Review by
Cheyenne
Review of North of Beautiful
Terra is lost. She's lost in a sea of doubt, deflection, and ugliness wrought by her taunting father and the permanent port-wine stain birthmark covering half of her face. She has a gorgeous body, a football player boyfriend, a popular friend, great art skills, a group of old ladies who care about her, but no one gets her. Until she meets Jacob, a good-looking Goth Chinese boy she almost kills. He instantly understands her, more than she even does. Jacob opens her eyes to true beauty and where it lays. Will Terra be able to find her way, her true path?
Terra and Jacob were insightful, believable, and human. They worked congruently with each other through their problems without even realizing it sometimes. I didn't approve of all of Terra's actions, and I appreciated the fact that Terra felt shame, guilt, and humility for the things she allowed and took part in that weren't appropriate.
Author Justina Chen Headley has a real, hard-to-find skill in modern day authors. She entwined intuitive philosophies generated by a simple object, a map. She wove a beautiful novel with substance.
North of Beautiful was a profound, thought provoking novel that was crafted with an intelligent, insightful hand. 5 out of 5 stars
