Face

Product Information

This would be an excellent prompt for discussion about prejudices regarding appearance and our reaction to those less fortunate than ourselves. With this being my 3rd reading of 'Face' (reading the book twice, and the play once), I still love this book and the message it teaches the reader. I did like his friends from after the accident the Jamaican sisters and Anthony. I thought that they were interesting and unique characters and I would have loved to learn more about them. It’s just a little too shaky in places, and whilst there aren’t any overt mistakes in terms of grammar and punctuation, I did occasionally find myself being jerked out of the story when somebody behaved strangely or said something unusual. You could tell it was purely for the sake of advancing the moral. And then there was the part where Zephaniah said it was a Friday, and in the following scene it was “the next day” and still Friday, somehow.

Martin is a fortunate teenager; he has a crowd of mates and a stunning girlfriend. Unfortunately he makes one bad decision and ends up in hospital with serious facial burns. He has to come to terms with his new appearance, his parents' reaction to his injuries, and then his friends and the rest of the school. It's a lot to deal with and we travel with Martin on this journey of self discovery. This book will not only be enjoyed by teen readers for its entertaining story, but also for its statement about prejudice. Zephaniah is not just telling a story of a brave and inspiring young man, he is also teaching readers an important lesson through the voice of Martin." - VOYA If there’s one thing that Martin is sure about, it’s that life is pretty good to him. But life – as Martin is about to find out – has a habit of throwing the unexpected at you. Martin seems to have it all. He's cool, funny, and he's the undisputed leader of the Gang of Three, who roam their East London estate during the holidays looking for fun. But one night after the Gang leave a late night rap club, Martin accepts a ride from Pete, a Raider's Posse gang member. Too late, he realises that the car is stolen, and that the police are after them.In the moving and compelling debut novel from Benjamin Zephaniah, a young man's life is completely changed when his face is badly scarred in a car accident.

Face is a 1999 British novel by British-Jamaican author and poet Benjamin Zephaniah. It is about a young boy who suffers facial injuries in a joyriding accident. Face has also been adapted as a stage play. [1] It follows the story of Martin, a British teenager living in east London, and how his and his friends and family’s life changed after a horrific car crash. Martin thinks he has his life sorted. He is good looking, funny and the undisputed leader of the gang of three. Until one night he accepts a ride home in a stolen car, and the police give chase. What happens next will change Martin inside and out. Because for some people, life is only skin deep… At this point Martin knew something terrible had happened to his face. His heart pounded in his chest. He shifted his eyes to the left and saw his father standing over him. As much as I adore Benjamin Zephaniah's poetry and his presence when he reads, I'm not as certain in my feelings towards Face. While the sentiment of the story is nice enough (I really could not think of a more fitting word than 'nice'), the prose was a little stilted for me and there were some odd moments of characterisation that didn't endear me towards anyone in particular. I would have liked for there to be more depth to Martin; he felt unfinished as a character. I really loved Martin´s story and his days in the hospital and the friend he made there reminded me a lot of when I was hospitalized and the friend I made at the clinic <3This was a powerful read, highlighting the subject of image and other people's reaction to disfigurement. It reminded me of Wonder by R. J. Palacio, another Young Adult book that I really enjoyed. The first problem I had was with Martin and his two friends called Matthew and Mark, it took me until the accident to be able to differentiate between the two of them and at that point they became much small characters. While they seemed like they could have been more interesting it also seemed as though they were assigned one character trait and that was the whole basis of who they were. Little depth was given to them. It perfectly executes a change in character for Martin, who you go from having a distaste to, to supporting every step of his lifechanging journey. The pacing is excellent as well, with events naturally following on from one another - whilst never lingering on certain situations for too long. Constantly remaining engaging and new with each chapter. The other characters are additionally well written - with their portrayals remaining relatable throughout, thanks to Zephaniah's realistic youth dialogue. Fleshing out a very clear world these young characters live in, with the change in dialogue between speaking with their child counterparts and adults conveying an accurate fictional narrative, within a non-fictional setting. Martin's life looks good with a model for a girlfriend, the best gymnast in school, and as a class clown. But, his life is drastically changed by one choice - to get into a car unknowingly with a stoned driver. Martin is left to deal with the burns he received after the car rolled and blew up. Through this trial he discovers who his true friends are, the difference between love and lust, and what it really means to be beautiful.