Harriet Manners knows a lot of things.
She knows that a cat has 32 muscles in each ear, a "jiffy" lasts 1/100th of a second, and the average person laughs 15 times per day. What she isn't quite so sure about is why nobody at school seems to like her very much. So when she's spotted by a top model agent, Harriet grabs the chance to reinvent herself. Even if it means stealing her Best Friend's dream, incurring the wrath of her arch enemy Alexa, and repeatedly humiliating herself in front of the impossibly handsome supermodel Nick. Even if it means lying to the people she loves.
As Harriet veers from one couture disaster to the next with the help of her overly enthusiastic father and her uber-geeky stalker, Toby, she begins to realise that the world of fashion doesn't seem to like her any more than the real world did.
And as her old life starts to fall apart, the question is: will Harriet be able to transform herself before she ruins everything?
She knows that a cat has 32 muscles in each ear, a "jiffy" lasts 1/100th of a second, and the average person laughs 15 times per day. What she isn't quite so sure about is why nobody at school seems to like her very much. So when she's spotted by a top model agent, Harriet grabs the chance to reinvent herself. Even if it means stealing her Best Friend's dream, incurring the wrath of her arch enemy Alexa, and repeatedly humiliating herself in front of the impossibly handsome supermodel Nick. Even if it means lying to the people she loves.
As Harriet veers from one couture disaster to the next with the help of her overly enthusiastic father and her uber-geeky stalker, Toby, she begins to realise that the world of fashion doesn't seem to like her any more than the real world did.
And as her old life starts to fall apart, the question is: will Harriet be able to transform herself before she ruins everything?
My Rating: 7/10
I had seen these books around bookshops for a while but the covers made it feel too juvenile for me to buy but when I came across the first two books in the bargain section in Big W I couldn't pass them up.
When I first started reading this book I was pulled in by Harriet's witty and quirky style of describing the things around her. I loved that she was portrayed as a typical 15 year old girl and not some unrealistically mature one that is common in YA novels.
The plot of a geek girl being made over into a model seems rather farfetched but when reading the book, it was told in such a way with such a variety of very genuine characters that the plot seemed rather realistic. This was aided by the fact that from what I have heard, the plot stems from real experiences of the author.
All the side characters had so much personality and depth to them and they were all so fantastically written. Especially Harriet's flamboyant agent and the fashion designer whose name I kept misreading throughout as Yoko Ono.
I loved that so many characters in this book broke stereotypes in YA novels such as Harriet's parents. Her father was an immature, lovable moron whilst her step-mother was an overbearing yet responsible and genuine mother to Harriet.
Harriet also has a stalker which isn't as dark as it seems especially as this book takes the humerous side to this.
Overall, this was a very surprisingly decent read however I think the cover design lets it down a little.
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