North of Beautiful By: Justina Chen Headley

Title: North of Beautiful

Author: Justina Chen Headley

PAPERBACK

Amount of Pages: 373

Release Date: February 1, 2009

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Geared Towards: Teens

From: Library's Summer Reading Program

"Let the glossy spreads have their heart-stopping, head-truing kind of beauty. Give me the heart-filling beauty instead. Jolie laide, that's what I would choose. Flawed, we're truly interesting, truly memorable, and yes, truly beautiful."

Summary (From B.O.B):

It's hard not to notice Terra Cooper.

She's tall, blond, and has an enviable body. But with one turn of her cheek, all people notice is her unmistakably "flawed" face. Terra secretly plans to leave her small, stifling town in the Northwest and escape to an East Coast college, but gets pushed off-course by her controlling father. When an unexpected collision puts Terra directly in Jacob's path, the handsome but quirky Goth boy immediately challenges her assumptions about herself and her lfie, and she is forced in yet another direction. With her carefully laid plans disrupted, will Terra be able to find her true path?

Wdebo's Review: When I first got this book, I wasn't really sure what it was about and what to expect of it. Though in a beginning I wasn't too found of Terra because she used the line "Not to brag or anything," and I just hate it when people say that because they are TOTALLY BRAGGING! But after a bit I started to quite like the book.

The writing was pretty good, it had a good idea and a pretty good storyline. Though there were some parts that seemed boring and cliche and, sometimes I just wasn't very captivated so I could just put it down and leave it for a while. But I do like how the novel had a very lovely message that showed just how all of us, no matter how we look on the outside, are truely beautiful on the inside.

I wasn't the biggest fan of Terra, she seemed too weak for my taste, and she only became stronger after she met Jacob, and it angers me that she couldn't use her own power to become strong, that she has to rely on a guy to become it. And it angered me also how she allowed every one to walk all over her, just because she felt "lucky" to be liked by these people. Jacob seemed quite cliche, but I liked him. He was Chinese and it made him even better ;)

Cafe Cover Chat: I think the cover is pretty good, and I know the compass is a big significance of the book and title, but I think it looks kind of meh on the cover. (B)

All in all, quite a nice book with a good storyline, that is a good read for everyone.

Grade: B+

Wdebo :)