the waves that breaks up the rocks and smooths the
rough edges. And from the violence, the furor, the raging of the winds,
the roaring of the waters, something better emerges, something that
would have otherwise never existed. And so we endure. We have faith
that there is purpose. We hope for things we can't see. We believe there
are lessons in loss, power in love, and that we have within us the
potential for a beauty so magnificent, our bodies can't contain it."
10/10 Stars
-Angela
