Review: Poseur by Rachel Maude

Poseur by Rachel Maude


My rating: 4.25/5.0

A crazy fashion-obsessed young adult novel that has meaning and is fun to read. I loved Poseur.

Within the first few pages I wasn't sure I was going to like it, but as it went along I was sucked right in. Petra, Janie, Melissa and Charlotte couldn't be more different. That is established in the beginning. They all come from different backgrounds and are part of four different cliques at their high school. When a group study program lands them together to launch their own fashion label, things begin to go crazy.

The characters in this are very interesting. They continue to develop through the book through interaction with each other and with others. I enjoyed getting to know each of them, at times I didn't like them and at other times they began to redeem themselves. Through getting to know each other they begin to all change for the better without losing themselves.

The antics can be zany but the voice of each character comes through clear and their is a lesson to be learned in the end. I think this is a wonderful book - full of the fun of young adult books, but with a built-in lesson that doesn't bang kids over the head - it's just there to be taken however you want to take it. I look forward to reading the next book in the series and seeing more of Petra, Janie, Melissa and Charlotte.  

I also loved the fashion sketches at the end of the book - I wish I had it to keep and try out some of the patterns, but I had to return it to the library.


About the Book:

po•seur (noun): a person who pretends to be what he or she is not.

Charlotte Beverwil, Janie Farrish, Melissa Moon, and Petra Greene attend exclusive Winston Prep in the Hollywood Hills. And that's all they have in common. But hang out together? They'd rather be hanged. Borrow one another's clothes? They'd sooner borrow a zit. So when these four sophomores are forced into a class to create their own fashion label, they Clash with a capital C. Janie thinks Melissa and Charlotte are Beverly Hills brats. They dismiss Janie as a Valley rat in sheep's clothing. And Petra, well . . . Petra couldn't care less. Can a cool coquette, a shy punk, a hippie goddess, and a ghettoglam egomaniac make beautiful couture together? At Winston Prep, survival of the fittest comes down to who fits in-and what fits.

Includes Do-It-Yourself instructions by NYC fashion label Compai and fashion sketches throughout by the author.