North of Beautiful
Justina Chen Headley
978-0-316-02505-8
$16.99
Little, Brown and Company
February 2009
Core Audience: Ages 12-adult, probably more girls than boys
Notable Aspects: birthmarks, personal beauty, friendship, acceptance, cartography, dysfunctional family, verbal abuse, small town setting, inner strength, self-esteem, love
REVIEW: Terra turns heads. From a distance she is a beautiful high school girl, tall and blonde and physically fit, but when she turns her cheek people double take. Terra wears a port wine birthmark from her right eye to her chin. Because of this "defect" everyday she goes through the laborious process of masking her hideous flaw with layers of makeup. Her efforts seem to pay off since she dates a popular football player and is envied by many. But Terra feels like no one really knows the real her - her family, her boyfriend, and even her best friend. Terra prays for just one laser surgery to succeed in making her "normal", pretty even, but nothing seems to work. So Terra finds a place of beauty in her mind. She is an artist who creates collages that depict "real life." But Terra finds that real life isn't always pretty. In fact. it can be very ugly. Terra struggles throughout the novel with loving herself while battling a father who never lets her forget her flaw; a father who single-handedly tears her family apart by gnawing at each member's insecurities. However, Terra's life changes when she meets Jacob, a guy who has struggled with being different as well. He helps her to stop hiding behind the mask and look to who she really is and who she wants to be. Their connection is proof of what a person can truly accomplish when someone chooses to believe in him/her. Jacob states, "You know I don't even see your birthmark anymore, which makes me sad because it looks like Bhutan. That's the one place in the world I've really wanted to see. (274)" This story teaches the true meaning of love and acceptance and forces the reader to look for his/her own inner beauty. It is real and heart-wrenching. Written with strong emotional and visual images, this story will serve as a timeless, classic novel to be enjoyed and passed on for years to come.
Reviewer: Holly Lever
Rating: 9.5
