Meat Market has been shortlisted for the YA Book Prize, You can hear Juno's interview with one of our students at Glenthorne High School by clicking here. It's the story of Jana, a teen from a council estate in London. When she's at a theme park she's scouted by a model agency and signed almost immediately because she's "got the look." Her friends are freaking out, her boyfriend supportive but somewhat wary and her parents aren't having any of it, although they are very supportive throughout the novel and I was happy to see this family dynamic rather than a one dimensional cardboard set of parents that just scream at the main character whenever they get a chance. Jana herself isn't too sure, it's a big time commitment and she is genuinely worried about her school work. However, she soon gets sucked into a whirlwind of casting agents, shoots and catwalks. She's whisked to New York, Dubai, MIlan, all over the world and seemingly overnight finds herself, as a teen, on billboards all over the world. People are copying her hair style, going into hairdressers and asking for "The Jana". It's all a dream, and it all becomes too much. Jana very quickly sees the dark side of the modelling industry, the pressure not to eat and the loneliness, the pressure to get to the shoot at five am when she's expected to go to parties all night. Drugs, sexism and the idea that she is just a mannequin to be posed however they want and then discarded. Her relationships begin to strain, her mental state becomes frazzled and then something happens that shatters her to her core. Meat Market is impossible to put down, Dawson has created a character in Jana that cuts to the bone, she is real, funny, stubborn and smart just to name a few. You will find yourself cheering her on every step of the way and getting angry at those who deliberately try to keep her down. This could have been a book on any industry in my opinion, Dawson is such an expert writer that truth pours off the page, really loved this one and I can see hundreds of students in my library that will really want to get their hands on it.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Categories
All
Follow These Guys: 100 Scope Notes No Flying No Tights Pretty Books Reading Rants! Sophisticated Dorkiness Teen Librarian |