Why read A Face for Picasso?

Book cover of A Face for Picasso: Coming of Age with Crouzon Syndrome

Book description

"Raw and unflinching . . . A must-read!" --Marieke Nijkamp, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of This Is Where It Ends

"[It] cuts to the heart of our bogus ideas of beauty." -Scott Westerfeld, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Uglies

I am ugly. There's a mathematical equation to prove…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked A Face for Picasso as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Lori Mortensen

Author

I love first-person voices and Ariel did a great job of drawing me into her world of congenital facial disfigurement and the social judgment and isolation that comes with it.

Everyone is flawed, yet her particular variety instantly made her a target. The book is a fascinating journey in understanding her challenge of countless surgeries, vast ignorance, and thoughtlessness of those around her, and how she found the strength to pick up her life and put it back together again and again.

From Lori's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Zara Stone

Author

This first-person account of what it’s like to grow up visibly different is beautifully written, and manages to be both heartrending and uplifting at the same time. Henley does a stellar job of keeping the reader invested in her struggles, and her musings on how pervasive the idea of arbitrary physical traits and one’s value as an individual is, makes for an uncomfortable but necessary read. A must-read for anyone who’s ever felt like they don’t fit in.

From Zara's list on The best books on how pretty privilege has infiltrated American schools, prisons, and offices.