Guest Review: Growing Up Beautiful – Lori Jones

In the summer of 1986, three American models are shipped off to Italy to fill their portfolios with tearsheets. Thrust into a world of private parties, unlimited drugs and predatory men, these young women soon find themselves in situations that have nothing to do with photographs.

Star’s dream of financial security takes an unexpected turn after a she gets into a fight with her new agent. She quickly learns it takes more than beauty to survive in a world already crowded with pretty faces.

Seeking a reprieve from the demands of her privileged upbringing and Ivy League education, Joanne sneaks off to Europe without her parents consent. She meets a handsome photographer whose mere presence reveals a desperate longing in her heart she didn’t know existed. Time is not on her side, as a decision to honor family obligations or take a chance on love must be made.

Casey is a naive seventeen year old who is tired of hearing her mother’s constant warnings about life. She is ready for adventure, but not prepared for the potential dangers that can be part of the journey.

Together, these three learn the funny, unexpected and sometimes ugly truth about growing up beautiful.

Series:
Release Date:  November 2011
Publisher:  Lori Jones
Source:  Provided by Author
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Reviewer’s Thoughts:

Are you a fan of America’s Next Top Model and trashy 80’s mini-series?  This is your book, it centers on three young girls in Milan for the summer to try to make it in the modeling business.  Their stories intersect only to the point that they are all from America and room together in a low budget hotel, an arrangement made by their modeling agency.  The focus is not their friendship but each girl’s experience.  Because there are three leads the author is able to dramatize a different aspect of the modeling world.

I meant it when I said this book reminds me of a trashy 80’s mini-series ( in a good way), think of it as a junior version of Lace.  The author plays to the more stereotyped pitfalls of modeling: the agent that loses your booking (accidentally on purpose), the sleazy owner who “sells” his models to rich patrons and photographers, and the girl who falls for the money and power.  This book is filled with juicy plot twists all packed into a six week summer vacation.  What about the characters? They are more caricatures than well drawn characters and that works perfectly against the backdrop of scheming models and lecherous photographers.  Born Beautiful is a certified guilty pleasure.