Book Review: The Face by Angela Hunt

About the book:

Orphaned and severely deformed, from her earliest moments Sarah Sims has been kept hidden away in a secret CIA facility—until an unexpected discovery gives her an opportunity to make a life for herself at last.

Now Sarah has an ally, a long-lost aunt who has discovered her true identity. Aided by this brave psychologist, twenty-year-old Sarah must find the courage to confront the forces that have confined her for so long. And the strength to be reborn into a world she has never known.

My thoughts:

I've never been disappointed when reading Angela Hunt. There's just something about her books that sucks me in every single time. I love that she's a versatile author, not sticking to one genre, but really goes outside of the box....which translates to some great books. The Face was different from anything else I've ever read by her. The story has this "top-secret" feel to it because a lot of it deals with the CIA, and definitely has a flare of "if you don't need to know, you're not gonna know."

The storyline gets a little emotional at times as I couldn't help but feel sorry for Sarah and the experiences that she's missed out on. Sarah has been living in such a secluded place because of her deformity that she's only ever met about 10 people in her entire life, and she's never had the thrill of tasting a McDonald's hamburger. When her aunt Renee finally finds her and begins to offer a whole new life, it all sounds a little to good to be true.

On a completely different note....I'm accustomed to reading nothing but Christian fiction by Angela, and I was a little surprised to see that this book was published by a mainstream publisher. Because of that, The Face really has almost no Christian references, except the occasional mention of going to church. But it does have a very clean storyline with no profanity and no sex, which I am accustomed to seeing in mainstream fiction.

All in all, The Face is definitely a 5-Star read. It's got all the aspects I love in a contemporary novel--some suspense, some emotional tugging on my heart, and some real-life true information. Oh, and it's also got a great ending....one I didn't see coming at all. :o)