LOOK AT ME by Jennifer Egan
This book sounded very interesting to me; it is about a model who is in a car accident and has to have reconstructive surgery on her face. The surgery changes her appearance so much that when she sees people she knows, they do not recognize her. She has to readjust her life, including her career, of course, in order to adapt to this change.

I thought the book would stay focused on the main character herself, but it branches out to other characters: the daughter of her childhood best friend, the brother of her childhood best friend, and a mysterious man who she has a brief relationship with. While the characters are very unique, it was difficult for me, as a reader, to really enjoy reading this book because it felt like four books in one. There are connections between the characters, of course, but I did not understand the book as a whole. The most confusing character was the mysterious man. I did not see how he fit into the story. While his character was interesting and he represented some very controversial ideas, he was not of the same world as the other characters.

The writing itself was very nice. Egan actually used some phrasing that sounded familiar to me, and reminded me occasionally of songs lyrics that I have heard.

Overall, I would say that this is a book for adults. While the theme of image may be relevant to teens, the content of the book itself is very mature, and some of the relationships are very complex and may be difficult for teens to connect to and understand.

This may be a book that I reread after I have some time to reflect on the characters and think about their individual contributions to the story. It took Egan six years to write the novel, so perhaps it will take me another read to better understand the complexities of her story.