Catwalk [Paperback]

Deborah Gregory (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up | Series: Catwalk

IN Catwalk, DEBORAH GREGORY creates a new YA series that takes her famously upbeat urban voice and combines it with the appeal of Project Runway and America’s Next Top Model. Catwalk follows Pashmina, Felinez, Angora, and Aphro, four best friends at Manhattan’s Fashion International High School who are about to enter the contest of their lives. Each year, students split up into Fashion Houses and compete to design, produce, and show fully original fashion lines. The winner gets a scholarship, a professional show, and a real shot at a career in fashion. Bouncy, smart, and nearly irresistible, Catwalk is a fierce introduction to a fashion world where fabulosity trumps waist size, and there truly is room for everyone.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...A high energy journey through the world of fashion high school as seen through the sparkling eyes of several feisty fashionistas...Young readers will dive into Gregory's vibrant mix of teenage realixm, glamour and fantasy, especially since the author cleverly incorporates a blog in the story line, giving us a deeper perspective as each character copes with such teen issues as self-esteem and social status." -- Essence (July 2008)

About the Author

Writer, performer, and designer DEBORAH GREGORY is the award-winning author of the Cheetah Girls series. She has also been a contributing writer for Essence Magazine since 1992, winning a number of awards from the National Association of Black Journalists. Deborah Gregory earned an AAS from the Fashion Institute of Technology. She lives in New York City with her pooch, Cappuccino.


From the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 290 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (June 24, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385734573
• ISBN-13: 978-0385734578
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.7 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,775,204 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Deborah Gregory is the author of the Catwalk trilogy, the second of which Catwalk: Strike A Pose is currently purring. The entire Catwalk trilogy(Laurel-Leaf imprint, division of Random House) will be published on September 13th 2011) in a special OMNI edition ($9.99). The Catwalk trilogy contains three novels--Catwalk, Catwak: Strike A Pose and Catwalk: Rip the Runway. Gregory is also the author creator producer of the wildly popular franchise, The Cheetah Girls, which consists of 26 books, three Disney Channel original movies, three nationwide 88-city concert tours, extensive spotty merchandise and ferocious fans around the globe. The inspiration for the CATWALK book series comes from Gregory's background as a graduate of Fashion Institute of Technology and a former runway model in Europe as well as a plus-size designer and boutique owner (Toto in New York...Fun In Larger Sizes which was located on West Broadway in Soho). Actually, the larger than life leopard clad character of Galleria's Mom, Dorothea Garibaldi (DG) in The Cheetah Girls is Gregory herself as is her pooch Cappuccino who plays the Cheetah Girls mascot, Toto (Toto who slept in the store window in his cheetah bed was the original inspiration and may he RIP). Gregory was raised in the foster care system under ACS in New York City and aged out of the system at 18. Thus, the inspiration for the adult novel she is currently writing about a girl who ages out of the foster care system in the Bronx and is trapped in New York's underworld until she finds a way to reinvent herself and find redemption. Gregory lived in Paris, Firenze and Milan as a runway model. She currently lives in Manhattan with her pooch Cappuccino, her second adorable, feisty bichon frise pooch. Visit the author at: www.cheetahrama.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, June 28, 2008

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Catwalk (Paperback)

As a student at Fashion International High School, Pashmina has her sights set high.

She's entered a competition to create her own fashion line, and she's got multitudes of ideas. Along with her three best friends, they'll compete for a chance at a fabulous career, a scholarship, and their own show.

CATWALK is a lively and energetic novel that is tons of fun. Though it is endlessly engaging, the constant use of the girls' personal jargon does grate on the nerves rather than come off as fun and whimsical like THE CONFESSIONS OF GEORGIA NICOLSON series. However, if readers can get past that, they're in for a fun and wild adventure through the fashion world, where the only size that matters is the size of your style.

This is a wonderful read for those girls who've outgrown The Cheetah Girls.

Reviewed by: The Compulsive Reader

5.0 out of 5 stars Furrbulous Fashionistas, August 27, 2008

By 

Melissa Glim (Silver Spring, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Catwalk (Paperback)

Catwalk is fabulous! I bought this for my niece Annie and we read it at the same time -- I loved the way the girls follow their dreams and overcome their obstacles and she loved the fantastic fashionista scene at Pashmina's school and the wild but relatable characters! It's a perfect next step for Cheetah Girls fans worldwide. A great book!

5.0 out of 5 stars I couldn't put Catwalk down!, August 27, 2008

By 

Giavanna Piccirilli "Avid Reader" (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Catwalk (Paperback)

I could not put this book down! It is so well written. Deborah did an awesome job with the dialouge and such! =D I cannot wait for the sequel!