Like Mandarin by Kirsten Hubbard

What it's about (from Goodreads): It's hard finding beauty in the badlands of Washokey, Wyoming, but 14-year-old Grace Carpenter knows it's not her mother's pageant obsessions, or the cowboy dances adored by her small-town classmates. True beauty is wild-girl Mandarin Ramey: 17, shameless and utterly carefree. Grace would give anything to be like Mandarin. When they're united for a project, they form an unlikely, explosive friendship, packed with nights spent skinny-dipping in the canal, liberating the town's animal-head trophies, and searching for someplace magic. Grace plays along when Mandarin suggests they run away together. Blame it on the crazy-making wildwinds plaguing their Badlands town. Because all too soon, Grace discovers Mandarin's unique beauty hides a girl who's troubled, broken, and even dangerous. And no matter how hard Grace fights to keep the magic, no friendship can withstand betrayal.

What I learned: Not everyone is content with who they are. I won this book from a giveaway (thank you, Shannon Messenger!) but I entered several giveaways for it. For one of the giveaways you were supposed to say who you wanted to be like in high school in your comment to enter. I sat back and thought about it. Who did I want to be like? Did I want to be like anyone? I thought back to high school and how I felt about myself and others during that time. Truthfully, I didn't want to be like anyone else. Sure, I was jealous of some girls' cars, or hair, or perfect skin, but there was no one I idolized anything like Grace does to Mandarin. I went to a Christian school for sixth through eighth grade and I remember in sixth grade there was a comment section on our report cards for a positive character trait our teachers felt we had displayed throughout the quarter. I got "contentment" twice. I vaguely remember my teacher comments saying something like "Katie feels comfortable in her own skin and doesn't worry about what others think about her." I was extremely proud at the time but I remember realizing in high school that really, I was just kind of a weird kid who didn't realize that other people thought she was different. I hated jeans and refused to wear them until seventh grade, choosing to wear knit pants and dresses instead. I also thought tennis shoes like Nikes were clompy and ugly so I wore what I thought were graceful little Keds for years. I was wearing jeans regularly by high school and had gotten over my hatred of normal shoes but I still had my own ideas of fashion and how to live life. I could characterize it now as unawareness, that I was blissfully ignorant of my own differences and shortcomings, but I like to think that I really was truly content with myself and who I was. I definitely wasn't perfect - believe me! - but I have wonderful parents who encouraged me to be myself (unlike Grace's mom who pushed her into pageants) and praised all of my accomplishments, and I truly think that had a huge impact on my self-image.

If you've read Like Mandarin, what did you learn? Are you - and have you always been - happy with who you are?