Monday, June 19, 2017

The Fashion Committee by Susan Juby -OPTIONAL

Juby, Susan The Fashion Committee, 305 pages. Viking(Penguin Random House), 2017. $17.99. 

Language: PG-13; ( 5 swears); Mature Content: PG13 (Mentions of having sex but no details); Violence: PG13. (drug talk, violent attacks) 

HS –OPTIONAL 

Charlie Dean is a high school student with a keen interest in all thing fashion. She is very unique and particular, which may help her cope with her home life, which includes being the parent to her drug addicted father and his many dramas. When she finds out that a local arts school is giving away a fashion scholarship, the contest is her main goal. Readers also meet John Thomas-Smith, a fellow high school student who dreams of being a metal smith. When he finds out about the fashion contest, he hopes to win it, then switch to the arts school metal smith program. The big roadblock is that he doesn't care for fashion at all. He is game to enter though and finds a beautiful student there to be a big temptation. Chapters switch perspectives as the time ticks nearer to the deciding fashion show. 

I am a big fan of fashion so I was very excited to read this book, but I found it difficult to connect to the characters. Naturally I rooted for Charlie Dean to win, because of her terrible home life, but I even found her character very hard to connect with due to her very rigid and controlled manner. Then I hoped for John to have a surprise win, just to one up the snobby arts the school, but I found his transformation really out of place (he starts to enjoy fashion). The ending was very realistic and at the same time, very disappointing. 

Reviewer: Stephanie Elementary School Librarian & Author.

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