One theme of Faceless is that acceptance takes time. This is shown when Maisie's expectations for herself accepting her fate fall through. Maisie expects herself to immediately accept her accident but is frustrated with the fact that it is taking so long. She struggles because she wants to just be able to live with her new life, and she doesn't want to have to go through the harder parts. In the end, it takes Maisie almost a year to accept what happened, and she still hasn't been able to live with it fully.
Theme
An additional theme in the story is that those who love and support you will always love and support you. This theme is demonstrated by Maisie's family and friends who stick with her through her accident. One of Maisie's loyal friends is Serena. Serena adjusted her life to stick with Maisie and always stands up for her. Serena explains why Maisie can't sit in the sun and more. Chirag also stays loyal through Maisie's journey. Even though it was obvious their relationship was doomed, he helps Maisie. He drives her and watches out for her.
Another theme of Faceless is the five stages of grief. In Faceless, Maisie goes through the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. She denies that she had the face transplant by avoiding reflective surfaces and people who knew her old face. Next, she is angry with her boyfriend, with Marnie, and with her parents. Then, Maisie bargains by not taking her pills so that she can just to go back to the way things were. Maisie goes through depression when she gets back on the pills and goes to group. Her depression ends when she breaks up with Chirag. Finally, she accepts what happened after prom and going jogging with Adam.
