Making Faces by Amy HarmonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Synopsis:
Ambrose Young was beautiful. He was tall and muscular, with hair that touched his shoulders and eyes that burned right through you. The kind of beautiful that graced the covers of romance novels, and Fern Taylor would know. She'd been reading them since she was thirteen. But maybe because he was so beautiful he was never someone Fern thought she could have...until he wasn't beautiful anymore.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 story of loss. Collective loss, individual loss, loss of beauty, loss of life, loss of identity. 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
Thank you to Amy Harmon one very delightful lady for offering this ARC for honest review. Sizzling Pages is so pleased!
Writing a review about a book that consumed and brought forth every emotion I have ever felt is hard. I am still reeling. I feel like I've been through something devastating but beautiful. I feel like my heart has footprints on it. I'm not trying to be melodramatic. I'm trying in the best way possible to convey the sheer tragic beauty of this story. I love to read and everybody that knows me has heard me rant or rave about this book or that book. But this is different. This is something so profound that I don't even have the proper words to describe it because there is a part of me that is selfish. I want to savor every feeling that I'm having. I want to keep it and I'm afraid if I share it with you that it will leave me. Yes sounds crazy I know. But there is only one thing that you can do to understand what I am going through. That is simply to read ...not not just read ..but experience this piece of history. Because this book will go down in history. I also have been known to be a speed reader. This book can't be devoured in that sense. I had to close this book so many times only because I was so emotional that I had to let the words settle in my soul and I didn't want to stop feeling. I didn't want it to end and I'd reread passages over and over in utter awe at how devastatingly consuming they were. This is not just a romance although the romance has to be one of the most beautiful stories I've ever read. Ambrose and Fern were true soul mates. They loved each other with their whole spirit.
The friendship between Bailey and Fern is the true depiction of unwavering devotion, steadfast loyalty and unconditional love. Bailey is the hero of this story. Yep, not Ambrose or Fern but Bailey. Bailey is the example of bravery in human form. Think about who is a Bailey in your life. I am lucky say I know a "Bailey" in mine.
“I bet your mom wishes she could put it in your baby book. She wrote down your first step, didn't she? She probably wishes she could write down your last.”
“She probably thought there would be more.” Bailey gulped and Fern could tell he was trying not to cry. “I thought there would be more. But I guess I used them all up.”
“I would give you some of my steps if I could,” Fern offered, her chin starting to wobble too. They cried together for a minute, two forlorn little figures on a hospital bed, surrounded by blue walls and Bailey's things.
We all try to be good people and we all try to believe that the inner person's beauty is what we are attracted to but the truth is we have all failed a time or more in doing this. But after reading this book I imagine there will be more people asking themselves this one question. Do I really see this person? What do I see? Do I see the heart on the inside or the spirit shining through.
pretty package can hide an evil heart but, a package with flaws can be the window to a heart that is beautiful behind comprehension.
You have to look beyond what you see and really truly look on the inside.
We are so lucky to be able to enjoy something that is going to transcend time but this story is going to be something our grandchildren will talk about. Get ready because when your done you'll be changed, I can promise you that.
Amy, Thank you. Thank you for sharing with us your heart. Your soul has to be one of the most passionate and beautiful souls out there. Your gift is what makes people like me love to read. This book is a gift to the world. The words on each page have left a scar..on my heart.
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