Material Girls by Elaine Dimopoulos
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book wasn’t exactly what I normally read but I mostly liked it.
The book takes place in a world where kids are “tapped” at the age of 13 for creative jobs in fashion, music, etc. Kids who aren’t tapped are referred to as “adequates” and continue on in school and get jobs such as doctor, journalist, accountant, etc. But it’s the creative jobs that the kids want and they can become devastated if they aren’t tapped.
Marla is a judge on the superior court at Torre-LeBlanc fashion. Although she feels she’s had very good success in predicting trends, she started going voting against he others on the court and was demoted to being a drafter, where she designed fashions in the basement.
When she arrived to the basement, the other drafters had been thinking about striking to make the working conditions more fair for everyone concerned and they figured Marla was the key to them being able to pull the strike off.
She agrees and with the help of a pop star, Ivy Wilde, they attempt their strike. The strike eventually fails, the drafters are monitored for further subversive activity for two months. After their confinement, they are released and they go on to form their own company, Underground Garden. Ivy, who was unable to give up her pop star life, continues on living the fake life her record lable created for her.
I liked the characters in this book. It was interesting to read about the fashion trends that the people of Le Reina were made to wear. The book got a little tedious towards the end and I wasn’t sure if anything was going to be accomplished by the strike and the aftermath. I was happy to see the new company be formed, sad that Ivy sold out to remain in her postion.