The love story of Fern and Ambrose can only be described as simply beautiful. Their connection was so strong and deep that you felt every emotion they evoked and felt every meaning behind their conversations. I love the letters and this-or-that game they exchanged. We get to know the real Fern and Ambrose. If Bailey was the heart and soul of the book, Fern was simply the rock. She was Ambrose and Bailey's rock when they needed her the most. Every person and everything had a purpose. There were strong religious and spiritual undertones in this book but I felt it tied in and work well this story in delivering its message.

I highly recommend to read this wonderful story. You will be thinking about it years to come. I actually cried and that does not happen easily for me! I felt every single drop of raw emotions from feeling heartbroken, to happiness, to joy and to being inspired. This is such a gorgeous well written story. Amy always writes a lovely real story that you will always love.

Writing a review on this book is so hard for me because I LOVE it so much and there is no way in heck that I can express how amazing it is.

I am going to try and do my best but let me tell you right now that Making Faces is an incredible story and you should read it. Like right now (or wait until Tuesday, February 21st, because they're releasing bonus content!). Go buy it and read it. Trust me. You won't regret it.

"It's hard to come to terms with the fact that you aren't ever going to be loved the way you want to be loved."

THERE GOES MY HEART. Again.

Amy Harmon is a pure genius. This is my third time reading a book by her and every single time she blows my freaking mind.

Making Faces is not just your typical love story. It is far from being just a love story. It is a book about friendship, self-love, growing up, being a hero, about life and death and much more.

Fern is such a pure and kind-hearted character. She loves reading and writing romance stories and yet she has never experienced them (so relatable y'all). She loved Ambrose Young since she was a little kid and looked like Pippi Longstocking but he never gave her a second thought back then. Or so he said.

Ambrose is a larger-than-life character. He is such a Beast. I mean that he acts so much like the Beast from Beauty and the Beast (aka my favorite princess story EVER). He's the Beast and Hercules at the same time. He makes my heart flutter. I love him.

Bailey brought something else to the book. He's one of the reasons this book is so special to me. He's such a unique character. He has a heart of gold, he is an amazing friend and overall fantastic person. He's a hero. Wrestler at heart. Bailey made me tear up both from laughing and sadness. He's also Ambrose Young biggest fan (same, Bailey, same). And can you tell he's my favorite character? Because he is.

Making faces is unique and BEAUTIFUL story. Stories like this make me remember the reason I fell in love with reading.
Plus this book is kind of a beauty and the beast meets hercules type of book and lucky me, those are my favorite stories.

Amy has skyrocketed to the top of my favorite writers list. She writes my favorite type of books. Hands down. She deserves standing ovations.

I recommend this book to everyone and no one. You know what I mean?! Have you ever felt that when you read an incredibly amazing book and you want everyone to read it because it's so good but at the same time you don't want them to read it because maybe they won't be able to appreciate such beautifulness? Well, that's me right now.

This isn't a new release, nor is it very good. I wish it was clear that this had been published years ago.

You know how there are some writers whom you hear about and think, "I really need to read her books"? And maybe you buy a book or two by that author (From Sand and Ash and The Bird and the Sword, I'm looking at you), and you tell yourself you'll read them when you finish the book you just started? And before you know it, months have gone by and you still need to read those books?

That's my history with Amy Harmon.

And now here comes Making Faces, which, thanks to a blog tour for which I signed up, I actually read. The good news? I LOVED THIS BOOK SO HARD (even though it made me ugly cry more than once). The bad news? I think I'm addicted to the way Amy Harmon writes.

Harmon tells this story from the perspectives of Fern, a minister's daughter whose awkward years last longer than ought to be the case for any human being, and Ambrose, a man whose outer beauty is the opposite of Fern's. She's tiny, red-haired, and freckled-faced, whereas he is tall, brooding, and breathtakingly handsome. The two grew up together when Ambrose moved to Fern's small Pennsylvania town, but they grew apart as Ambrose's beauty and wrestling prowess eclipsed any childhood affections he held for Fern.

If you think this is some predictable, maudlin YA romance, you could not be more wrong. Harmon takes a sharp turn when she sends Ambrose and his four best friends to fight in post-9/11 Afghanistan and brings only Ambrose back. She also adds further heft and emotional poignancy with Bailey, Fern's cousin who suffers from a debilitating and life-threatening muscle disorder.

There is the obvious message about outer looks belying the inner beauty that should count more, but Harmon doesn't beat this to death. She focuses instead on what makes you beautiful inside and how that inner beauty intimidates far stronger than any outward physical perfection. Fern's ability to love scares the mess out of people who encounter her. She resolutely supports her loved ones, all the while recognizing that she is, in fact, unattractive when you first look at her. She retreats to romance novels, both those that she reads and those that she writes. Don't let Fern fool you: she is a good person, but she also enjoys a fantasy.

One thing Ambrose is not, however, is a fantasy. He is very, very real, and the Ambrose who returns after the war is far removed from the Ambrose who left. He needs to heal, both physically and emotionally, and Fern recognizes that. She approaches him tenderly and gently, not with the reverence of a teenage girl but rather with the warmth and kindness of a young woman who knows what people think when they see what you look like. You will cheer for these two until you are hoarse.

Amy Harmon's heroine is a preacher's daughter, and, as such, God plays a part in this book. I loved how Harmon approached the spiritual side of her story. She does not proselytize. Much like Fern, she leads by example, and she makes you think as she makes you feel.

I can't wait to start more of Amy Harmon's books. Making Faces made me a huge, HUGE fan of hers.

The book was longer then needed be mainly because of the flashbacks at the start that felt unnecessary. The book felt really unrealistic at points especially the spontaneous decision for the friends to all go to war especially as Ambrose at stages didn’t even like his friends. So the idea of this brotherhood was hard to picture. The romance was very typical and cheesy and Fern was portrayed to be too perfect and innocent. I didn’t like the setting very much as I don’t like stories with small towns and everybody up in your business and the story got boring really fast. I liked the portrayal of Ambrose’s character and his loss and grief but the only time a therapist is mentioned is when he says that Fern was helping him get better. It would have been nice to see a better perspective of PTSD and mental illness.

This was a truly touching story about first loves, friendship, and self discovery. It was beautifully written, and I stayed up until 2am finishing it.

What makes this book special is how thought-provoking it is regarding courage, loss, beauty, and self-acceptance. It could have easily tipped into the overly dramatic, but instead maintains a powerful intensity that elevates this story as a whole.

3.5/5 stars
YA Nick Sparks – take that as you will!

Making Faces is a simple story containing a sweet, predictable romance. The strength of the tale is its characters who are pretty-much all likeable. However, I give particular praise to Harmon for making Bailey the stealth star of her book, his personality easily outshining those of the romantic leads. If Making Faces were refocussed so it was all about Bailey with everyone else as supporting cast, this could easily become a 5-star book. His character alone has earned this book an extra half star.

I think Making Faces would be best enjoyed in as few sittings as possible. I most enjoyed the long section I managed to read without interruptions. During this time I found how much I’d been made to care about the characters crept up on me and I was able to overlook the things I didn’t like about the story because I was so invested in the fate of the cast.

When I returned to finish the last quarter of the book after taking a few hours off, I noticed a great deal more the niggles which put a dent in my reading enjoyment.

The book has a clear and commendable message about beauty only being skin deep, but it repeats this message again and again ad nauseam. Shakespeare quotes were over-used and the Christian messages could have been delivered with more subtlety. I would have liked some character development for Fern who most of the time seemed to have little more to her than “I love Ambrose and I look after everyone and I think I’m ugly”. Also, the writing is very tell, not show, which is fine and makes everything very clear, but nuance and ambiguity would have been nice.

Overall: in the title of my review I reference Nick Sparks, and this book did remind me of his writing, but a YA version. I hope this reference might give many of you an idea of whether you’d like this book or not!

I LOVED this novel, it is just stunning. Such a gorgeous and beautiful tale. Amy Harmon writes very compelling and I flew through the pages. It was a very emotional read for me.. I even cried ! Just great !

Holly has recommended Amy Harmon to me before, and I have a couple of her books on my TBR list, but none of them have been a priority due to review books that I've had on my list as well as my own personal collection of books that I own needing to be read. So when I saw Making Faces available on NetGalley for review, Amy Harmon's name is what first caught me eye. The description sold me, and so I requested it. Due to the publication date, I decided to start reading it pretty much immediately upon being approved. And boy am I glad that I did.

Previously to reading Making Faces I read Mr. President by Katy Evans. My review of this book won't post until a few more weeks, but I was thoroughly disappointed with it, and Making Faces turned out to be the perfect book to follow up such a disappointing one because everything that I found to be wrong with Mr. President for my own personal reading preferences, Making Faces did right. As a matter of fact, Amy Harmon just did Making Faces right all the way around. It has every good thing you hope to find in a great book. Love, loss, family, friends, faith, hope, despair, death, life, sacrifice, heroism, beauty, abuse, poetry, and unrequited love.

Making Faces has two aspects about it that I normally don't enjoy. The story of events often jumps around chronologically. I usually struggle with this because flashbacks never seem as interesting to me as current day events. Yet, I find often times that flashbacks do carry significant information that leads to who a character is and why they are the way that they are. This was certainly the case for the characters of Making Faces. And also, this story is told from an eye in the sky type narration where any character's thoughts, feelings, and perspective is up for grabs at any particular moment. I usually find that this type of narration keeps me from truly connecting to the main characters as much as having a single or dual narrative. But this narration style didn't hinder me from connecting at all. As a matter of fact, I connected to EVERYONE. Every single character. Well maybe minus Beans. And I told my husband that I don't think I've ever read a book where I liked the entire town where a book takes place until now. More on that to come.

While the description above leads you to think this story is about Ambrose and Fern and their love story, and it is, but it is so so so much more. So much so that I don't know how I'll be able to do justice to this book with this review. Making Faces was so multi-layered that I am impressed that Amy Harmon was able to weave it all so cohesively. No storyline or character felt lacking. Each piece fit perfectly into the puzzle that created a beautiful and heartbreaking tale.

Even though I stated that Making Faces is much more than Ambrose and Fern's love story, I'd be an idiot not to talk about this aspect. When the description talks about how physically attractive Ambrose is, I was afraid that he was going to be a beautiful young jock with not much else going on for him, but that wasn't the case at all. Ambrose was smart and beautiful on the inside from the very beginning. He was charismatic, and it was easy to see why the entire town was enamored with him--no one more so than Fern. Fern's crush developed when she was ten years old, and her years of watching Ambrose from afar has only fed her obsession with him. But when the opportunity comes up for Fern to be the pen behind her friend Rita's love notes to Ambrose, she can't say no. And she and Ambrose begin to exchange these notes back and forth. Unlike Rita, Fern isn't breathtakingly beautiful on the outside. She has thick glasses, braces, wild red hair, and a tiny body. She's not confident in her appearance despite having a pretty good grip on herself on the inside. This relationship did not unfold at all how I expected, and I'm thankful for that. It was a slow build that started out under false pretenses, then moved into distrust, then uneasy friendship, and so on and so on. But the slow changing nature of their relationship made it believable and all the more beautiful.

Beyond being a beautiful love story, Making Faces is a wonderful story of friendship. Ambrose is gifted with 4 very close friends who would go so far as to join the military together just to prolong having to say goodbye to each other and move on with their lives after high school. These four were popular guys in school and even though none of them were perfect, they were so easily likeable for their loyalty and love for each other as well as their loyalty toward Bailey and their wrestling coach--Mike Sheen. At the same time, Fern and Bailey's story of friendship was even more beyond. They are cousins who are more like brother and sister. Bailey is probably one of the single best characters that I've ever had the pleasure of reading. His heart, his faith, his view of the world and life was beyond inspiring, and I loved him. I loved the relationship that he and Fern had. Their relationship rivaled her relationship with Ambrose as the best thing Making Faces had going for it.

When I told you that Making Faces had every good thing, I meant it. Fern's father is the pastor of a local church and he's a pillar for the members of their community. The events of Making Faces spanned from the early 90s to 2007 with a large focus on the years 2001 and 2002 when the main characters were seniors in high school. This means that the events of September 11, 2001 played a huge part of the story and was the driving force for Ambrose and his friends to join the military. These characters' experience witnessing the attacks on the World Trade Center was so similar to my own experience that I couldn't help but tear up remembering that day and how it felt to witness those events. And that wasn't the only thing I teared up about. As I said, Bailey was such a magnificent character that he caused me to tear up more than once. His struggles were more painful for me to read about now that I'm a mother. There's something about imagining your child in pain that is just not something I could ever understand until becoming a mother myself. Rita's storyline was heartbreaking as well. The position that she finds herself in happens all too frequently to entirely too many young women. My heart broke for her, as a woman, as a mother, as a friend.

This...you guys...THIS is the exact type of book that I want to read about. Strong characters that don't always have it easy yet strive to make the right choices. Faith in God even when you will never understand why things happen the way that they do. Community that supports each other, comforts each other, and mourns loss together. Friendship that surpasses the physical boundaries and beauty that is seen. Love that doesn't just come easy to all, but takes work. What it means to be a hero when it really matters. Characters that deny what they want in the moment because it is the right thing to do in the moment. Healing and moving forward in the face of trauma and loss. And family that defies blood.

Favorite quotes:
-"Everybody is a main character to someone,"...

-Everybody who is somebody becomes nobody the moment they fail.

-"It's hard to come to terms with the fact that you aren't ever going to be loved the way you want to be loved."

-"Sometimes being special friends will be hard. Sometimes you will suffer for your friends. Life is not always easy and people can be cruel."

-"I've often though that beauty can be a deterrent to love,"...

-Right now, he was tied up in a million knots, and he couldn't say things he didn't mean, just to make the moment easier.

-Victory is in the battle.

-"There's a lot I don't understand...but not understanding is better than not believing."

Favorite quotes by others that Making Faces used:
-I am only one,
But still I am one,
I cannot do everything,
But still I can do something;
And because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do the something
that I can do. - Edward Everett Hale

-"Love is not love
Which alters when alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
Oh, no! It is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests and is never shaken." - Shakespeare

-"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." - Isaiah 55:8-9

-"The robbed that smiles steals something from the thief." - Shakespeare

I have no doubt that, even though it is only January (when I read this and wrote this review), Making Faces will be one of my top reads of 2017. In truth, Making Faces has been added to the list of one of my all-time favorite books...ever. Any time a book can make me cry, I feel it deserves 5 Stars, and make me cry it did. I teared up several times, but more than that, I flat ugly cried. Making Faces is beautiful, painful, and healing. It deals with so many layers that I cannot recommend Making Faces enough. Now you'll have to excuse me while I go off and read every other published work by Amy Harmon immediately. Have you read Making Faces? What did you think? Let me know!

It's been over two weeks since I finished reading Making Faces and I still find it difficult to put my thoughts properly on paper. It doesn't happen all that often, but Amy Harmon was able to give me another book hang over with this little masterpiece. I'm ashamed to admit I have only recently discovered her work, but I've already become addicted to her lovely prose and diverse plots. Making Faces is no exception. All the raving reviews were absolutely right: this story is simply brilliant. I fell in love with both the characters, writing style and plot and this story will definitely stay with me for quite some time. Sure, some of it might be a little cheesy if you think about it critically. But if you have characters like Fern, Bailey and Ambrose, it is really easy to put those thoughts aside. I loved the war veteran elements as well; it's such an important topic and definitely deserves more attention, especially as they are often misunderstood by society. As you might have guessed already, I simply adored Making Faces and I can definitely recommend it to any contemporary fan. I promise you that you will fall in love with the characters and their story!

Making Faces begins in September of 2001 right before the attacks happened, right before Fern's life and everyone in it are changed drastically. There is Ambrose who seems perfect. He is able to do about anything and everything including having a beautiful singing voice that, as Fern puts it, is the most beautiful voice in the planet. Bailey who is smart and loving, but also has a debilitating disease that will one day possibly end his existence. He's reminded of it daily, even in the smallest of things like the death of a spider.

Then it happens and everything isn't the same anymore. The attack on 9/11 that affected everyone reaches all of their lives, making the day somber and many of them asking what their future will be like. Phone calls and chatter going on around them, then watching as the towers collapse and minds are filled with questions and painful ingrained images.

"And then the South tower collapsed. It was there and then it wasn't. It dissolved into a massive cloud that swept down and out, dirty white, thick and fat, bristling with debris, dense with devastation. Someone screamed and everyone was talking and pointing. Fern reached over and took Bailey's hand."

In all of that chaos, with all of those questions, the least one everyone thought would go the route of armed forces, of joining the fight against the terrorists that caused millions of heartaches, enlists. Ambrose lets it be known that he will fight for his country and not be moving forward in any other endeavor everyone knows is waiting for him. He becomes more than just the jock, the pretty face with a great voice, who has the world waiting for him on a silver platter. And that changes him both physically and emotionally. Not only does that happen, but he also has a strong connection he acquires with Fern who is someone no one ever saw him getting close to.

"With Fern, there was a possibility of a lot more. At least, the letters made him think there could be more. The tour was up in two months. He decided when he got home, he would find out.

When he feels he's become extremely different and unwanted on his return, Fern proves him wrong and his feelings grow that much more rooted and blossoms into something more that he ever felt possible. And Fern never expected any of that either. Her life has been made, and gone on without issue, but her heart and mind had also always been on Ambrose and what he was going to through, how he was doing in all the craziness he's been a part of for the past few years. They are never that apart in mind, and once they are near physically, the attraction is hard to deny.

"Ambrose nodded, his mind on the fireworks, the way it felt to lay next to Fern as light exploded above them, her sweetness, the smell of her skin and the soft sweep of her hair. He understood torture."

This is not only a book about the tragedy that befell our country, or how our main character's deal with it all, or even the beautiful love story within these pages, it is also about Bailey. I love this character, he is strong and resilient, loving and caring, unrelenting and honest to the core. Even with all the trials he has had to endure in his lifetime, he perseveres and has a great sense of humor to him.

"Bailey laughed and groaned loudly. 'Boo, freakin' hoo! Waaa! You big baby! Do you expect me to feel sorry for you, Ambrose? 'Cause I don't. It reminds me of a book I just read for this online English course I'm taking. This guy, Cyrano de Bergerac, was born with a big nose. Who the hell cares?"

There is much to do this read. Everything that is loved keeps getting better and more profound. And I can't help but love all the characters in this book, especially Fern and Bailey. Of course, it doesn't hurt to have a main character like Ambrose filling these pages as well. And there is so much more in this book that makes the reader want to keep reading and not placing this book down until the last word on the final page.

***I received this copy from Spencer Hill Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.***

One of the best books I've ever read. Simply amazing.

5 fantastic stars!!

This author did a wonderful job in making me cry my eyes out.
The complexity of the characters along with the amazing story told here was heartbreaking yet sweet.
I have read other books by Miss/Mrs. Harmon and those were just as incredibly written as this one so I'm going out on a limb and proclaim her a top author of mine.

The story in Making Faces revolves around a group of high school kids and the impact that 9/11 had on their lives. I don't want to spoil it for anyone and my description would surely not live up to the standard of prose that the author have put on these pages so let me just sum up the basics.

After 9/11, one of the main characters, Ambrose Young enlists and when he returns from war he is altered.
Another main character, Fern Taylor stays in their hometown with her best friend Bailey Sheen and lives a quiet and unassuming life.

This is their story and it is a MUST READ!

I spent several days considering this book after reading it. Revisiting passages, moments, and even other reviews about this book. While Ambrose Young is no doubt book boyfriend worthy, as many fan pictures display in reviews, this is a story about Fern AND Ambrose. A girl who believes she has no internal or external beauty, and has loved Ambrose for as long as she can remember. And Ambrose -- a boy who is achingly beautiful and kind and well-loved, but who loses a part of himself in war.

This book isn't a war book, and it isn't a romance book, and it isn't just about self-acceptance either. It is moving, and discreet, and subtle... joyful, bittersweet painful. It makes you think about your own standards of beauty, character and generosity with others. It awakens any sense of loss you have experienced with loved ones.

So, without spoilers, I would say... you just have to read it to experience it. Many of my favorite quotes aren't from the self-deprecating Fern, or the handsome and haunted Ambrose, but from Bailey who is Fern's cousin. Bailey sees life with a different sort of clarity, and that is everything in shining a kind light on the fears and self-doubts of others.

"Main characters never die in books. If they did, the story would be ruined, or over."
"Everybody is a main character to someone. There are no minor characters."

This book is one of those books that every novel you read in the future and have read in the past will be compared to. This is what I call a pivotal book in which now I ask, "Did I read that before Making Faces, or after?" Or, " Is this book you are recommending a Making Faces 5 star type of rating or a just a run of the mill 5 star rating? "

Ambrosia, Fern and Bailey are characters I will never forget, their story resonates with me in such a powerful way. This is a highly recommended must read, from an incredible author, whose writing sets the bar in this genre.

Stagnate or venture out?

Always venture out, even if it sometimes causes you to suffer .....

This is undoubtedly one of the best books I have ever read in my life. Not only for all the plot that is strong and very well built, but also for all the references used by the writer to bring to life wonderful and captivating characters.
After all, who does not love Beauty and the Beast, Cyrano de Bergerac, The Wizard of Oz and Shakespeare? There's no way you can not fall in love, can you?

"Books allow people to be who they want to be, to escape from themselves for a while."

The synopsis focused on the figures of the protagonists Fern and Ambrose and forgot to mention the character who truly stole the scene: Fern's cousin Bailey , boy who has an illness since childhood that blocks the movements of his muscles and is so very beautiful more than words could talk. Thanks to wisdom of this being of light the main characters could live a beautiful story of love and overcoming.

Fern is a shy girl, that was a true Ugly Duckling, with her vibrant hair, metallic smile, glasses, body without curves and sweet attitudes, with so much affection and dedication takes care of her cousin Bailey and nourishes a platonic love for Ambrose.

Ambrose, by contrast, is the most popular boy in town, all because of his beauty and strength. Always being compared to the greek hero Hercules. Rejected by his mother and raised by his stepfather, he ends up feeling overwhelmed by the pressure to always be the perfect guy and that is what makes him make a decision that will change his life forever.

Bailey is a joyful boy who did not let his illness destroy his light, also takes care of his cousin with all the strength of his pure and loving heart and conquers all around him with his joy and optimism, he just could not conquer who he most dreamed of having In his arms. It's impossible not to fall in love with him and not want to be #teambailey for the rest of my life. He brought an injection of hope and courage into my heart even though it made me suffer so much.

The book brings all the adventures and anguish lived by these three characters who have known each other since childhood, telling in poetic and romance how their lives are intertwined and will always be to eternity. And it's that literary dream of living with those characters that Amy Harmon brought to my reality.


My heart ended radiantly this reading that was so well narrated in the third person in a fluid and fast, showing how it is possible to see beyond appearances, as always with the right support people can overcome the adversities and how beautiful is true love.

.


The first cover is fantastic and passes well the message of anguish and pain of the character, but the birthday cover shows a Fern so well represented that I did not resist and bought it too.
6/5 stars

I don’t really know what I was expected from Making Faces, but the emotional tornado I lived through while reading it definitely wasn’t it. This book is incredibly heartbreaking. But, it is also incredibly hopeful. Incredibly beautiful.

I found so much of this book really relatable. Like the characters, I was a senior in high school when the 9/11 terrorist attacks happened. I remember sitting in Physics class watching as one of the towers collapsed. I also really related to Fern’s awkwardness and insecurity issues. And how, as a child of a pastor, you know that when the phone rings at an odd hour something bad has happened.

I think my very favorite thing about this book is that it positively portrayed Christian characters and the Christian faith. So often in mainstream fiction Christian characters are portrayed as wackos or extreme hypocrites. That is not the case here. Fern is kind and loving and not at all judgmental. Scripture is shared and not mocked. There is also a great message of having faith in God’s timing and His plan, even when you can’t possibly understand them. This all worked really organically within the story and never felt like you were being “preached” at, if that’s something that bothers you. I can’t even begin to explain how much I appreciate this aspect of the book.

I obviously shipped Ambrose and Fern. I really liked how their relationship developed and how they also grew as characters – and felt like there was so much more to them than just a romance. One major character that’s really central to the story and isn’t mentioned in the synopsis is Bailey. Bailey is Fern’s cousin and best friend and the son of Ambrose’s wrestling coach. He has muscular dystrophy and is confined to a wheelchair. People with muscular dystrophy do not have very long life expectancies, but Bailey has such an amazing attitude. He tries to live life to the fullest every day and do as much as he can. He has a great sense of humor. He loves his family and friends and Fern and wrestling. He was such an amazing character and one that turned me into a blubbering mess while reading.

There were only a couple of things I didn’t like. There were several times the flashbacks seemed to come out of the blue. While in most cases there was a definite separation between present and past, there were a couple other times where it just randomly switched from one paragraph to the next and it was a little jarring. Perhaps this is just a formatting issue with the ARC, though? I also did not really like the character Rita. I felt like she was so selfish and that she wasn’t so much developed as her own character, but as more of a catalyst for storylines involving Fern and Bailey.

The  paperback copy includes bonus content, which is two interviews between Ambrose and ESPN – one during his senior year in high school and one that takes place sometime between the final chapter and the epilogue. I really liked both of them and the extra bit of insight it gives into Ambrose.

Overall, I just loved Making Faces. It’s not a light book. It hurt to read at times. But it was beautifully written and included some amazing characters and really important messages. I really don’t think I can recommend this book enough. I’m definitely going to be looking up other books by this author in the future.

Overall Rating (out of 5): 4.5 Stars

I normally write my reviews the day that I finish a book, but for "Making Faces" I actually had to take a few days because honestly I didn't know what to say. The writing was amazing and I felt a part of all of the Characters lives. I laugh, cried, and fell in love. This was an adventure I wanted to go on forever and when the last page was done and the book was closed it left a whole in my heart and it was the loss of something beautiful.

The characters are incredible and believable. Fern, Bailey, Rita, Ambrose, Beans, all of them and more you know someone exactly like them and can see their relationships and their trials. This is why the whole book was an emotional journey because as events unfolded someone was in your minds eye. A brother, a lover, or even a friend.

I didn't just love this book I experienced it. I did however make the mistake of reading this at work, I don't recommend that as I was bawling at my desk in happiness and devastation. I will highly recommend this to any YA fan as it is simply amazing and I can't wait to reread it!

I rate a lot of books 5 stars, but this one fully deserves it, plus about 100 more.
Best book I've read in a long while. A book about loss, love, feeling unbeautiful, not good enough, insufficient, but putting on a brave face. My heart hurt so bad while I read this book. I cried at least a dozen times, but I also laughed. I wish I could be more like the character Bailey. I usually hate books that make me sad or I get frustrated, but this book did the loss and pain perfectly. I would welcome more of it if it was written this way. I basically highlighted the whole book.


"There isn't heartache if there hasn't been joy. I wouldn't feel loss if there hadn't been love."

The extras in the this version just make it all that sweeter.