Born Ugly

To say Shir is unpopular is an understatement. She is a target of casual cruelty in high school. Even though she tries to remain invisible, bullies find ways of tormenting her viciously. Worse still, she's also an outcast in her own family.
There are two areas where Shir can overcome her negative self image.
One is her part-time job where the kindly Mr. A has hired her to make deliveries for his grocery store. The other is at her secret retreat - myplace - where she can sip her beer and watch the river, undisturbed.
But neither sanctuary is safe. She discovers Mr A's kindness is part of a plot to use her in shady dealings and her haven by the river is intruded upon by a boy who simply won't go away. While these invasions shatter her initially, both lead to her throwing off the mantle of victim and asserting herself for the first time in her life.

Beth Goobie graduated from the University of Winnipeg and the Mennonite Brethren Bible College. She is an award-winning writer of young adult fiction and is best known for her quirky and dark stories. Her novel Before Wings won the Canadian Library Association's Young Adult Book Award in 2000, and was chosen by young readers for the Best Books list of the American Library Association.