Fiction by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Michael Woodbine is a nice-looking young man starting college, away from his loving and protective parents for the first time. When he meets his film professor Mr. Dunning, Michael is transfixed by the scarred face that the older man wears unapologetically, to the point where he can't seem to stop staring even after class.
Finally Michael reveals to Mr. Dunning the reason he is so fascinated by these visible scars: Michael has his own scarring, covered by his clothing and left from a fireworks accident when he was only seven. This accident is the reason for his parents' protectiveness; they are his adoptive parents who took him in after he was removed from his own family. The accident had revealed his mom and dad's drug use and neglect.
Then Michael gets the idea to do a film project about people who are ashamed of their appearance, thinking he'll meet other scarred people like himself. He discovers that scars aren't always visible to others, and the category of "people who feel unattractive" is pretty much everybody! He also begins to deal with his own feelings of rejection that stemmed from the loss of his birth parents.
This was a truly lovely character story!
I also read by this author: Walter's Purple Heart
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