Plus que parfaite

November 17, 2014
British teen Harriet Manners is the official school geek, and she suffers constant torment by her peers. When Harriet’s longtime best friend Nat, an aspiring model, drags her to a fashion event, it’s Harriet, not Nat, who gets “discovered,” driving a wedge between them. As 15-year-old Harriet is whisked to Moscow for photo shoots, fashion shows, and the promise of future fame and fortune, she and her father lie to everyone about their whereabouts, creating all manner of complications. Debut author Smale, a former model herself, gives Harriet an instantly appealing narrative voice, full of discursions and self-deprecation—wisecracking, down-on-her-luck Harriet is easy to warm to. If the ugly duckling turned swan is cliché, both Smale and Harriet know it. “I could go from proverbial caterpillar to butterfly, from tadpole to frog,” thinks Harriet. “From larva to dragonfly (which is actually only a half metamorphosis, but still—I think—worth mentioning).” Other overfamiliar types (including Harriet’s extravagantly flamboyant agent and an ultra-severe fashion maven) deflate the story’s fun somewhat, but most readers will thoroughly enjoy Harriet’s uproarious misadventures. Ages 13–up. Agent: Kate Shaw, Viney Agency.