Making Faces, Amy Harmon

THIS BOOK BROKE ME. 

I genuinely don’t think I have ever cried this much over a book in my LIFE. I knew Making Faces was supposed to be emotional, but I was absolutely not prepared for how attached I was going to get to these characters or how much this story was going to hurt me.

First of all, Ambrose.  The bomb went off and took half of his face, and somehow this man was STILL the sweetest person ever. Watching him come home after everything that happened and seeing how differently he viewed himself was actually heartbreaking. He had already lost so much, and then he had to figure out who he was after coming home when he didn’t even recognize the person looking back at him anymore.

AND THE MOVIE SCENE???

He literally sacrificed being able to hear properly just so Fern could sit on the side where she could see the part of his face he felt comfortable showing her. LIKE AHHHH.  He cared more about her being comfortable and enjoying the movie than himself, and it was such a tiny thing compared to everything else happening in the book, but somehow it absolutely destroyed me.

And FERN. The way she loved him??? She loved Ambrose before everything happened, and she loved him after. She never treated him like he was suddenly a different person because of what happened to his face. Their relationship was so much more than just romance, and I think that's what made me care about them so much.

AND THEN THESE QUOTES??? EXCUSE ME???

“I will spend the rest of my life trying to make you happy, and when you get tired of looking at me, I promise I’ll sing.”

“I promised myself that if you came home I wouldn’t be afraid to tell you how I felt. But I’m still afraid. Because I can’t make you love me back.”

“I want your body. I want your mouth. I want your red hair in my hands. I want your laugh and your funny faces. I want your friendship and your inspirational thoughts. I want Shakespeare and Amber Rose novels ... And I want you to come with me when I go.”

LIKE HELLO??? ]

But this book wasn’t even just Ambrose and Fern. The friendships, the grief, Bailey, everything that happened with the other boys it just KEPT HURTING. Every time I thought I had recovered from one thing, Amy Harmon apparently decided I hadn’t suffered enough yet.

What I loved most was that underneath all of the heartbreak, this was such a beautiful story about what actually makes someone beautiful. Ambrose’s appearance changes completely, but Fern sees the same person she always loved. And I loved watching Ambrose slowly realize that what happened to him didn’t make him any less worthy of being loved.

This book was heartbreaking but also SO beautiful. It made me cry, recover, and then cry again approximately five pages later. 😭

Five stars without even having to think about it.  I will be sending Amy Harmon my therapy bill.