Material Girls: A Novel

What if the country's economy was turned around by having teenagers running everything? What if kids were chosen in middle school to become fashion designers, movie producers, media stars and then the rest of the population followed whatever trends they set, no matter how extreme? Doesn't that seem a little drastic? But that is just what has happened in the society that Ivy and Marla live in. We're not given a specific date, but it seems to be fairly near to our time, though still a bit futuristic. Ivy Wilde is a top pop star with a carefully created and maintained persona; her manager and publicist choose her songs, her clothing, even her boyfriend. Marla Klein is a superior court judge at one of the top five fashion houses, choosing which clothing will be endorsed and produced by the company and what the newest trends will be. But their paths cross at just the right time and they collaborate on a project that all the "Silents" (adults working behind the scenes in the big corporations), don't like at all. Will they stand their ground or cave in to the pressure and conform?This story takes a lot of current issues and shows what happens when they become accepted as the norm. For instance, Ivy's publicist arranges her entire schedule, including how often she should be drunk and disorderly in public to keep up her "wild girl" image. Torro-LeBlanc, the design house where Marla works, cautions her that she is showing too many individual opinions during the court sessions. They say she needs to be more cohesive with the other judges. And in the background of all this glitz and glamour are sweat shops with underage workers where all the beautiful new trends are manufactured and all the "adequates" who receive a normal education and work in offices or as doctors or other necessary professions, feel envious of those "tapped" to leave school early for one of the elite positions. Who wouldn't want to shake things up in an environment like that?Told in alternating chapters from the viewpoints of Ivy and Marla, the book moves at a fast pace and keeps the reader guessing about what will happen next. Will this person actually rebel against expectations? Will that one turn out to be an ally or a foe? Who will win, the corporations or the individuals? And there is also a smidgen of romance mixed in, but I can't tell you who winds up with whom.If you like stories about underdogs taking on the big shots of the world, about individuals trying to find their place and a career that actually fulfills them creatively and individually, and about finding out how far you are willing to go to pursue your dreams, then you should give Material Girls a try.

First I'd like to say: I really enjoyed this book. It was well written. It was entertaining. It was unexpected. It was exciting. It was relatable. To the person who said that there was too much "fluff" and that the characters didn't have substance, I'm not sure that you understood the point of the book. The clever author was very intentional about taking pages to describe an outfit, or having the characters come across as shallow -- it was the entire point of the story. The point that a materialistic world driven by consumerism is the dangerous path we are headed down. It was an amplified version of the world we already live in. The main characters had plenty of substance and I felt for them and the stress they were going through. I worried for them and celebrated with them and if that doesn't indicate substance, I'm not sure what does. You also need to take into account the audience this book is intended for, and not expect a long, boring, intellectual novel that a 45-year-old businessman would read at the airport. It's for teens and young adults who want something fun and relatable, but this book goes the extra distance by not trying to please the audience with a fairy tale ending, which I absolutely loved. It was real and it made me think and I loved the message it sent. Can't wait to read more books by this author!

I am firmly outside this book's target demographic - I stopped watching American Idol about ten seasons ago, and have never seen Project Runway, but I did find "Hunger Games" entertaining...the first book was inventive, at least. Books 2 and 3...ugh. Suzanne Collins, I want my money back. Anyway, all of that is just a preamble to say that I was skeptical I would enjoy a book about teenage girls and fashion. But I did! Aside from being an engrossing plot that kept me engaged throughout, I admire the author's ability to drop the reader into a future world - inventive language like "prime" and even the names of the fashion houses (Torro-Leblanc just sounds like a fashion name) really made it come alive. Not someplace I would like to live (I'd probably be a CSS agent, gleefully cracking the skulls of spoiled brat Taps on the picket line), but definitely a cool place to visit.

I don't usually read Young Adult fiction, but a friend brought this on a vacation we took together and I had nothing else to read. I was delightfully surprised--and couldn't put it down. It was a brisk read, but sophisticated, too--a social commentary that doesn't beat you over the head with an agenda. Nor does it stoop to a Hollywood ending (though it would make a fun film). Dimopolous has constructed a witty, imaginative tale of a future that really isn't that far off from the present. It has strong and intelligent females in several roles and sensitive portrayals of males, too. I will share it with my daughters and nieces (a nephew or two) as an object lesson in questioning society's warped norms and, instead, valuing agency and the maker culture.

Good teen read.

I really enjoyed this. Once I picked it up and started reading it I could not put it down. It was fascinating to read about the fashion industry and how trends are selected (or not). I cannot wait to read more books from this author.