Publishers Weekly
06/06/2022
West sets her smart but flawed dystopian debut in a heavily surveilled society obsessed with image, status, and social media. A series of vignettes from myriad viewpoints spotlight how the members of the high-status Burroughs family—husband Schuyler, wife Madeleine, and daughters Reyna and Naomi—become the targets of admiration and envy, and how the attention gradually affects them. Teenage Tam plans to feed off Schuyler’s influence by wooing Reyna; Jake, an artificially created menial, develops a forbidden attraction to Madeleine; and couple Tonia and Eduardo’s decision to have a designer baby involves the Burroughs’ connections. Everyone wants to use the Burroughs, and the family fractures under the pressure. West’s crisp, introspective tale succeeds in highlighting the negative side of popularity and power, with her society, a near-future reflection of the present, relying on genetic engineering and highly curated online presences to create picture-perfect self-images. The technique of revisiting scenes and conversations from multiple perspectives creates the sensation of spiraling closer and closer to a central point, which unfortunately never becomes fully clear as events fizzle and plot threads are left dangling. West delivers plenty of creepy, weird, and insightful ideas about privacy, power, and performance for readers to chew on, she just doesn’t quite stick the landing. Agent: Robbie Guillory, Underline Literary. (Aug)
From the Publisher
Praise for Face
“One of the more deeply interesting books I've read this year. Face has more ideas and more originality than most!” —Claire North
“This book is wicked, deliciously dark and penetrating. I think the less you know about it, the better but I will say two things: 1. Joma West is a genius. 2. This is the best thing I’ve read in a very long time.” —Sylvain Neuvel
“Face is a biting look at the dangers of where society places its value...West has been to the future and returned to write a book so powerful it might be the message in a bottle that will save society.” —The Chicago Review of Books
“In a world where the only thing that matters is your impact on other people, Hell is absolutely other people. Creepy, unsettling and thoroughly dystopic!” —Genevieve Cogman
“Face is a searing, patient, and unforgiving examination of status, class, and the foundations of humanity. With admirable precision and empathy, Joma West unravels the lies we tell society, our families, and ourselves. A fascinating debut.” —Samit Basu
“West carves out a space all her own with this unsettling tale of a dystopian future where designer babies, social media, and racial tension collide in wickedly unpredictable ways.” —The Chicago Review of Books
“In the end, in the tradition of many great science fiction novels, Face is about today, about those opinions, theories, and fears. It asks whether we can straighten our spines again and unsquint our eyes long enough to see one another for who we truly are, and to connect on a real level.” —Locus
“Ambitious…an absorbing, if unsettling, read.” —Booklist
“Joma West burns through cherished illusions and offers a thoroughly entertaining take down of our toxic technology and lethal fixation on status and celebrity. Wicked, witty, and wise, Face illuminates the nightmare at the heart of our dream widgets. This is not a dystopic scold we can ignore, but an elegant wake up call, a marvelous SF delight that breaks our minds wide open.” —Andrea Hairston
“A fantastic, futuristic reimagining of the comedy of manners novel, written for our time. West's novel shocks and intrigues in equal measure.” —T. L. Huchu
“Face is a compelling dystopian vision that will leave you longing for human touch. If it were an episode of Black Mirror, it would be one of the best.” —Oliver Langmead
Library Journal
07/01/2022
DEBUT In West's debut novel, children are created only in laboratories, either to become a prized piece of thoughtfully engineered beauty and intelligence to increase the online status of their parents or to become a menial worker with an expected life span of 25 years. But not everyone is comfortable with the status quo, and it's exhausting to always carefully curate an online image. Maybe it's time for change? West's presentation of the thoughts and questions centering around Menials—from the secretive way they are created to the common misbelief that they have no recognizable feelings—fosters an interesting discussion about what qualities, characteristics, or behaviors indicate personhood. West does not address basic functional aspects of the setting, leaving a good deal of room for interpretation, but this makes portions of the story difficult to connect with, although repeating scenes from different perspectives allows for a better understanding of key characters. VERDICT With its slower pace and the many concepts it introduces and leaves unresolved, West's debut novel will appeal to readers who appreciate philosophical fiction and fans of Scott Westerfeld's "Uglies" and "Impostors" series.—Stacey Hayman
