This week has been a tangled mess. I’ve not finished a book since I read Margo Rabb. Indeed, I’ve been reading no fewer than three — no, four — books at once. Thing is, they’re all too smart or too emotional or too literary, and right now I’m too frazzled to read anything that requires my undivided attention. What I really needed was bubble bath reading. What I really needed was something pink and shiny.
And this weekend I stumbled upon Rachel Maude’s Poseur. And it’s exactly what I needed. Better yet, her next book in the series is due out in October. Which means you have time to catch up.
Four girls who could not be more unalike end up in the same class at the prestigious Winston Prep in L.A. Worse still, it’s a class they each proposed, but unfortunately it’s nothing like any of their ideas. Melissa wants a class that is all about her, while Charlotte proposes a “sewing circle.” Petra is anti-fashion in a sort of vegan/PETA way, and Janie … well, Janie just wants to design things that are totally rock and roll.
I tend to stay away from series stuff if I can. Not because it isn’t any good, but because it’s hard for everyone to follow and because I have a weird 1980s knee-jerk response to any series. It’s like Sweet Valley High and The Babysitter’s Club scarred me for life. If you don’t know what these books are, that’s good. Stay that way, my friend.
But when it comes to Rachel’s work, it’s hilarious, insightful and evil simultaneously. This is a good thing. Poseur is pretty much pure chick lit gold: Catty high school girls meet Project Runway. Only, I met Rachel once, and she seems like this shy sweet young thing who hasn’t a cruel bone in her body. Then again, Lauren Myracle also seems incredibly sweet, and her newest book — which I’ll tell you all about in a week — is about scary evil nun ghosts. So people can surprise you.
Anyway, Rachel’s next book, The Good, the Fab and the Ugly
PS. Is it just me, or are the gals on the cover dressed like characters from Heathers? I swear the book is nothing like this. The girls in Rachel’s world at least have some sort of taste. That isn’t trapped in a very bad time warp.
That cover gives me nightmares.
So it’s about 4 girls but there are 3 on the cover? Oh that bothers me!!
Okay, yes, so it’s a bad cover. But — and I made the mistake of reading someone else’s review last night, after I wrote my own — it really is an enjoyable book, and I’m looking forward to reading the second. While some books about catty high school girls don’t have any characters with whom you can relate, or like, this one boasts at least three genuinely likable characters. (I’m not yet sold on the fourth.)
One day I’m going to write a diatribe in defense of “trashy” novels, which are the best medicine when you’ve had a bad day.
Thanks to this post I had a dream last night that I went to the library and there were many, many copies of this book. So thank you, even though I checked the library database right now and the book is is not there.