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Discarded Faces
An endless war, a regime where gays and Lesbians disappear into the night, a land where people can't trust their neighbors, a "free election" fixed by computers, a rumor of underground resistance, a radical preacher, and a stolen cache of weapons. These are the flammable materials in the world of Peb Corbo, sports star at her school, reluctant rebel and closet Lesbian.
296 pages, ebook
First published March 19, 2010
47 people want to read
About the author
Betty Cross
3 books14 followersI attended suburban Atlanta public schools before earning a BA in History from Davidson College in Davidson, NC and an MA in Journalism from the Henry Grady School of Journalism at the University of Georgia at Athens, GA. However, like many refugees from the liberal arts, I then moved into the computer field.
A native of Nashville, TN, I lived in Atlanta from the age of three, not counting out-of-state college, until I moved to Memphis to take a contract computer job on the notorious "Y2K Problem" in the spring of 1999. Having saved the world from disaster (with a little help from thousands of other computer professionals all around the world), I moved from Memphis to Raleigh in the fall of 2000 and worked for the city government. On April 7, 2010, I left the city and became a full-time writer.
I did NOT write "Kept Sissy" and "Sissy maid." Those are works of the other Betty Cross on Goodreads. Goodreads successfully separated her books from mine. Before I got them to do that, there was considerable confusion.
Nearly everybody that knew me before I left the City of Raleigh IT Department knew me as Steve Cross. The fact is, I'm transgendered, and I dropped the male role and my male name in 2010 and will be known from now on as Betty Cross. My relatives know and are supportive. My friends in sci-fi and fantasy fandom know this and they support my decision too. My future works will all be published under the name of Betty Cross.
In my spare time, I like to read all kinds of books, visit with my nephews and nieces, surf the Internet, celebrate Jewish religious holidays, attend science-fiction/fantasy conventions (when I can afford them), and share a loving relationship with my wife Helen Simmons. We have successfully weaned ourselves from the television habit.
A native of Nashville, TN, I lived in Atlanta from the age of three, not counting out-of-state college, until I moved to Memphis to take a contract computer job on the notorious "Y2K Problem" in the spring of 1999. Having saved the world from disaster (with a little help from thousands of other computer professionals all around the world), I moved from Memphis to Raleigh in the fall of 2000 and worked for the city government. On April 7, 2010, I left the city and became a full-time writer.
I did NOT write "Kept Sissy" and "Sissy maid." Those are works of the other Betty Cross on Goodreads. Goodreads successfully separated her books from mine. Before I got them to do that, there was considerable confusion.
Nearly everybody that knew me before I left the City of Raleigh IT Department knew me as Steve Cross. The fact is, I'm transgendered, and I dropped the male role and my male name in 2010 and will be known from now on as Betty Cross. My relatives know and are supportive. My friends in sci-fi and fantasy fandom know this and they support my decision too. My future works will all be published under the name of Betty Cross.
In my spare time, I like to read all kinds of books, visit with my nephews and nieces, surf the Internet, celebrate Jewish religious holidays, attend science-fiction/fantasy conventions (when I can afford them), and share a loving relationship with my wife Helen Simmons. We have successfully weaned ourselves from the television habit.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 6, 2013
Sports loving Peb has a hard life. The planet’s been involved in a war for almost as long as she can remember. The government is repressive and the war weaponry, including the use of bacterial bombs is truly frightening. Plus Peb must keep her love, fellow courtball player Zel a secret, as it’s a crime to have a same-sex partner in this society. As a cover, she dates a guy named Balk, who she’s friendly with, but not attracted to, and this deception plagues her.
Cross creates a fresh world here, filled with sporty, determined courtball players and bands of teens who form gangs to make sense of their harsh, oppressive world. Inventive worldbuilding fits the gritty society. Zel’s mother works in a league of professional courtesans, Peb works at a munitions plant putting guns together and the Thwaasians, resident aliens work as janitors, which is reminiscent of the metics of ancient Greece. At first, Peb and her friends are mainly interested in hanging out, but eventually they join the resistance and up their game from courtball to working to better the society.
Eventually, though, Peb’s guilt over how she’s using Balk gets the best of her. Will she come clean to him? You have to read Discarded Faces to find out. There is a learning curve with all of the tongue-twisting names of people and places, but overall, this is a fresh take on dealing with repression a la 1984 and other political dystopias. Recommended for older teens and new adults.
Cross creates a fresh world here, filled with sporty, determined courtball players and bands of teens who form gangs to make sense of their harsh, oppressive world. Inventive worldbuilding fits the gritty society. Zel’s mother works in a league of professional courtesans, Peb works at a munitions plant putting guns together and the Thwaasians, resident aliens work as janitors, which is reminiscent of the metics of ancient Greece. At first, Peb and her friends are mainly interested in hanging out, but eventually they join the resistance and up their game from courtball to working to better the society.
Eventually, though, Peb’s guilt over how she’s using Balk gets the best of her. Will she come clean to him? You have to read Discarded Faces to find out. There is a learning curve with all of the tongue-twisting names of people and places, but overall, this is a fresh take on dealing with repression a la 1984 and other political dystopias. Recommended for older teens and new adults.
June 23, 2014
In Discarded Faces by Betty Cross, humans have traveled across the universe and colonized several planets including Fifth Earth. Unfortunately a plague wipes out the planet's best and brightest and society regresses to ideals of early twentieth century America and Hitler’s Germany. People are heavily segregated and anyone deemed racially impure lives meager existences. Even Peb, the main character, has to hide the fact that she likes girls or risk being sent to a camp and 'modified'.
But things are changing on Fifth Earth and the Young Heroes, a gang that Peb is a member of, is in the center of it.
Even though it was set in the future Discarded Faces often felt like a book set in the 1960's when the Civil Rights Movement was at its peak and it's obvious that Cross drew a lot of inspiration from that era in crafting her society as well as Peb's changing views about the world around her. Discarded Faces by Betty Cross was an enjoyable novel, the writing was decent and I enjoyed the courtball, Cross really drew you into the hectic action of the game-play.
The middle was a little slow for me, but I understand that Peb needed to grow as a person and figure out who she wanted to be in this new and changing world, and the end certainly goes out with a bang. :)
Discarded Faces isn't part of a series (or is it?) but based on this book I’m interested in seeing what more Betty Cross has to offer.
But things are changing on Fifth Earth and the Young Heroes, a gang that Peb is a member of, is in the center of it.
Even though it was set in the future Discarded Faces often felt like a book set in the 1960's when the Civil Rights Movement was at its peak and it's obvious that Cross drew a lot of inspiration from that era in crafting her society as well as Peb's changing views about the world around her. Discarded Faces by Betty Cross was an enjoyable novel, the writing was decent and I enjoyed the courtball, Cross really drew you into the hectic action of the game-play.
The middle was a little slow for me, but I understand that Peb needed to grow as a person and figure out who she wanted to be in this new and changing world, and the end certainly goes out with a bang. :)
Discarded Faces isn't part of a series (or is it?) but based on this book I’m interested in seeing what more Betty Cross has to offer.
May 9, 2012
If only we could give 3 1/2 stars. This isn't my favorite Betty Cross novel, I confess, but just as with her other book, Topaz, the world-building is superb. This is a woman who clearly does COPIOUS amounts of research for her back story, and in this case, she came up with an idea that is basically Orson Scott Card meets Isaac Asimov meets language and place names a la Tolkein. In this case, though, the plot just didn't come together for me, and the language, even with the pronunciation guide, had me struggling. The main character, Peb, was likable and believable, but I think the back story for this particular dystopian novel would have been a lot more fun than gang wars. I would hate to add spoilers, so I'll leave it here, but suffice it to say that if you enjoy this book, you'll LOVE her other novel.
January 18, 2015
I used to think it was unethical for an author to rate his / her own books. However, everyone else does it, so I've now given both my books five stars.
I heartily recommend this book to fans of the Hunger Games trilogy. This one is also about a young female protagonist in a dystopian society.
The date I finished this book actually refers to when I finished writing it.
I heartily recommend this book to fans of the Hunger Games trilogy. This one is also about a young female protagonist in a dystopian society.
The date I finished this book actually refers to when I finished writing it.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews