Book Review Twenty-Two: North of Beautiful

North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley, published by Little, Brown and Company.

I know it's been about a million years since I have updated, and for that I am sorry. I actually moved across the country (literally from NY to CA) and while things were hectic and then depressing and then boring and then hectic again I just wasn't motivated to write any reviews. That's the honest truth. It doesn't mean this book wasn't amazing though, which is why I feel it's time to get on and tell you all about it.

I believe almost everyone has suffered with self-esteem issues. Most of us don't feel beautiful enough. I know I have had many days where looking in the mirror made me want to die or cry. There's always something we think we can fix and then everything will be perfect. For Terra Cooper that's the port wine stain on her cheek. She tries every kind of procedure and therapy to rid herself of this major flaw, however, nothing works. She has lost hope but her mother hasn't. Her mother, a former beauty queen, now struggles with her weight and body issues. She focuses her energy on Terra so she doesn't have to work through her own problems. It's made painfully clear early on that the two women are dependent on Terra's father for approval and love, neither of which he can provide. The home situation is heart-wrenching and leaves Terra with fantasies of moving across the country to escape the unhealthy dynamic.

I think everyone who has read this blog knows I absolutely adore and rave about Sarah Dessen on a regular basis. Well trust me when I say that Justina Chen Headley is on par with Dessen. They both create a world so believable and three-dimensional that it's hard not to get attached to the characters and even harder to stop reading. For instance, most of North of Beautiful is about beauty: finding it in yourself, seeing it in others, and the subjectivity of it, yet there is the underlying theme of travel: geocaches, maps, Terra's name, her desire to go as far away as possible. Travel and beauty are interlinked; the farther Terra gets from her father the more beautiful she will feel. The more geocaches that she finds with Jacob the more beautiful she feels to him. Even when she makes her maps she feels more secure about herself.

You'll have to bear with me and forgive me for how short this post is. I have an absolutely terrible memory and may have to reread this book since I haven't given it a good enough review. Believe me when I say that it was worth reading, and even reading through a second time. If you can't take my word for it, just read into the fact that I only brought about 25 books across the country with me and this was one of them.