This novel was a surprise in many ways.
I had high expectations for Faceless. I'd heard great things, I can't remember where from. And the cover is so simplistic, yet so beautiful... a more feminine version of Wonder by R. J. Palacio (another story I love).
So I started off optimistically. And that worked... for a few chapters.
Maisie has her accident very early on in this story. You don't really get a chance to know her character before her life changes forever. And so, the Maisie you are introduced to is moany, whining and constantly complains. She lives in the past, talking for entire chapters about her past life and the things she can no longer do. And because you haven't known her very long, she comes across as a depressing, almost annoying, person.
I understand that the author is creating the real emotions Maisie would have been feeling and she does it very well. However, this depressing part of the story goes on for too long. Eventually, Maisie becomes repetitive, running out of new things to complain about. Books affect me a lot (probably too much) and I found that while reading the first half of this story I became more irritable and annoyed.
If you want to read this story, be prepared to have to stick with it. It's not an easy, light-hearted read because it is not an easy, light-hearted story.
After the halfway point in this book, things started to pick up for me. The story became less depressing and repetitive and started to tell us how Maisie dealt with her problems. By the end of the book, I felt uplifted and rewarded for sticking with this story until the end. I'm sure you will too.
There are still a few things which bothered me, which I'm going to rant about now (I'll try to be brief).
The dialogue. The dialogue in this story is unrealistic and every conversation sounds stilted. Maisie is supposed to have a wicked sense of humour but, to be honest, I didn't even crack a smile at her "witty" comments.
The timeline. The timeline in this story confuses me. The book is split into four sections, each section marked by a different season. However, it's really hard to judge how fast time is moving. Some seemingly important periods of time are completely missed, not even mentioned, whereas a lot of time is spent on other, less important parts of the story.
The relationships. I didn't like the way that characters were dipped in and out of this story as though they weren't important. For example, one minute Maisie's Dad is supposed to be father who helps Maisie through everything, but he is hardly mentioned for about two thirds of the story.

Phew. Needed to get that out of my system.
I hope I haven't entirely put you off now... Faceless is a good story and is worth the read, if you're willing to endure a hard story.