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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
I loved it, it was inspiring and really made me want to cry. Everyday, every minute someone out there is struggling with their imperfection which makes them them and this book reminds us to embrace the imperfection because imperfection is true beauty, not the flawless perfection.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
A truly wonderful book. I loved the characters (Except Erik and the Dad), and the motif/ extended metaphor of maps and mapmaking. I would reccomend this to anyone (though mainly girls).
The romance in this book was written very well. I was persuaded in the direction the book wanted me to go in and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It moves a little slow from time to time, but it is a very good and very different romance novel. It was nice to read a different romance!
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Cute!!!
I absolutely LOVED this book. If you have not checked this out yet, you need to! It was so powerful and has truly affected my life.
I don't even know where to start. This a story about a girl named Terra who has a port wine stain (a type of birthmark) on her cheek, which makes her self-conscious. She also has a jerk of a father, a very timid mother, and two brothers who make sure to not come around often.
Her life changes when she has an "unexpected collision", literally, and she meets Jacob, who isn't the average boy. Now she's forced with the decision of staying in the safe zone, where she's been all along, or take a new path, and leave the old her behind.
Can I just say how much I loved Jacob's character? I loved how in tune he was with Terra, and how he just knew her better than anyone else. And he was so quirky and sarcastic. I just love him.
At the end, when Terra and her mother started sticking up for themselves, it was so powerful. It made ME feel powerful. I wanted to just go do something that I've been too nervous to do, something to shake the world or my life. It had such an affect on me and I'm jealous. I wish I had the guts to do what they did, to take a hold of my life and make what I want out of it.
The only thing that was disappointing was the ending. There were a couple things left unanswered, and if you know me by now, you know I don't like unanswered questions. I like knowing everything that happens when it ends.Even though it's really likely that Terra and Jacob got together, I would've liked to have known just for clarity. The same with Terra's mom. Does she leave her dad or not? I wanted to know that. I kind of wish we had an epilogue. Besides that, this was just so incredible so go get it now. You won't regret it.
I don't even know where to start. This a story about a girl named Terra who has a port wine stain (a type of birthmark) on her cheek, which makes her self-conscious. She also has a jerk of a father, a very timid mother, and two brothers who make sure to not come around often.
Her life changes when she has an "unexpected collision", literally, and she meets Jacob, who isn't the average boy. Now she's forced with the decision of staying in the safe zone, where she's been all along, or take a new path, and leave the old her behind.
Can I just say how much I loved Jacob's character? I loved how in tune he was with Terra, and how he just knew her better than anyone else. And he was so quirky and sarcastic. I just love him.
The only thing that was disappointing was the ending. There were a couple things left unanswered, and if you know me by now, you know I don't like unanswered questions. I like knowing everything that happens when it ends.
The start was really good, the end was a little slow but for me it was just another (albeit well written) book about a girl having a moment and finally turning into an adult (just like 15 million others out there) although it made me appreciate how not-bad my father is, and made me love my mum a million times more.
North of Beautiful is an amazing book that explores Terra’s relationships with her family, friends, herself, and Jacob while questioning the real meaning behind true beauty. I loved seeing Terra’s journey of growth and acceptance throughout the book, and how it enables her to finally start living her life on her own terms. The relationship between Terra and Jacob was beautifully done, and I also really liked how Jacob’s story was incorporated into the book. This is a book that I’ve loved, and reread many times since first reading it in middle school.
I bought this book years ago. The reason I just started now is because of the first paragraph, describing Terra. She has a ballerinas legs, long platinum blonde hair (natural, although I'm unsure whether or not that's even possible), and a smoking body. Of course she hates it and oh no she has a port-wine stain. All of this just screamed "Mary sue" to me and I closed the book.
However, now reading further I became more and more unsure of the label and the more I liked the book. Nothing too exciting happens in the book, besides the trip to China, it goes through the days in the life of a teenage girl. It's a lot deeper than that though.
She struggles with an abusive father. One who doesn't get physical or necessarily yells but says just the right thing to break her and her mother down. Coming from someone who knows exactly what that's like, I have to say that this book got that EXACTLY right. To the point where it triggered memories and I had to lay down for a cry. What I don't like about this is the ending seemed to redeem him. Yes the mother stood her ground but now he's going out and helping by getting groceries. The reaction of this was more or less "oh he's changed". Nope, in real life that just means he knows he needs to do something to get them back under their thumb. There was even a toss up between whether or not they'd stay together. The one thing I did like about the ending was that even after he did this nice thing he still is an asshole.
The biggest reason I rated this a four and not a five is because of how cliche it is. Preppy girl dates jock who only cares about her body. Preppy girl meets goth boy. Instant connection. Two seconds in she's thinking about making out with him. Of course this is okay because he GETS her unlike boyfriend. "He's just my friend". He teaches her about herself. "I'm not like normal people"Preppy girl kisses goth boy. Preppy girl realizes she is beautiful. Jock boy isn't that much of an asshole as he catches them together. Jock boy is surprisingly nice even though preppy girl cheated. Goth boy who boasts about his maturity and understanding of people who wants no one to feel u beautiful or hurt it's perfectly okay that preppy girl cheated with him and happily ever after.
Also who does this boy think he is. He orders her coffee that "he knows she'll love" and TELLS HER that she doesn't like roses. Makes fun of her for counting calories (she struggles an eating disorder even though it's never officially stated, she counts calories and does 500 sit-ups and runs miles, feeling fat when she doesn't for just two days). Calls her control freak for wanting things in a certain order (and again for the calorie counting).
However, now reading further I became more and more unsure of the label and the more I liked the book. Nothing too exciting happens in the book, besides the trip to China, it goes through the days in the life of a teenage girl. It's a lot deeper than that though.
She struggles with an abusive father. One who doesn't get physical or necessarily yells but says just the right thing to break her and her mother down. Coming from someone who knows exactly what that's like, I have to say that this book got that EXACTLY right. To the point where it triggered memories and I had to lay down for a cry. What I don't like about this is the ending seemed to redeem him. Yes the mother stood her ground but now he's going out and helping by getting groceries. The reaction of this was more or less "oh he's changed". Nope, in real life that just means he knows he needs to do something to get them back under their thumb. There was even a toss up between whether or not they'd stay together. The one thing I did like about the ending was that even after he did this nice thing he still is an asshole.
The biggest reason I rated this a four and not a five is because of how cliche it is. Preppy girl dates jock who only cares about her body. Preppy girl meets goth boy. Instant connection. Two seconds in she's thinking about making out with him. Of course this is okay because he GETS her unlike boyfriend. "He's just my friend". He teaches her about herself. "I'm not like normal people"Preppy girl kisses goth boy. Preppy girl realizes she is beautiful. Jock boy isn't that much of an asshole as he catches them together. Jock boy is surprisingly nice even though preppy girl cheated. Goth boy who boasts about his maturity and understanding of people who wants no one to feel u beautiful or hurt it's perfectly okay that preppy girl cheated with him and happily ever after.
Also who does this boy think he is. He orders her coffee that "he knows she'll love" and TELLS HER that she doesn't like roses. Makes fun of her for counting calories (she struggles an eating disorder even though it's never officially stated, she counts calories and does 500 sit-ups and runs miles, feeling fat when she doesn't for just two days). Calls her control freak for wanting things in a certain order (and again for the calorie counting).
This was actually a really good book and definitely lighter than what I've been reading. For being a lighter reading it did not lack substance and storyline. In searching for what society and her father deems beautiful, Terra stumbles upon actual beauty that is more than skin deep, which is kind of magical. She not only finds confidence, but clarity in a future. In terms of character development, I appreciated that her mom also grew and was able to find a voice. Overall, good read!