Poseur

December 3, 2007
Maude enthusiastically embraces obvious stereotypes in her debut novel, taking them so far over the top that she delivers a very amusing read. Choosing an exclusive private school in Los Angeles as a backdrop, the author dresses the mega-wealthy youth of Beverly Hills and Bel Air in Dior, Marc Jacobs and Jimmy Choo, and has them roar to school in Porsches and Jaguars, while fish-out-of-water twins Janie and Jake Farrish, scholarship students from the Valley, shop at Goodwill and share ownership of a 16-year-old Volvo. The same gleeful exaggeration applies to Janie's three classmates in a special studies course focusing on fashion design: there's Charlotte, bored after a week of a summer intensive embroidery studies at a convent in Bruges, who arranges a midnight escape by chopper; Melissa, daughter of the rap producer Seedy, who announces, “In the grand tradition of Jennifer Lopez and Oprah, I dream to be more than just a person. I dream to be a brand”; and Petra, the ridiculously beautiful daughter of the most sought-after plastic surgeon in Hollywood, who tendentiously deplores vanity and wants to create an anti-fashion clothing line called Moral Fiber. Though the plot is predictable and the pacing uneven, the novel dishes up outsize amounts of humor, mostly at the expense of Maude's narcissistic characters. Juicy, stylish fun. Ages 13-up.

March 1, 2008
Gr 9-11-Charlotte, Janie, Melissa, and Petra are not friends, so when the new director of Special Study at their hoity-toity Los Angeles private school pairs them up on a group project, it is no surprise that high drama ensues. The girls are supposed to work on developing a fashion label. They bring a variety of talents and ideas to the tableCharlotte is an accomplished seamstress, Janie can bring the amazing creations she imagines to life on paper, Melissa is interested in marketing, and Petra wants to design environmentally friendly clothesso the main challenge is combining these ideas into something viable. Can they agree to disagree or will their differences tear them apart? This book has all of the same elements that made Lisi Harrison's "The Clique," Zoey Dean's "The A-List," and Cecily von Ziegesar's "Gossip Girl" series (all Little, Brown) so popular, and they have the added attraction of being about fashion, which will attract a broader audience. The back of the book contains DIY instructions for making some of the fashions contained within."Robyn Zaneski, New York Public Library"

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