Opinion
We've come a long way since the first impressions I wrote. Although the first part, around 50-80 pages of the book, was kind of annoying since the main character kept thinking about her boyfriend, and I thought there were many other issues to be afraid of, now I could understand what it meant to her and why it was such a paramount and reviewed topic.

At first, Maisie is described as a responsible, hardworking, and perfect daughter, friend, and girlfriend. Since the accident that turned her whole world over, all those aspects of her life have been affected by the thunderstruck and the face transplant: her productivity, mental and physical health, and appearance... She was, is, just a teenager who had to drastically adjust and change her lifestyle due to an unexpected and almost unbelievable success, and the first worries she thought of were the ones that cared for her the most.

I loved how the author described her whole journey, being true and sincere, not hiding the harsh path and the recovery she had to go through, and not showing the improvement until she also showed her change in mindset. However, the writer shows, through Maisie's character and personality, as well as her friends and parents, the new acquaintances she meets too, that it's best to be by her side while she goes through her grief. Although she might be hurting others by being upset about what happened to her, the one who's hurting the most is herself.

I find that the characters are well described by their actions, and show how vastly different reactions to a traumatic event can be, representing how diverse people with their own personalities have a determined behavior to the same happening. Starting with the kind and rational Chirag, her boyfriend, we can see how he tries to give Maisie the space and time she needs to heal by herself while trying to show nothing has changed between them even though she looks and acts differently now. The same goes for Serena, the best friend who is always by her side and will continue to be throughout the book; but she is more direct and doesn't avoid telling Maisie how she feels about the changes in their friendship, making their bond stronger.

As for her mother and father, their marriage was broken before the accident happened but they tried not to give Maisie another worry to add to the list and waited until she recovered to give her the news of their divorce. Her mum is pestering her with her medications, and the care she has to take, because she's noticing Maisie doesn't have the strength to do so by herself. On the other side, her dad is giving her space since he noticed the sadness in her eyes. This helped me understand and taught me how parents can show support and worry differently, and although one might help some people better than the other, they did all they could to be understanding. 

Ultimately, I'd say this was a great book, an essential experience to be aware of since it covers topics such as recovery after an accident and a surgery, the self-love and dedication it takes to go on, how it can affect a person and not expect them to be a fighter or happy after they "survived". This was all well supported by Alyssa Sheinmel's writing, which was great in representing Maisie's thoughts, and also gave a truly inspiring answer to what people might have to go through at some point in their life.