North of Beautiful

North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley

This was my weekend read, which I couldn't put down - the lawn will just have to wait.

Born with a port wine-stain birthmark covering her entire right cheek Terra Rose Cooper is ready to leave her stifling, small Washington town where everyone knows her for her face. With her critical, reproachful father and an obese mother who turns to food to deflect her father's verbal attacks, home life for Terra isn't so great either. Fueled by her artistic desires, she plans to escape to an East Coast College, thinking this is her true path. When her father intercepts her acceptance letter, Terra is pushed off-course, and she is forced to confront her deepest insecurities. After an ironically, fortuitous car accident, Terra meeets Jacob, a handsome but odd goth Chinese boy who was adopted from China as a toddler. Jacob immediately understands Terra's battle with feeling different. When Terra's older brother invites her and her mother to visit him in Shanghi, Jacob and his mother also join them on their journey, where they all not only confront the truth about themselves, but also realize their own true beauty.

This is a gorgeously written, compelling book featuring universal themes of true beauty, family bonds and personal strength and love.