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fauvely 's review for:
North of Beautiful
by Justina Chen
At first I thought 4 stars. And then I thought 5. Then I thought 4 1/2 stars. Now I'm thinking I must have become a little bit jaded if I find it so hard to give an involving, beautiful book 5 stars.
So, I give it 5 stars to prove I have indeed not become jaded. Yet.
I can't really fault this book. I know a lot of people have but I can't. I can't criticise the writing or her metaphors. I liked how she talked about things like maps and geocaching. It was so unique. There were so many things in this book I'd never heard of, really. I loved how I actually learned about new things from reading this book.
I can't fault the characters. I've read reviews where people grumble about Jacob. Especially about him being goth. I think the whole point of this book was to show that appearances aren't whats important, it's what's inside. So the fact that so many reviews harp about Jacob being goth and how "they would never find a goth boy attractive" is absolutely ridiculous. I liked his character so I didn't care what the author described him as, physically. I found him to be one of the sweetest, most likeable guys I've ever read about.
I loved the depth of all the characters. They all have big issues that they need to face. Terra has self esteem issues as well as family problems to deal with. Her mom seriously broke my heart. She reminds me of my mom in the way that she is so incredibly selfless and her main concern is always for other people. But my mom is also an incredibly strong woman and wouldn't have been in the situation that Terra's mother is in. Although in the end, Terra's mother became strong enough to face things she hadn't been able to face.
Terra's mother and father have such an unloving, horrible relationship. It's heartbreaking reading about the way Terra's father treats his family. The way he talks to Terra and her mother. The way he ruins things and makes everything so difficult.
So I could not fault the characters. They were all so well written. You have so many strong characters who discover so much about themselves. Such brilliant character developement.
The story surprised me because I didn't expect it. I thought maybe she'd find a cure/treatment for her birthmark. In the beginning, I thought that. And I really wouldn't have liked that. I love the way it went. We find it so hard to see ourselves the way others see us.
I loved when they went to China. I did NOT know that this book would contain travelling. I LOVED IT. I loved reading about their time in China and especially loved that Jacob and his mother went with them.
I thought this book had everything a good book should have. Interesting, strong characters. Great character developement. Lovely writing with so many interesting subjects thrown in. Stimulating plot. Travel! Love. And just a general uniqueness.
I loved it. I don't really understand why someone wouldn't but I simply loved it.
So, I give it 5 stars to prove I have indeed not become jaded. Yet.
I can't really fault this book. I know a lot of people have but I can't. I can't criticise the writing or her metaphors. I liked how she talked about things like maps and geocaching. It was so unique. There were so many things in this book I'd never heard of, really. I loved how I actually learned about new things from reading this book.
I can't fault the characters. I've read reviews where people grumble about Jacob. Especially about him being goth. I think the whole point of this book was to show that appearances aren't whats important, it's what's inside. So the fact that so many reviews harp about Jacob being goth and how "they would never find a goth boy attractive" is absolutely ridiculous. I liked his character so I didn't care what the author described him as, physically. I found him to be one of the sweetest, most likeable guys I've ever read about.
I loved the depth of all the characters. They all have big issues that they need to face. Terra has self esteem issues as well as family problems to deal with. Her mom seriously broke my heart. She reminds me of my mom in the way that she is so incredibly selfless and her main concern is always for other people. But my mom is also an incredibly strong woman and wouldn't have been in the situation that Terra's mother is in. Although in the end, Terra's mother became strong enough to face things she hadn't been able to face.
Terra's mother and father have such an unloving, horrible relationship. It's heartbreaking reading about the way Terra's father treats his family. The way he talks to Terra and her mother. The way he ruins things and makes everything so difficult.
So I could not fault the characters. They were all so well written. You have so many strong characters who discover so much about themselves. Such brilliant character developement.
The story surprised me because I didn't expect it. I thought maybe she'd find a cure/treatment for her birthmark. In the beginning, I thought that. And I really wouldn't have liked that. I love the way it went. We find it so hard to see ourselves the way others see us.
I loved when they went to China. I did NOT know that this book would contain travelling. I LOVED IT. I loved reading about their time in China and especially loved that Jacob and his mother went with them.
I thought this book had everything a good book should have. Interesting, strong characters. Great character developement. Lovely writing with so many interesting subjects thrown in. Stimulating plot. Travel! Love. And just a general uniqueness.
I loved it. I don't really understand why someone wouldn't but I simply loved it.