The excerpted scene portrays wannabe models competing in a huge cat walk-off for a coveted spot in the Intoxibellas’, which are what super models are called in Modelland training academy. With names like “Tookie,” the main character, and secondary characters like “Desperada,” “Myrracle,” “Zarpressa” and “Theophilus Lovelaces,” this book might be funnier than the episodes of “America’s Next Top Model.”
Check out a snippet from the book:
“There was one rule and one rule only: a girl must be walking in order to be chosen.
Other than that, there was no prearranged runway on which the girls could walk, so everyone created invisible ones wherever they were standing. Violence was not encouraged nor was it condemned, and some girls’ parents insisted on adding martial arts training to their walking lessons in preparation for the big day. T-DOD Square was an every-man-for-himself or, more precisely, an every-girl-for-herself event.
Scores of girls marched down their own stretches of the square, paused, posed for the cameras (real and imaginary), and then turned around. Trains of walking girls intersected with others. One area behind Tookie was so crammed with street vendors, it bottlenecked into a slow, shuffling line. Some walkers had only enough space to take a few steps before they had to stop and turn. Tookie’s heart went out to a young girl in a ruffled pink dress who seemed way below the unofficial thirteen-year-old age requirement. She marched in place as if she were on a drill team.
Riiiip. A girl stepped on the train of a walker a few feet from Tookie and tore the fabric right off the dress. Both girls fell forward into a heap. The walkers behind them stepped over their bodies and continued.”
Modelland seems to be the perfect read to finish up your summer reading list, and with all the firsthand experience Banks has gained in the fsahion industry, we aren’t a bit surprised that she was able to effortlessly create a story where the plot actually thickens. For an overview and sample chapter reading, head over to the Barnes & Noble website. –mckenzie harris
