Just Listen ~ Sarah Dessen

Publisher: Speak (2006)
ISBN: 978-0-14-241097-4
371 pgs

Classification: YA Fiction
Genre: Realistic fiction, Chick lit
Age Level: 13+

Reader’s Annotation: Annabel has a secret and her unwillingness to share it is costing her the trust of her most-needed friends.

Summary: Keeping her assault by her best friend’s boyfriend a secret, Annabel Green finds herself ostracized at school. Annabel is also losing interest in the modeling jobs her mother keeps pressuring her to book. Unfortunately, Annabel does not feel comfortable speaking up at home because her older sister’s eating disorder has already caused tension in the family. Annabel slowly becomes friends with Owen Armstrong, whose passion is music, but their relationship is threatened by Annabel’s inability to open up and confide in others. Annabel continues to hold her tongue and alienate those who would help her until a friend inspires her to share her story.

Notes: Just Listen is not quite as harrowing as Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak, but compelling and just as honest.
Flags: 4

Model: A Memoir ~ Cheryl Diamond

Publisher: Simon Pulse (2008)
ISBN: 1-4169-5904-1
357 pgs

Classification: Non-fiction
Genre: Memoir
Age Level: 13+

Reader’s Annotation: Fashion model Cheryl Diamond is poised on the brink of supermodel status when a shocking incident derails her career.

Summary: This memoir offers unique insight into the glamorous and ruthless world of high fashion and the beautiful people who make us covet it all. At age sixteen uber-confident Cheryl Diamond, with her edgy look and gorgeous blonde hair, lands a contract with an exclusive NYC modeling agency. Diamond enjoys early success at photo shoots and on the runway until an unexpected trauma forces the young beauty to ask herself: is modeling really the career for her?
Notes: Diamond’s story makes for a good read that will be enjoyed by fans of America’s Next Top Model and any avid fashion magazine reader.
Flags: 4

Violet on the Runway ~ Melissa Walker

Publisher: Berkley Jam (2007)
ISBN: 978-0-425-21704-7
228 pgs

Classification: YA fiction
Genre: chick lit
Age Level: 14+

Reader’s Annotation: A modeling agent discovers Violet Greenfield in her small North Carolina hometown, and Violet soon finds herself booking jobs all over New York City.

Summary: Perennial wallflower Violet Greenfield prefers not to be noticed, but her towering height makes her hard to miss, and the high school senior secretly longs for a good reason to stand out. Her big break breezes through town in the form of a fast-talking modeling agent who is convinced she’s found fashion’s newest it girl in Violet. Suddenly Violet is thrust onto the catwalk where, most shockingly to Violet herself, the spotlights and flashbulbs cause her not to wilt, but to bloom. What ensues is a whirlwind of go-sees and photo shoots, club scenes and fashion shows, but before long this flower begins to fade. Living on her own and confronting eating disorders and drug use, Violet seems to be losing herself and alienating her friends in the process.

Notes: This Cinderella model story provides what Cheryl Diamond’s memoir lacks: a heroine the reader truly roots for. While Diamond was never awkward nor gangly, Violet is the girl-next-door that every girl would like to call her best friend. The story continues with Violet by Design and Violet in Private. Content to be aware of—underage drinking, drug use.
Flags: 4