Customer Reviews

North of Beautiful

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The first thing that came to mind after I finished this book was, Wow why haven't I read any books by this author before? This story was such a wonderful read that I couldn't stop once I got started. It wasn't just a YA novel, it was a story that anyone could read, enjoy, and learn from. Terra is a character that will stay with you forever. You felt her pain, as she has to live with this mark on her face, and how she tries to hide it in the beginning to the point where no one knows about it anymore except her and her family. Her struggle with accepting herself is the basis of the book, and the reader is taken along for the heart wrenching yet soul finding ride. Her mother's story is equally as powerful as Terra watches her mother break out of the shell created by Terra's father. Oh man, I really hated Terra's father. Seriously, while I was reading this book I was hoping that he would be killed or something equally as horrible by the end of the book. It's one of the few times where I have felt so strongly against a character. Any kind of abuse is horrible but verbal abuse can be even more painful than physical. There are no bruises or broken bones, but your spirit and soul can be destroyed by words even more than fists. He had to go down as one of the most hated characters for me ever.

I really enjoyed all the geography bits and the geocaching scenes throughout the book. My fiance is a geographical analyst, so all this stuff is right up his alley. I also loved the scenes in China as I would love to visit the country one day. But as like Jacob, I would probably get the same reactions he received, where people assumed he was the one who spoke the language simply because he looked like everyone else. The descriptions of the city made me feel like I was really there. The scene that stuck out to me the most was when Terra meets the little girl at the orphanage. It honestly made me want to cry and when you read it, you might feel the same way too.

Another thing that struck me about this book was that this was one of the very few times I have seen a book that has a relationship between a Caucasian girl and an Asian guy. Even more astounding was that the Asian guy was NOT the normal stereotype of an engineer or a doctor or one with aspirations to be one of the two. Yes he was adopted but he was just a regular normal teenage guy who happened to be Asian. It's very rare to read about this in a book, as it's not the norm even in real life. I was very glad to see the stereotype be broken though.

I'm going to have to go back and read the rest of Justina's books now after reading this one. This one was a joy to read and honestly one of the best YA books I've ever read. Such a poignant and beautiful story. HIGHLY recommended.

I really liked this story of Terra, a high school senior, who is blond and beautiful, except for a disfiguring birthmark on her cheek, which she tries to cover up with layers of makeup. She has a boyfriend who is definitely not her soul mate but she stays with him because she doesn't think she could get anyone else and everyone tells her how lucky she is to have him. In addition to her own struggles, she is constantly trying to protect her mother from her father -- who is not physically abusive but worse, verbally abusive. The characters really came to life for me in this book and I enjoyed the story immensely. Terra is an artist and I loved hearing about the collages she was creating. Also, interesting was the information about geocatching and maps. In the end, the growth and changes in Terra and her mother were realistic as well as satisfying. I highly recommend this book for teens as well as adults.

This book stayed with me after I finished reading it and the author is extremely talented at showing emotions of teenagers dealing with family, love and what the meaning of beauty is to different people dealing with physical and emotional scars.
The main character, Terra Cooper, has dealt with having a "flawed face" her entire life and is so good at hiding it that she pushes her emotions down deep to deal with her physical appearance and people's reactions to it including her family members and total strangers.
To compensate for her red-stained birthmark on her right cheek she covers it with makeup and overcompensates with exercise to make sure her body is in peak physical condition hoping to make others see past her "flaw" as others stare and sometimes make cruel remarks.
Her family is fractured and her dad is verbally abusive to both her and her mother and her older brothers. Her brothers left home and rarely return for visits because of their father's demeaning and cutting remarks and Terra is the last one left at home to help shield her mother from her dad's wrath.
Terra meets a Goth Chinese boy, Jacob, with whom she feels a deep kinship and their relationship slowly blossoms into something more but Terra is terrified to let herself trust it as it means letting him see how her family truly is and how different her version of life could be if she could open up and stand up for herself and her mom.
The book is meant for ages 12 and up but the character of Terra is so skillfully narrated that I never felt this was a book just meant for teenagers. This coming of age story shows how beauty is not only skin deep but ingrained inside ourselves and how others view us and acceptance can transform a lifetime of hurt. I look forward to other novels by Justina Headley and her unique prose and hope she has a long career ahead of her.

This book is a gift... wonderful and richly complex yet at the same time easy to read and identify with. I suppose Shrek would use his "layered like an onion" analogy, but you get the idea...there's a lot here. For any reader who has ever been on the receiving end of verbal abuse, or struggled with their sense of self-worth, many situations in the book will tug hard on emotional memory, however the author uses such situations seamlessly showing the main character Terra and her mom coming to grips with the reality of their lives and how hard it can be to break free of the day to day.

I enjoyed the use of maps and cartography terms to shape the storyline, and while many of the teen readers I will recommend this book to in my library may not share my enthusiasm, the format won't detract from their enjoyment of this gem of a coming-of-age/romance story. As I read through the book, I found myself sticking bits of scrap paper between a number of the pages so I could go back and re-read certain bits and lines because the author has such a knack for imparting "good stuff" within the storyline without appearing to do so.

I marvel at Terra's growth during the course of the book-- perhaps the quote by actress Ruby Dee sums it up best:

"The kind of beauty I want is the hard-to-get kind that comes from within--strength, courage, dignity."

Wow. My first read of 2010 is a winner! This YA novel is a jewel, a treasure of a book that will resonate with females from 5 to 50. Yes, it's ostensibly the story of a teenaged girl with a port wine stain on her face, but it's so much deeper than that. The reader follows Terra on a journey of self-discovery that includes revelations about the nature and meaning of true beauty.

It's somewhat the story of a dysfunctional family with an abusive father, yes -- but also about a mother who's a compulsive eater, distant brothers, an inattentive boyfriend, a self-absorbed best girlfriend, and a self-loathing main character who spends her free time making up her face and creating collages in a local art studio. It's also about meeting that one special someone who "gets you".

Terra meets Jacob after almost running him down outside of a coffeehouse. Thus begins the transformation of a lonely, controlled but ambitious girl into "iron goddess". Using map-making terminology throughout, North of Beautiful is an amazingly complex novel loaded with many interesting details. Terra, Jacob and their mothers embark on a trip to China that exceeds all expectations and transforms each of the travelers into the person he/she was ultimately meant to be. Just as Terra builds her collages, layer upon layer, the experiences each has in that country reveal the hidden beauty that every person carries inside.

I loved this book. Stop reading this review right now and order it. Read it and love it as I did. Pass it on to everyone you know!

Terra. Earth. Daughter of a mapmaker, can't find her way in life because her father has oppressed both her and her mother. I loved Headley's clever use of language, irony, symbolism and juxtaposition. Terra and her mother go to China, the location of the father's shame, and find their true selves there, together. I think this is a more common theme in Chinese female literature, and it was interesting to see this idea of suppressed woman applied to America. At some points it was unbelievable ("why doesn't she just tell her dad off?), but I think it worked overall... most women anywhere do have a coming-of-age where we have to stand up for ourselves and find our own identity. Terra lacks confidence due to a "flaw" in her physical appearance. This is also a theme almost all (maybe all) women can relate to. I found myself tearing up at the various points where she learns to accept herself and find a more true beauty, not based on her outward appearance. What an appropriate message for girls today! I hope my niece will read this book.

On a not-so-good note, I was a little disturbed at the stereotypical portrayal of males; they are bad, unless they understand women.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It is romantic, profound, and touching.

Loved it. LOVED. I stayed up way too late last night to read it all in one sitting, despite the fact that finals are looming. You guys, this is a story worth reading. Justina Headley has gained herself a fan in me.

Terra has a port wine stain on her face, the far-too-common "friends" that aren't really friends, a scattered and dysfunctional family and one heck of a horrible father.

Her father seriously sucks. He emotionally abuses Terra and her mother all throughout the story, and you will hate him. Headley's characterization is awesome with this guy. He is a real piece of work. So incredibly weak and self centered...ugh. I also loved the way Headley wrote Terra's mother. The way she blooms throughout the trip to China will have you fist pumping because it is really something. Despite the fact that she lost her way and let her husband walk all over her, you can't help but root for her!

Jacob. Oh, Jacob, Jacob, Jacob. I want one. Really. I know I can be a bit of a book slut always falling for the male MCs, but this really is a guy to treasure. He teaches Terra - and everyone who reads the book - to go beyond the surface. He teaches us about strength of character, love, acceptance and the real meaning of beauty.

Beauty is the center of the story. Terra's growth to accept and love herself, her mom's journey to finding herself again...and just the general way that beauty should be defined by the inside, not the outside. Jacob is the maestro: he is the one that leads the way and schools everyone in the book, and everyone that reads and loves the book.

Pick this up and read it. You won't be able to tear yourself away from Terra and Jacob's story. It's a book that'll stick with you, because unlike a lot of other books that deal with the issue of true beauty and self-worth - Justina Headley got it right.

This was an awesome YA novel. Very thought provoking. I loved the writing and the characters. I didn't like Jacob at first but by the end I didn't want to stop reading about him. I would love to read more of Headley's work!

My God. This book is - and no lie here - one of the most amazing books I've ever read.

At first, I worried that after Girl Overboard Headley might have lost her touch with creating an inspiring story combined with such a provocative protagonist (and antagonists, namely parents), but this book truly was compelling and baffling and all things positive. It's written with tender emotions and an intensely fabricated web of family affairs that it's hard not to find it emotionally addicting and heartbreaking. It's a book about the true meaning of inner beauty from the perspective of a girl who isn't beautiful by society's standards. I know this story topic is overly used, and while this story might not be the most original, Terra's passion for art and struggles with her family was heard.

Of course, let's not forget the importance of Asians that Headley has presented in her book. It's not about race entirely, but since I'm an Asian, and I know Headley is one as well, I felt more connected to the topic somehow. At the same time, I felt more exposed to the issues that connected Jacob to his origins. It's not only about finding yourself through inner beauty, but about connecting with yourself through your origins and your own perceptions of yourself. Really touching - especially the complexity of the family dynamics that is introduced here.

Initially deterred by the abundance of mapping mentions, it took a while to see what lied beneath all the cartography trivia. But around 40 pages in, something shifted, and I was introduced to the raw story that was being obscured by all that detail. North of Beautiful made me gasp for breath while sucking in tears. Because Justina Chen Headley got it exactly right.

Terra Cooper is a lost and broken girl, further damaged by the port wine stain splayed across her cheek. Intent on being perfection personified, Terra attempts to obscure her birthmark with a layer of make up and body to die for. A body she has worked rigorously for years to shape. But Terra's pain is more than skin deep, and her drive for obtaining the ultimate physical ideal isn't entirely due to her flawed face.

Terra's father finds his pleasure belittling, intimidating and controlling his family. While he may not physically lash out, his verbal attacks do far worse, they manipulate the minds, change the personalities and break the spirits of those who he should find most dear. Terra and her mother are forever dodging his oral lashings in everyway achievable. For Terra, this includes being as close to flawless as possible. Never learning who she is, never able to be herself, or discover who she truly wants to become. Terra's home is a stack of cards, and the slightest wind could turn the tide from verbal abuse, to physical blows. Terra has spent her life walking on eggshells, praying to make it one more day, desperate to leave, but terrified to go due to what she would leave behind. Her mother.
Then, one fateful day, Terra's direction changes course. She has a wreck and meets her salvation.

Jacob is shiny beacon of truth, acceptance, understanding, and adventure. Everything that Terra needs. With his encouragement, Terra finds the missing pieces of herself, discovers who she is, and where she wants to go. North of Beautiful provides a fantastic journey of self discovery, first love, China, and the meaning of true beauty that is sure to resonate with all of our Iron Goddesses.