Face

In what he has described as the "new East End"--Caribbean and African and Asian people, but also a lot of the old white community who have extended families the same way that we always had"--Benjamin Zephaniah is something of a poet hero: a "black spokesman and political poet" according to critic, John Walsh. Set in this East End of fish and chips and curry, rap clubs and racism--"Many of the shops had metal shutters on their windows and doors to protect them from racist attacks"--Face is the story of Martin Turner and his "gang of three": their reactions when "something terrible" happens to Martin's face. Aimed (probably) at older children and teenagers, the novel skirts allegory. After a night in a local rap club--when Martin has to overcome a certain sense that blacks are "just different"--the (joy)ride accident which destroys his face propels Martin into a world where he has to learn to "deal with other people's prejudices". It's a world of pain, sometimes hatred, which, if anything, Zephaniah underplays here: this is Martin's tale of winning despite the odds. But that discretion may well help to jolt the imagination towards one of the underlying visions of Face: an East End where the white teen boys know they're not going to "get away with a racist remark here". --Vicky Lebeau

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the book that got me hooked - Rated
this is the fist real book i read when i was 15! i have never had a intrest in books till my teacher surgested it to me.. and i was at a private boarding school at the time (refering back to one of the other comments) and it had me hooked from the first page. i could not put it down until i finnished it. i have read the book around 5 times since then and every time it still has me hooked as befor. i would recomend this to any one and even to some one who dislikes books like i did as this opened up a whole new world to me and a love for reading!
I would also cheak out all of Zephaniah's books as i love them all!

Poor - Rated
Books like this by the ex-burglar and violent offender show why any decent family have moved out of many areas of London and Birmingham for the sake of their kids, and why private education is on the rise.

a great book - Rated
we read this book in school and since then i have read again. i thought it was a really good book.
it also teaches people to not judge a book on its cover and i would thoughrily recomend it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Amazing, couldn't put it down - Rated
I'm a trainee teacher and was asked to read this book for one of my english modules. As soon as I read the first page I was hooked. The setting of the book, was extremely life like to my own upbringing in London, I could relate to the gangs and different cultures of the characters who appeared in the book. The effects of the accident on the main character was described in a thoughtful way by Zephaniah. This book deals with friendship, love, self image and peer pressure, but with one main twist that makes the book just that bit more appealing. The main message of this book is "Not to judge a book by it's cover". i would really recomend this book to those aged around 12-15 as I feel they would appreciate it more than younger readers. Zephaniah simplistic but effect writing leaves you asking questions about your own life.

FaCE - Rated
We read this book in school and ever since i have been wanting to buy it.
It's an exceelent book telling you NOT to judge a book by its cover, its whats on the inside that counts.