Material Girls

by Elaine Dimopoulos

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.

• ISBN13: 9780544671737
• Publish Date: 10 May 2016 (first published 5 May 2015)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Out of Print: 28 February 2022
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[Joséphine]

Actual Rating: 3.5 stars

Initial thoughts: Material Girls is a book that squarely put consumerism into question. It offered a satirical view into the fashion and music industry — glorifying them, while demonstrating the problems when too much power is given to them. I appreciated the struggles that Marla and Ivy went through, even though they were the envy of many others who wanted to be them. At the same time, I thought the characters and prose could have been a bit more developed. The plot was simple with a few twists, which ensured that the satire became the primary device of the book.

[lindsey]

(I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

Material Girls is a dystopian novel set in the fashion world, and the focus alternates between Marla and Ivy. Marla is a judge for one of the top five fashion houses, and Ivy is a popular singer who wears the fashions (only once, of course), and therefore sets the trends.

After Marla "loses her touch" for picking trends, she is demoted to the basement, where she must work as a drafter - someone who sketches the designs and ideas, and then submits them to the judges for consideration. She loathes this at first, but she slowly becomes friends with the other drafters at her station. She realizes that her new friends are keen to start a revolution, and she is swept up with them, eventually leading the revolt.

Ivy is the world's current most popular singer, and she is willing to do whatever it takes to stay at the top. She has seen what happens to the "has-beens", and she is determined to avoid that fate. Unfortunately, after one torturous trend, she becomes disillusioned with the idea of trends, and with the help of Marla, she tries to reinvent herself. Her management, however, has other ideas.

While I'm not really a fan of fashion, and I've never even watched an episode of "Project Runway", I still found myself not wanting to put this book down. While the plot may seem a little frivolous at first, the author does have deeper ideas hidden behind the fashion talk and vain starlets.

The only problem I had was at the very end. It seemed a little too rushed, and things were tied up a little too neatly for one of the girls. The other girl's story, however, felt like it needed a little more closure. Though, I suppose the author may have left it that way intentionally, as we don't always get closure in real life. I would like to go into more detail about the ending, but I really don't want to spoil it for those who haven't yet read it. So, if you'd like to discuss it, feel free to email or message me!

Material Girls is quick-paced and well-written, and I really liked the character development. If you enjoy fashion and stand-alone YA dystopian novels that make you think, I would say give this a try.

[shannonmiz]

There were quite a few things that I enjoyed about this book. Things like:

•  The main characters are very well written, and give incredible perspectives into their industries. Marla works in the fashion designing world, and Ivy is a huge pop star who wears aforementioned fashion, thus connecting the two. In a society where you're a has-been by the time you hit 20, it's interesting to see how these girls grapple with the inevitable decline of their careers at an age when we can't even fathom having careers.


• Obviously, it seems ridiculous to us to be putting twelve year olds to work, but the way it's portrayed in this society is frighteningly realistic. The "taps" are basically kids who were tapped to work in the entertainment industry based on evaluations of work they submit. If you're not tapped, you go to school and get a "crappy" job, like a doctor or teacher or something. To me, this spoke volumes as to how our culture really does act. There is such a value put on youth and entertainment, while people who work in much needed service industries are neglected and underpaid.


• I love how we're shown the dark sides of being a "tap". It isn't all just glamour and fabulousness, there is a lot going on behind closed doors that is just plain messed up. I imagine some of the things that Ivy and Marla go through are not too far off from some of what happens in today's entertainment industry, and that part is quite fascinating.


• The decisions the girls had to make were quite compelling. Both girls had to decide for themselves what they wanted out of life, whether the prestige of being a tap was worth the nonsense they had to (and will have to) put up with. It wasn't easy, since there were all kinds of pressure from families, peers, and superiors. And then things get much, much more serious and the girls have to make decisions that will impact not only their lives, but the lives of a lot of people around them.


• Speaking of friends and family, some of them were kind of great. I loved the storyline that surrounded Ivy's family and her industry friends. Marla's family, especially her mother, made me kind of insane and infuriated. Some of her industry friends were kind of fabulous too, but that all comes later in the book so you'll have to just take my word for it.

The things I wasn't so fond of:

• Some of the more technical fashion stuff, I just didn't understand or care about. Talking about trends or a dress or something was fine, but there were a lot of details into the fashion. Which is fine, if you are really into fashion, but I started to get a bit bored with those parts. Like, I really don't care how patterns for clothes are made or whatever, so I kind of zoned out.


• The world building just wasn't enough for me. I mean, we knew what was happening in... wherever this was supposed to take place. But how did society get to this point? What was happening in the rest of the world (or country or whatever)? It was set in a place that I assumed to be almost like Hollywood, but again, I have no idea. Was it America? What was everyone who was not in this area doing? Again, confused.


• The romantic elements didn't do it for me. I think it was clear from pretty close to the beginning who the romantic interest was going to be, but I just didn't feel it. When the time came, I was underwhelmed, though I liked both characters. I just didn't feel like there was enough of a connection between them to justify a romance, really. It seemed unnecessary, really.


• The pacing was a little off at times. Some parts moved quite slow, but then the ending seemed to move really fast. A bit more moderation would have been appreciated.

Bottom Line: I liked the messages that the book was trying to give. I think it was subtle in places, not so subtle in others, but very well done. I think with a bit more explanation, it would have led to more believability and a bit of a deeper connection, but overall I liked it.

 

**Copy provided by publisher for review.**
This review was originally posted on It Starts at Midnight

[Ashley]

I liked it... But the ending was kind of a let down. Very anti-climactic!

[Linda]

*I received a free ARC from HMH Books for Young Readers via Netgalley in exchange of an honest and unbiased review*

Material Girls definitely has a very interesting concept, in this universe, kids as young as 13 are 'tapped' to become fashionistas instead of going to school, they are trend-setters, making sure the people spend their money so that the rich can always become richer.

Full review to come soon.

This and all my other reviews are originally posted on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews