Reviewed by Cana Rensberger for TeensReadToo.com
Did you know that models practice smiling with their tongue behind their teeth to hide the dreaded black space? It's something that Allee Rosen would never have thought of as she stuffed rolls of toilet paper into her backpack for her art project.
Allee's headed to Yale to be an English Literature major. Yale! Or so she thought. She finds out her rocket scientist dad failed to save enough money for the prestigious school. So, for now, she's finishing her senior year of high school, working at Wal-Mart, and trying to decide whether or not to give in to her dad and go the University of Florida to major in something sensible, like science or business. Yuck.
Her life changes the day she takes her sister, Sabrina, to the mall for a modeling agency's talent search. Instead of signing Sabrina, aka "The Fluff," they want Allee! The brainiac. The feminist. The total opposite of a girly-girl. Allee knows this is crazy. She doubts it's even legit. But it's an offer she can't refuse. It could mean earning the extra money to get to Yale.
Following a dream-like trip to Miami to meet the owner of what turns out to be a highly respectable and sought-after agency, Allee moves into an apartment for the models. Allee finds herself struggling to believe that she's actually pretty. Serious by nature, she fears she'll never be able to let loose and have fun with the camera. Will she ever get a booking? How can she compete with the beautiful, intimidating, and fiercely competitive girls she's rooming with? What the heck are chicken cutlets? And what if she makes it big? Will she choose to leave Wonderland behind and go to Yale in the fall?
BRALESS IN WONDERLAND thrusts the reader into the world of modeling. Debbie Reed Fischer zooms in to focus on the often cutthroat competition between models, the necessary obsession with weight and the risks some models will take to lose just a few more pounds, the glamour, the parties, and the clothes. Oh, the clothes! If you are even the tiniest bit interested in a modeling career, I'd suggest you pick up a copy of this book. And for those of you who think you'd never consider being a model? Just remember, neither did Allee.
Did you know that models practice smiling with their tongue behind their teeth to hide the dreaded black space? It's something that Allee Rosen would never have thought of as she stuffed rolls of toilet paper into her backpack for her art project.
Allee's headed to Yale to be an English Literature major. Yale! Or so she thought. She finds out her rocket scientist dad failed to save enough money for the prestigious school. So, for now, she's finishing her senior year of high school, working at Wal-Mart, and trying to decide whether or not to give in to her dad and go the University of Florida to major in something sensible, like science or business. Yuck.
Her life changes the day she takes her sister, Sabrina, to the mall for a modeling agency's talent search. Instead of signing Sabrina, aka "The Fluff," they want Allee! The brainiac. The feminist. The total opposite of a girly-girl. Allee knows this is crazy. She doubts it's even legit. But it's an offer she can't refuse. It could mean earning the extra money to get to Yale.
Following a dream-like trip to Miami to meet the owner of what turns out to be a highly respectable and sought-after agency, Allee moves into an apartment for the models. Allee finds herself struggling to believe that she's actually pretty. Serious by nature, she fears she'll never be able to let loose and have fun with the camera. Will she ever get a booking? How can she compete with the beautiful, intimidating, and fiercely competitive girls she's rooming with? What the heck are chicken cutlets? And what if she makes it big? Will she choose to leave Wonderland behind and go to Yale in the fall?
BRALESS IN WONDERLAND thrusts the reader into the world of modeling. Debbie Reed Fischer zooms in to focus on the often cutthroat competition between models, the necessary obsession with weight and the risks some models will take to lose just a few more pounds, the glamour, the parties, and the clothes. Oh, the clothes! If you are even the tiniest bit interested in a modeling career, I'd suggest you pick up a copy of this book. And for those of you who think you'd never consider being a model? Just remember, neither did Allee.
