Almost 5' 4": Confessions of an Unconventional Model [Paperback]

Isobella Jade (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 20, 2007

When she was nineteen she posted her photo on a free Internet modeling website unaware of the risk, passion and self discovery that would follow. From that day, being a college student in New York City wasn't exciting anymore and instead being a model in New York City sounded so much better. Despite her slim chances of getting a modeling agent based on her height, she grabbed her bootstraps and used the Internet to promote herself. Except after months of running in-between her college classes to shoot with amateur photographers in their basements, penthouses, and living rooms it was inevitable that one day her mother would see her naked on the Internet. After this embarrassment she had no other choice but to change her name to Isobella. With her new name, now giving up before she made something of her self wasn't an option. Her story, first typed at the Apple Store on Prince Street in SoHo New York City, will inspire you to try any dream you have had.

Product Details

• Paperback: 278 pages
• Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (June 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1419668463
• ISBN-13: 978-1419668463
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,499,318 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A timely look at The Great American Dream, July 10, 2007

By 

R. Peterson "Editor" (NYC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Almost 5' 4": Confessions of an Unconventional Model (Paperback)

There are so many relevent issues in this freshman memoir: surviving as a single woman living a challenging dream in post 9/11 New York; the real-and-gritty look at an overly romanticized industry; the internal emotions of one person's struggle to make it.

But particularly poignant right now is Jade's recollections of all the questionable photoshoots she chooses to do in order to pursue her dream, and her ability to come to terms with her decisions. In a world where American Idols (Antonella), Miss New Jerseys and pop stars are caught either deliberately or accidentally with their pants down, this is a captivating look at a young woman's struggle to make it in the entertainment world.

Perhaps readers will come to understand and even sympathize with today's young celebrities who get caught in compromising situations. 40 years ago, what happened on the casting couch stayed on the casting couch (ewww). Today that same event is broadcast on YouTube.

4.0 out of 5 stars YEAH!, July 14, 2009

By 

Tina "Tina" (Montreal, Quebec) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Almost 5' 4": Confessions of an Unconventional Model (Paperback)

I love it when something like this happens to me - I hear about a great new book, I read it and I end up LOVING it and discovering a new voice at the same time - this book fits the bill perfectly. What first attracted the book to me is that I am 5 feet 4 and thought the title was clever, the storyline of a "petite" model making it in the modelling world where taller is better is also a subject matter that I found fascinating (although I have never had a desire to model). Usually, I read books about weight challenged women as opposed to height challenged (although I have never thought that 5 feet 4 was a bad thing - although in the modelling world it seems to be).

Isobella Jade is truly unconventional and as I started reading this book, my affection AND admiration for her grew in leaps and bounds - this girl was absolutely determined to make in the business and would stop at nothing to make her dream come true.

In Almost 5' 4", Jade candidly and touchingly tells us her story of how following her dream brought her so much more than just the joy of modelling. It seems to me that Jade, walking her path to her dream, discovered so much more about herself, about how much she can adapt, about how strong she is, about how determined she is and about how doing what your heart tells you to is not necessarily a bad thing.

To be sure, there are some difficult passages to read in this book and I don't know (actually I do know that I would not have the strength of will that she has) to follow my dream to this point- its hard to read about Jade living in the street with $23.00 to her name! on some level, this book can be scary, it brought out in me some of my deep fears and insecurity - of not having a roof over your head or of not having enough to eat, but somehow even though Jade is going through this, she never sees the completely dark side of her situation and manages to make it work!

This book is relatively short and it was a fast and easy read for me. Although I enjoyed reading the parts about the modelling business, what stuck out for me here is the heart and strength of Isobella Jade. I loved this book.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read, October 11, 2007

By 

Shauna Mondello (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Almost 5' 4": Confessions of an Unconventional Model (Paperback)

Isobella gives a new spin on the word model and what it means to be one. This is fast, honest and sexy read.