BookChick Recommends North of Beautiful
What constitutes beauty — perfection or flaws? The answer, or answers, in all of their sizes and shapes are worthy of a book and now they are in a novel. In Justina Chen Headley’s “North of Beautiful,” the protagnonist has been at war with beauty for all of her 17 years. That’s because she was born with a port-wine stain on her face, descending from her eye down to her jaw. She and her mom have spent thousands of dollars on countless procedures and all Terra has to show for it is a Beauty Box full of magazine photos of fashion models and the most expensive makeup to cover up one half of her face.
It isn’t until Terra travels halfway around the world to China that she learns what true beauty is and she finds it over and over in unlikely places and people and things.
“North of Beautiful” isn’t about the story so much as about the ideas. It’s a meditation, in fictional form, on art, beauty and the maps that lead us to who we are, who we aren’t and who we can be.
Kathy posted: 09 Jun at 12:21 pm
I bought this a few months ago and haven’t had a chance to read it yet. It sounds like I should make the time soon!
Michelle posted: 11 Jun at 3:02 pm
As a woman who has a sizable birthmark on her face (never gone unnoticed in childhood through teen years) Im extremely intrigued by this novel. I’ll certainly be reading it. Thank you for the review.