The Boy Who Lost His Face

The Boy Who Lost His Face, Louis Sachar

I was very hopeful about this book as it is by Louis Sachar, author of Holes and There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom, two books I frequently recommend to fourth-grade students.

This story is about a boy named David who is struggling to fit in after his former best friend, Scott, decides he has to be mean to David in order to be cool. David goes along with Scott and some other boys to harass an old woman in the neighborhood. The woman, whom they call an "old witch," puts a curse on David after their plan backfires. Everything seems to go wrong for David from that point on. Will he ever figure out how to get rid of the curse?

I really enjoyed the overall message in this story, that sometimes the people we "think" we want to be friends with don't always make the best and most loyal friends. A conversation I typically have with 3-4 students each year. It also embeds the idea that we need to make our wrongs, right. In typical Sachar fashion, the story is both relatable and funny. My only frustration with the book was the use of swearing. It refers to using the middle finger repeatedly throughout the book and uses some additional curse words where I didn't feel as though they were necessary. I would caution any fourth graders before reading this book that you will see words that are not appropriate for fourth-graders to use (or adults for that matter!!).

You would enjoy this book if you have ever had funny things go wrong, have had trouble with friendships, or have made a poor decision and wished you could have done things differently.

Overall 3 Stars
*Would have given it 4 stars if it weren't for the profanity