Material Girls

by Elaine Dimopoulos

[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.