Book Review: 'North of Beautiful'

Special to the Herald-Guide

July 08, 2010 at 9:32 am  | Mobile Reader | Print 

Alaina Brockmann

“North of Beautiful” by Justina Chen Hadley is set in Washington and China during current times and tells the story of Terra Cooper on her journey to find confidence and discover her true self.  Terra is an artist who has perfected the art of hiding from everyone who gets too close. She should be the perfect girl, but there is something about her that makes people stop and stare - not in a good way. Even her boyfriend does not want people to see what he has seen about her. When life gets rough, she meets a new friend who changes her perspective. This new friend, Jacob, takes Terra and her mom on a journey of self-discovery that they will never forget. Just when it seems that everything in Terra's life is looking up, something goes wrong. Will she go too far and ruin the one thing that makes her life worth living?

I thoroughly enjoyed reading “North of Beautiful,” which taught me a lot about myself. This well-written book is geared towards high-school level readers or older teenagers. I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading a more mature book that carries an enormous moral lesson while still being relatable.

Alaina Brockmann recently completed her junior year in the academically gifted program at Hahnville High. She enjoys reading, cooking, music and drawing.

Editor’s note: Book reviews are published weekly in agreement with Hahnville High School gifted English teacher Deborah Unger in conjunction with the Brown Foundation Service Learning Program.