An emotionally potent tale which calls to the hero in all of us.

Making Faces
von Amy Harmon

Bewertet mit 4.5 Sternen

“Making Faces is the story of a small town where five young men go off to war, and only one comes back… It is the tale of one girl’s love for a broken boy, and a wounded warrior’s love for an unremarkable girl. This is a story of friendship that overcomes heartache, heroism that defies the common definitions, and a modern tale of Beauty and the Beast, where we discover that there is a little beauty and a little beast in all of us.”

Making Faces is a poignant, deeply touching and beautiful tale about where true beauty lies in a person. It’s about real life heroes and what it takes to have insurmountable courage. It’s about friendship, love and how to cope with the loss of both. It is an unforgettable story that will stay with me for quite some time.

Fern Taylor is a sweet, smart and caring young girl with a giving heart. Despite this, Fern is someone who grew up discarded. Aside from her family and her close friends, Fern remained unnoticed by most.

Ambrose Young is everything that Fern is not. He is popular, unbelievably handsome, an exceptional athlete and it seems as if he has the world in the palm of his hands. When the time for college comes, Ambrose feels that he is not ready for the pressures of college wrestling and being in that lime light. And, Ambrose runs. He decides to enlist in the army and persuades his four closest friends to come along with him. Only the reality of war is one where strong and capable individuals die. Ambrose made it back to Hannah Lake, but he is the only one that returned. With a face that was permanently deformed, Ambrose’s life is forever changed as he wallows in his guilt and hides. The boy wonder once in the spot light now resorts to hiding in the shadows.

The love story of Fern and Ambrose was on another level than most. It didn't rely on angst or steam as its motivation, but gradually came alive through a deeper, more meaningful connection. There were strong religious and spiritual undertones that strengthened this story's messages without becoming preachy or judgmental. The writing was phenomenal, symbolic, fresh, and original — and I loved that poetry so heavily influenced this plot.

I must admit that this story's raw power and heartbreaking scenarios had me in an almost constant fit of tears. I cried for a Fern — for believing she was so incredibly insignificant because of her unremarkable appearance. I cried for Ambrose's quiet strength, humility, and decency—which was all I saw in both his beautiful and "beastly" state. And for Bailey — who so desperately craved becoming a hero, never realizing he was one all along.

A touching portrayal of not only finding beauty within, but of finding the beauty within the ugly.