Face

Benjamin Zephaniah

Jul 2011 · Bloomsbury Publishing

About this ebook

'A brilliant first novel' Guardian

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.

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.

What happens next will change Martin's life and looks, and show him the true meaning of strength, courage, discrimination and friendship.

Brilliantly written and with a real ear for dialogue, fans of Angie Thomas and Malorie Blackman will love Benjamin Zephaniah's novels for young adult readers:

Refugee Boy
Face
Gangsta Rap
Teacher's Dead

Ratings and reviews

An absolutely brilliant book! Martin is cool, has great friends, he’s the undisputed leader of the gang of three and has a lovely girlfriend, Natalie. Then the unimaginable happens, Martin and one of his friends accept a lift home from a boy who used to attend their school, only to discover too late that the car is stolen and the driver is high on drugs. A high speed car chase ends in a crash which results in a fire. Martin's face is seriously burned, resulting in the need for skin grafts which leave Martin disfigured. Martin’s future is changed along with his face, coming to terms with a change of perceived identity would be hard at any age, but for a teenager it’s almost unimaginably difficult. As expected from such a brilliant poet Benjamin Zephaniah writes with empathy and style. Ben Bailey Smith narrates the text beautifully. This book is an unmissable event in coming of age fiction, if you don’t read or listen to it you are missing a real treat.

I really enjoyed the book, although a lot of my classmates found it boring, I liked the journey of finding himself and all the friends he made, I was happy for him, I can't describe this feeling... thank you for having written such a great book.

I didn't purchase the book for I already had it, leaving it due to its plain cover and blurb. It just gathered dust on my book shelf for ages, and when I decided to re do my bedroom, and in the process I cleaned my bookshelf. I came across 'Face' in the back of my bookshelf. Being older, it seemed more appealing. God knows why, but I read it. I sat in bed, tucked up with the book in my lap. I adored it from the beginning. It was an emotional roller coaster from the start, and I didn't drop the book or glance away for a second until I finished the final chapter. I can't wait for a second book, as I am eager to discover what truly happens at the end. What did Natalie do? How does she react? Does his face heal? Does Martin need more surgery or does his face get infected or what not? I adore your books, Benjamin. I recommend this book eagerly and honestly, aswell as James Dashner, Stephanie Meyer and similar authors for people who read or enjoyed this book.

About the author

A high-profile international author with an enormous breadth of appeal, Benjamin Zephaniah was perhaps best known for his performance poetry with a political edge for adults and ground-breaking performance poetry for children. Alongside his poetry he created novels and plays, wrote and performed music and had a recurring role as preacher Jeremiah Jesus in the BBC series Peaky Blinders. In his novels for young people, which include Face, Refugee Boy, Gangsta Rap and Teacher's Dead, Zephaniah tackled vital themes that resonate as much today as they did upon their first publication.