Teenreads.com -- POSEUR by Rachel Maude

POSEUR
Rachel Maude
Poppy/Little, Brown for Young Readers
Fiction
ISBN: 9780316065832
304 pages

Janie Farrish, scholarship student at LA’s exclusive Winston Prep, lives for vintage clothing sales and sketching. Charlotte Beverwil, Francophile, thinks that with her love of lace and ruffles she must have been born a century too late. Everyone at school is sure that hippie Petra Greene, who routinely shows up for school in organic cotton and hemp clothing, has had plastic surgery. And egomaniac Melissa Moon wants to turn herself into her own brand.

All four turn in suggestions for independent study classes at Winston Prep, and while individually their proposals weren’t great, the independent studies counselor saw potential in their combined abilities. All of them wanted a class that had something to do with fashion and marketing, so the lamely-named Trend Set class was born. Together, Janie, Charlotte, Petra and Melissa have the perfect amount of talent, knowledge and creativity to launch a successful fashion line.

What’s the problem?

They hate each other.

Despite their mutual interest in fashion, the four girls can’t agree on anything about the fashion line that will be the defining project of their independent study. Melissa wants to plan the launch party before they even have clothes. Charlotte thinks that $200 is fine to spend on materials for an outfit, but Jamie doesn’t plan to spend more than $20 on hers. As for Petra, she doesn’t really care what the outfits cost as long as they’re made from natural fibers and don’t employ slave labor.

If trying to deal with each other isn’t enough, Charlotte is falling for Janie’s twin brother, Janie is falling for Charlotte’s older brother, and Petra and Melissa are dealing with family problems. Will they be able to successfully launch their clothing line, or will the whole thing come unraveled?

The publisher of the Clique, Gossip Girl and A-List series takes us to trendy LA, where what you wear is just as important to your social standing as where you sit in the cafeteria. No matter who you are or what you wear, there’s a style at Winston Prep for you. Just know that Banana Republic isn’t going to earn you a high rung on the social ladder and clashing is the ultimate sin. Fashion and style aren’t necessarily the same thing, but you’ll never survive at Winston Prep without either one of them. It doesn’t matter if you live in flip-flops or can’t thread a needle. You’ll want to know if the four girls’ line will be in or out.

Don’t forget to check out the very end of POSEUR, where you can get patterns for some of Jamie, Charlotte, Melissa and Petra’s favorite items of clothing.

--- Reviewed by Carlie Webber

Click here now to buy this book from Amazon.com.