Book Review: Material Girls by Elaine Dimopoulos

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this ebook, free of charge,from HMH Books, via Netgalley
for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it


Synopsis:

In Marla Klein and Ivy Wilde’s world, teens are the gatekeepers of culture. A top fashion label employs sixteen-year-old Marla to dictate hot new clothing trends, while Ivy, a teen pop star, popularizes the garments that Marla approves. Both girls are pawns in a calculated but seductive system of corporate control, and both begin to question their world’s aggressive levels of consumption. Will their new “eco-chic” trend subversively resist and overturn the industry that controls every part of their lives?

        Smart, provocative, and entertaining, this thrilling page-turner for teens questions the cult like mentality of fame and fashion. Are you in or are you out?

What inspired you to write Material Girls?

Many things. Watching trends in fashion magazines change at lightning speed. Watching the media lacerate Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus and thinking about the experience of child and teen celebrities after they grow up. Teaching at a girls’ school and realizing that the gulf between mom and girl fashion has narrowed. Frustration at the waste generated by trends in the western world -- in the U.S., we discard 70 pounds of clothing per person per year. Watching celebrities conceal their sexual orientation because their backers fear they’ll lose fans and revenue. It’s all in there.

Review: 

On one hand I want to call this a YA book, as teens are the primary characters, YET, the allegory and satire is definitely adults based. What if teens ran the fashion world (I know, I know, they already dom but bear with me), and fashion and celebrity over ran common sense and democracy? Ah there's the rub- no matter what the government, somebody has to be in charge. And in this tale, there is a not so subtle warning about how that could happen very easily here in the US. Part Sci-Fi, part teen agnst, part coming of age, i's a satirical work of fiction that will have you glued to the pages until you finish it! It's perfect oro some 'light' Summer reading!




About the Author:

Elaine Dimopoulos is a graduate of Yale, Columbia, and, Simmons College, where she earned an M.F.A. in Writing for Children. Currently, she teaches children's literature at Boston University and is also an instructor for Grub Street. She served as the Associates of the Boston Public Library's Children's Writer-in-Residence during which time she wrote Material Girls. Visit her website at www.elainedimopoulos.com.

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