Sara's Face [Hardcover]

Melvin Burgess (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 30, 2007

Sara Carter wants to be famous. Fame is her obsession. So when legendary rock star Jonathon Heat offers her star training and the cosmetic surgery she thinks she wants, Sara can't believe her dream will come true. But Jonathon Heat doesn't want Sara's talent. Jonathon Heat wants Sara's face. Melvin Burgess is on top form with this chilling, original and topical psychological thriller.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up—Seventeen-year-old Sara wants to be spectacular. Not just pretty, not just popular, but spectacularly famous. She is a borderline anorexic, purposely hurts herself, often adopts different personalities, emits her own special perfume smell, and sees ghosts, among other things. When pop idol Jonathon Heat takes her under his wing, she crosses into a world of lunacy and cosmetic surgery to reach her goals. An eerie Michael Jackson-esque figure, Heat lives on a wacky estate with a private plastic surgery theater and has undergone so many facial reconstructions that he's forced to cover his pieced-together face with a mask. After Sara moves into his compound, readers are led to believe that she will meet the same fate, or worse. Known for edgy, raw teen novels that pull no punches, Burgess certainly delivers his trademark sexual frankness, folding in the issues of body image, self-mutilation, and personality disorder. Unfortunately, he chooses to use a narrator, an investigative reporter of sorts, who attempts to piece together Sara's story through a series of interviews and video diaries. A unique concept in itself, the result is a clunky story, rife with clichés and indistinct character voices. Readers will undoubtedly find themselves wishing for a twist or a turn rather than a string of obvious allusions. This modern horror story touches on many contemporary issues and could spark discussion, but the unknowable protagonist and scattered storytelling ultimately serve to distance readers rather than engage them.—Jill Heritage Maza, Greenwich High School, CT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Jonathon Heat is a fabulously wealthy rock superstar whose unhealthy penchant for plastic surgery has left him without a face (which would explain the mask he always wears). Teenage Sara is a pretty young thing who unreasoningly hates her own face and body. When these two meet in hospital, each recognizes possibilities in the other. Heat will pay for Sara's desired plastic surgery; and Sara has a—well, a face. Could Heat be planning to steal it? He does have a plastic surgeon on his staff. Hmmm. Burgess tells his rather silly but often spooky story from a Citizen Kane–like multiplicity of viewpoints, including Sara's video diary and—in a metafictional touch—his own as the novelist who has been commissioned to tell Sara's cautionary story. Pop culture echoes of Michael Jackson, American Idol, Phantom of the Opera, and even daytime dramas reverberate throughout the creaky, yet suspenseful story. Celebrity-loving teens will gobble it up. Cart, Michael
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (Juv) (September 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 141693295X
• ISBN-13: 978-1416932956
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,148,775 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, May 11, 2007

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sara's Face (Hardcover)

Jonathon Heat was a famous rock star who had his own compound, surgeons, and assistants. All of the things a rich and famous celebrity would have--and then some. In fact, due to so much cosmetic surgery and experimental procedures, somehow Jonathon's face was destroyed to the point that he wore a mask at all times. With his high celebrity status, wearing a mask became a widespread thing to do. There were all sorts of masks--some with snouts, some with real hair, half-masks, full masks.

Sarah was once an unknown and sometimes self-destructive girl. She had big plans to be famous and was saving for several forms of cosmetic surgery: new [...], a better face, liposuction later on. It was part of her long-term plans. When Sarah's destructive behavior spiraled out of control, she burned her face with an iron and her mother had her placed in the hospital. Sarah claimed it was an accident, but not everyone was convinced. This is when she met Jonathon Heat. He came to visit children in the hospital, but somehow already knew a great deal about Sarah. He lured Sarah to his compound with the promise of free cosmetic surgery to fix the burn mark.

It was almost Michael Jacksonish the way Jonathon took Sarah in. Sarah moved into his mansion and was his constant companion. The two were constantly photographed together and speculation about their relationship was rampant. However, when readers were exposed to Sarah's video journals, we learn a completely different view of what was really going on. Secret rooms, security cameras covering every inch of the property, and maybe even ghosts. It's very difficult to tell what really happens, what Sarah might be imagining, and what she may even be making up. However, it is obvious there is more to Sarah being a guest at Jonathon Heat's compound than free cosmetic surgery.

The mood of the entire book is eerie. Creepy. There is always something going on that is just not right. It keeps readers wanting to read more because they have to know what is going on and what is going to happen. The whole world that the author, Melvin Burgess, has created will leave you wondering if this type of situation could actually happen in the not-too-distant future. If you want to read a book that will keep you wondering even after you have finished reading it, then you should definitely read SARA'S FACE.

Reviewed by: Dianna Geers

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Enchanting Review: Sara's Face, December 17, 2008

By 

Enchanting Reviews "Lisa" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sara's Face (Paperback)

SARA'S FACE
MELVIN BURGESS
Contemporary YA
Simon Pulse

Rating: 2 Enchantments

Jonathon Heat has nearly everything--fame, millions of fans, success, and money. Unfortunately, he no longer has the one thing he craves most--beauty. Years of experimental cosmetic surgery, and all for fame, have caused his face to collapse, leaving disgusting strips of rotting flesh. Now, he hides behind a mask and waits, hoping his cosmetic surgeon Dr. Kaye will find a way to restore his beauty.

Sara is an elusive and mysterious girl, known by few and truly understood by no one, not ever herself. She is obsessed with beauty and convinced that she is never pretty enough, skinny enough--perfect enough. This fixation leads her to idolize the rock star Jonathon Heat. In him she sees a kindred spirit. Unfortunately, this can't be a good thing if Jonathon Heat is as cunning, imaginative, ambitious, and unreliable as Sara is.

Sara's big break comes when she meets Jonathon Heat after an "accident" scars her face and leaves her in the hospital. The aging rock star recognizes Sara as beautiful--and offers to pay for the cosmetic surgery she yearns for. Sara is ecstatic; fame is nearly at her fingertips. But the longer she stays with Jonathon, the more she begins to doubt his pure intentions. She, and the rest of the world it seems, begins to wonder, what really will become of Sara's face?

Don't let the intriguing summary fool you; I was incredibly disappointed in this book. I originally picked it up because it sounded like a unique psychological thriller, but I was less than impressed with the execution of the plot and Burgess' style of writing, which pretty mush ruined my experience with this novel. SARA'S FACE is written almost like an investigation (biography wouldn't be the correct word) of Sara, with interviews with primary sources, transcripts of Sara's video diary, and other published documents. Now, I'm all for innovative writing styles, but the problem was that Burgess didn't totally stick to his format. There were conversations that seemed made up, because it was unlikely a witness would remember it word for word, and accounts of events where only Sara was present, which would be impossible for the author to know because he made it clear that no one knew Sara. The plot was frankly boring most of the time; it felt like I was reading a monotonous textbook. Only at the very end does anything get truly interesting, but by then, I've lost my sympathy for Sara because the preceding events in the story were way too jumbled and confusing. I felt Burgess' message in SARA'S FACE was very weakly conveyed, and I'm sure most readers will miss it, if they even make it to the end. SARA's FACE does provide some food for thought about fame and vanity, but overall, it's just not interesting enough for me to recommend it to anybody.

Melvin Burgess has written many novels, including SMACK, DOING IT, BLOODTIDE, and BLOODSONG. His works have also been adapted for film and television.

Rachael Stein
Enchanting Reviews
November 2008

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fast paced and soooo creepy, August 18, 2007

By 

terryannlibrarian "terryann" (phoenix) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sara's Face (Hardcover)

Burgess is at his spooky/creepy best with this great book. Sara is
determined to be famous and is taken under the wing of one of the most
famous people in the world. Unfortunately, he's addicted, so addicted to
plastic surgery, he's got no face left. Teens will revel in this warped
world of the rich and famous, alternately rooting for Sara and booing her, for after a while, you begin to wonder whether Sara meant for everything to happen.