The Tokyo Cover Girls by Jackie Amsden Genre: YA Contemporary Publication date: April 28, 2016 Format: I received a copy of the book to review as part of a blog tour organized by YA Reads. You can get a copy of the book from Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Tokyo-Cover-Girls-Jackie-Amsden-ebook/dp/B01EZ8VOH0/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1466024516&sr=1-1&keywords=tokyo+cover+girls#nav-subnav Summary: New York has Jacobs, Paris has Chanel, Milan has Versace and Tokyo has . . . Hello Kitty toilet plungers? With its cute-obsessed catalogue and magazine market, anyone who is anyone knows that modeling in Japan means being at the bottom of the fashion industry. Blake, Jess, and Hailey are doing their best to survive yet another casting where pigtails and toddler-impressions are a must when they stumble upon the opportunity of a lifetime. The prestigious Satsujin company has selected them to compete for a campaign that will transform the winner from commercial nobody to haute couture superstar faster than you can say Vogue Italia. Of course, nothing is ever what it seems in the fashion world. Just ask all those dead girls . . My Thoughts: Ok this book seriously has a real creepy vibe. It isn't the best book I've read but it could have been a lot worse. Let focus on the positives shall we? The writing itself is very well done and all the transitions between the 3 girls were done very well. Another thing that was done well was how the ending was set up for a second installment if the author writes one (which I really hope she does to answer all the questions that many readers probably still have by the end of the first book. If the author does write another book in this series, I probably will read it just to find out what happens to the girls. I think that it’s super cool that the author was a model as well so I’m pretty sure that some of the events that happened in the book were reflections of her own experiences. With that, the book was a really interesting read with some insight to the japanese modelling culture. But with that said, I had quite a few problems with it. The main one was the fact that the summary didn’t accurately portray the book. When I read the summary, it seemed like Another thing I have a problem with is that the boom changes between the perspective of the 3 girls without any indication of the change. It also started off with the 3rd person speaking but then changed to first person. For me, that was just an unnatural transition. Even with just the name of the girl who the chapter is talking about in the chapter title would have made a huge difference. But then again, I read the book on my kindle so there could have been something wrong with the programming. Also all the fuss about Annika was a little more creepy. I get how it plays into the story but I think it really could’ve been toned down a little in the creepy factor. The description of the book definitely doesn't give an accurate description of the book. It makes the book sound like a lot more fun and light hearted than mysterious. Now I have no experience in the modeling industry but personally I feel like the style of the book is more suited to a memoir instead of being a novel. The book seems to exaggerate the hardships of being a model but then again, that's just my opinion. Also another suggestion I have that would make a huge difference is have just like a short chapter highlighting the main information about modelling in Tokyo that the readers may not know. I really have problems with entire process of the competition. A brand that doesn't exist is holding a competition and the modeling agency the girls are signed up with have an incredibly detailed contract that seems to exist just to keep the girls from leaving the competition. The entire idea is incredibly messed up and made me have a really weird feeling in my gut. I was really contemplating DNF-ing the book but since I’m reviewing it for a blog tour While reading it, I had this feeling that someone was looking over my shoulder, and following me everywhere I was going. Literally any noise would make me jump a couple feet in the air. So if that was the intention of the book, they totally nailed it. I give the book a 6/10 (3/5 stars). I feel like the book itself can be a lot better but it isn't the worst. I recommend it to people who actually understand the modeling industry and like to read books about mystery, people going missing, murder, blackmail, etc… I really do have mixed emotions of the book. There are aspects that I like and certain aspects that I cannot stand. So what did y’all think about the review? I say y’all should go over to Amazon and get the book because it’s actually free with Kindle Unlimited! I’m not sure how long it’ll be with Kindle Unlimited so go over and read it now before it’s too late. Let me know of your thoughts! As always, don’t forget to go over and follow me on the socials, Twitter @BrookeEvans2001 and Instagram @thecozylittlebooknook. I will be back tomorrow with a Classic Fridays post and if you want to join us, go over to this page: Classic Fridays and all the information you will need is on there. ~Brooke
2 Comments
9/18/2016 02:10:55 pm
Thanks for the review Brooke. I really appreciate your feedback on the blurb and may revise it a bit to make sure it more accurately reflects the book's tone. Sorry for creeping you out, though I have to admit I also think I'm pretty stoked it had such an impact on.
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About me!Brooke's a high schooler who loves to read all sorts of books. She's happy to be able to share all the books she's reading with all of y'all. Archives
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