I won this book on a giveaway.

This book has an important message and was an entertaining read. However, I think Ivy Wilde's ending could have been better (she deserved it) and her character could have been more developed. Material Girls doesn't focus as much on the characters but on the ecological message of recycling.
It was a pleasant read nonetheless. ( )

Full review to come! ( )

Project Runway meets Nashville meets intelligent YA dystopia in this brand new book by my writing buddy Elaine which debuts this May. Told from two points of view, Material Girls tells the story of Marla Klein and Ivy Wilde, two girls living in a society where fashion and fame are everything and teens call all the shots. But when Marla is fired from her cushy job as a fashion judge and pop star Ivy Wilde begins to teeter in the charts, their lives unravel slowly and intertwine in unexpected ways. They rise together to fight the status quo and end up learning who’s really in charge of their whole world—and it isn’t who they thought.

Elaine’s world building is lush and realistic, and I am in awe of her fashion descriptions. Kirkus reviews called it “Sly, subversive fun,” and I think that’s a spot on description as the novel really raises questions about the value of art in our own society and about, yes, who’s really calling the shots.

Congratulations on a wonderful book, Elaine!

Disclaimer: This review is based on a free ARC received directly from the author. ( )

I received an ARC from NetGalley.

This was a good book. The society in this book is well constructed and believable. It is easy to see our current culture evolving into this. Youth obsessed and trend obsessed. It is disturbing that people's lives peak when they are teens, and after that they become obsolete. I enjoyed reading about Marla's life with the fashion house, and how her perspective changes over time. The expiration of trends and the trend checker were a nice touch. ( )

In a dystopian future, teens work in highly competitive jobs as trendsetters, dictating what's in and what's out. When a few disenfranchised teens question the system, is revolution imminent?

I liked this book, though there were maybe a few problems with the internal logic of the story. Still, if you enjoy fashion and dystopias, this is a book you should certainly take a look at. ( )