North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley

Synopsis:
It's hard not to notice Terra Cooper. She's tall, blond, and has an enviable body. But with one turn of her cheek, all people notice is her unmistakably "flawed" face. Terra secretly plans to leave her small, stifling town in the Northwest and escape to an East Coast college, but gets pushed off-course by her controlling father. When an unexpected collision puts Terra directly in Jacob's path, the handsome but quirky Goth boy immediately challenges her assumptions about herself and her life, and she is forced in yet another direction. With her carefully laid plans disrupted, will Terra be able to find her true path?

My Rating: 9/10

My Thoughts:
I know I say this a lot, but I LOVED this book. The first half takes place in Washington, and being from Oregon, I consider this local, and I love books that take place near where I live. Then the second half takes place in China, which I want to visit so so so bad, so I really enjoyed reading about that. (There are not enough YA books where the characters travel to foreign countries) Plus, Terra is an artist, and I have a thing for characters who are artists.

Besides the setting, the thing that made this book for me was Jacob. He was so sweet and fun and comes to Terra just when she needs him. I have a major crush on this guy.

However, as much as I love Jacob, the opposite is true of Terra's father. I have never despised a character more in a book. He is nasty, petulant, unfair and childish. You just want to scream at Terra's mom to stop putting up with everything, and stand up for herself. (And Terra's mom's journey is a major, and awesome subplot, and is yet another reason why this book exuded awesomeness)

This is a book about coming to terms with things you can't change, and when you can making changes for the better, even if it's difficult. Overall it was very uplifting and sends a good message about inner beauty, friendship, and love. Plus the cover is beautiful.