In this young adult novel, Terra Rose is the picture of perfection. Daily snowshoeing at dawn sculpts her perfect body. Hard work and diligence enables her to graduate high school in three years instead of four. She’s popular and her jock boyfriend makes the other girls swoon with jealousy. And like every other girl in high school, she carefully puts on makeup before starting the day. But Terra’s makeup routine is much more complex, as she expertly uses CoverMark to camouflage the port wine stain that covers one side of her face. And as Joie, our makeup expert recommends, she always blots, never smears.

In the beginning of the novel, parts actually made me wonder, “Was the author a member of our board? Did she research port wine stains using our site?” It’s quite possible. Justina Chen Headley accurately portrays the life of a teenager with a port wine stain and even delves into the technical world of laser treatments. At first, I questioned whether the topic could support almost 400 pages, but the story develops into much more after Terra almost accidentally runs over Jacob, who has a facial difference of his own. Through this act of fate, they develop a relationship and Jacob challenges Terra’s beliefs about appearances.

Terra’s Bhutan-shaped birthmark fades into the background as she and her mother forge into China on an adventure that will change both their lives forever. The people and challenges that await her finally provide Terra with the proof she needs to know, once and for all, that there is no reason to hide. Nestled into this story is the intrigue of geocaching—searching for hidden treasure by locating coordinates on a GPS. Each person who finds the geocache takes something from inside and leaves something in its place. What an appropriate metaphor for Terra’s ultimate journey—the search to find her true and confident self—her own hidden treasure—Terra Firma.

This novel is about so much more than a port wine stain. It’s about beauty, in all its shapes and forms. It’s about the journey of self-acceptance that each and every one of us should experience. It’s about finding your truth and honoring it. It is a quick read and the perfect companion to a day at the beach (with proper sun protection, of course). So when you’re browsing through the bookstore looking for your next summer read—head North—North of Beautiful. You might just stumble upon the coordinates to your own truth.

http://www.amazon.com/North-Beautiful-Justina-Chen-Headley/dp/0316025054/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237253092&sr=8-1

Side Note: Headley also wrote a children's book, The Patch about a little girl that is diagnosed with amblyopia (lazy eye). She has to wear an eye patch on her stronger eye in order to challenge the weaker one, and in the process comes up with a flurry of fantastical reasons for her eye patch when asked about it by the other children in the class. As the parent of a child with a port wine stain, I am always on the lookout for children's books that speak about being human and the uniqueness in each one of us. Even though the story is not about port wine stains, it's about being different--a theme that is universal, regardless of the difference.

http://www.amazon.com/Patch-Justina-Chen-Headley/dp/1580891705/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237253917&sr=1-1