Customer Reviews

A Girl Like Moi: The Fashion-Forward Adventures of Imogene

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Sixteen-year-old Imogene is not your typical, run-of-the-mill, Greenwich, Connecticut prep school student. For one, while she comes from old money, she is currently broke, due to her mothers heinous idea to marry a "starving" artist against her father's wishes, basically cutting her out of the will; and two, she's being forced to sign up for a summer internship through her school, while the rest of her classmates gallivant all over Paris and the Cayman Islands for the summer. Imogene absolutely knows that this will be the worst three months of her life. But when her best friend, and resident wannabe fashion designer, Evie, spots a posting for an internship at HAUTELAW - a fashion forecasting agency in New York City - Imogene knows that she has found her calling. As the writer of the "Daily Obsession," Imogene is confident that she knows what's on the up and up in the fashion world, and knows that this internship was created specifically for her in mind. So when she lands the job of her dreams, she just knows that her life is changing - for the better. After all, the Editor, Spring Sommer, truly loves her ideas, and the fact that she gets to be parent free for the summer, living in a fab apartment with her "girlena" Evie, and dividing her time between lunching at the posh Serendipity, and snagging tickets to the Barney's warehouse sale, Imogene feels as if she's in heaven. Throw in the fact that she's met the most adorable Italian stallion named Paolo, and Imogene's summer is cut out for her. But when she encounters Brooke, the all-evil senior intern she'll be working alongside, Imogene's fears leave her shaking in her Christian Louboutin heels. Suddenly, this paid internship looks like it may leave a deeper impression on the fashion-obsessed diva - one that makes her question whether this is the path she wants to take in life, or if she'd rather be labeled a "poor little rich girl."

Lisa Barham is the new queen of the teen fashion scene. From page one, Barham illustrated Imogene as a likable new ingénue, who's upbeat, bubbly personality sets the pace for an adventure of a lifetime. Imogene is a delightful character, whose oft-times clueless personality is charming, while her many rants and raves regarding the fashion world, her love life, and her mounting AmEx bills leave the reader riveted. Her many hare-brained, yet hilarious schemes are irresistible; while the interactions she partakes in with her diet-obsessed, sugar rush loving, restaurant heiress pal Evie, could not be more true-to-life and relatable. Evie is a wacky, yet delightful secondary character, whose role in Imogene's crazy mix-ups, and outrageous fashion crises make her seem like the best friend of the reader, as well as the main character; while the many other personalities found within the pages of A GIRL LIKE MOI - such as the struggling up-and-coming model, Caprice, and the astrology-loving, spend-a-holic, Cinnamon - truly tie the tale up, and give it that special je ne sais quoi. Barham has created THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA for the teen-set. This season's must-have accessory!

Erika Sorocco

I'm horrible at writing summaries, so I'll tell you what I like about this book. It's awesome for girls who love fashion, like moi. =] I would recommend this book for ages 10-13. Imogene is a really cool character and I love the idea of an internship at a fashion magazine! (Read the book and you'll find out what I'm talking about!)

This is a wonderful book and I'm not even halfway done with it! I am anxiously awaiting the sequel that comes out in June!

Since I usually read more intellectual books and pride myself on not reading chick lit, I took this book off the shelf for three reasons: It was the only non-children's book there; It was nice and long, for chick lit standards; and its cover was appealing (I know, I know, don't judge a book...).

It started out just as I expected it to be: Imogene is a girl with much more money than a typical teen - who still thinks she's totally broke. It was annoying and I found myself gasping at the stupidity and in anger at inflicting the book on myself. But after the first fifty pages (shock! - it took longer than a day to read), things started looking up and the book became the first interesting piece of chick lit writing I have ever laid my hands on. While Imogene's advice to her sixteen-year-old peers at the beginning is to lick their noses to prevent their chins sagging when they hit eighteen, the end of the story becomes quite intelligent and Imogene's narrating voice is intelligent, funny and plain mature. It happens so naturally - I haven't found the turning point yet, but I wish all readers a lot of fun trying!

Imogene, teenaged fashionista on a budget, journalist, and big dreamer, is devastated when her astronomical credit card bill causes her parents to cancel her trip to Paris and sign her up for a summer internship program until she can pay back all of her debt. Soon, though, things for the resourceful, quick-thinking girl from Greenwich, Connecticut, are looking up. Rather than spending countless hours going crazy at a dreary public library internship, Imogene will be staying with her best friend, Evie, in a fabulous apartment in New York and working to pay back her credit card at her dream job--she'll be an intern at a hot fashion magazine! She's friends with a supermodel. There's even a cute Italian guy, the mysterious Paolo, to complete the picture of perfection. What more could a girl want?

Well, for one thing, Imogene would enjoy her job more if she wasn't the junior intern to evil Brooke's senior. Imogene and Brooke got off to a bad start, sure, but she never could have imagined the depths of her jealous coworker's capacity for evil! And what's worse, Paolo's got Imogene's cell phone--and when she calls, girls answer! She can't even find Paolo, and she's not sure if she's madly in love with him or furious with him. Can Imogene find her way past all of the obstacles in her way and have the summer of her dreams after all?

A GIRL LIKE MOI is a fabulously funny story, if a tad predictable. The characters are all awesome, and the writing is brilliant. I really love Imogene's voice! I'll be thrilled to read more from Lisa Barham whatever she writes, but I'd be absolutely ecstatic to see a sequel to this awesome book! Despite my dislike for books with pictures, the illustrations in this book are just as good as the story itself, and not at all distracting from the wonderful words that they're printed next to. This book, as a whole, is magnificent, and would, I'm sure, be even more marvelous for anyone interested in fashion!

Reviewed by: Jocelyn Pearce

Just looking at the cover, what are you thinking? I bet you're thinking that this is another story about rich girl likes rich boy, rich boy likes rich girl, bla bla bla. But actually, this story tells a very interesting perspective on the fashion world; through the eyes of a middle-upper class teenager going through her first internship with a magazine. She learns many interesting things along the way, such as; material things aren't what matter in any relationship; friends, girlfriend/boyfriend, peers, colleagues, etc. It's what's inside that really matters. Imogene is your typical ivy-league highschooler going to school on the east coast. She is totally obsessed with the latest Prada bag or the hottest Coach tennis shoes. What she doesn't realize is her costly obsession is hurting not only her credit card bill; but her relationship with her mother and the rest of her family. But once she signs up for an internship at the best fashion magazine there is, her life takes a huge change; in good ways and in bad ways. She learns the true meaning of friendship, and how a good relationship can go a long way.
For all you Fashionistas, shop-a-holics, and I-hate-shopping shoppers; this is the book for you!!!!!! Have fun with it!!

I used to be really into the young, teenage-girl type chick lit. (Gossip Girl, It Girl, etc.). I read this about a year ago. It is a really cute book. The story is interesting and fun. It was a very quick read; I read this and the sequel in a couple of days. I would suggest this to young girls, maybe 14-20. :)

Imogene and her best friend, Evie, are planning to go to Paris for the summer. In A Girl Like Moi by Lisa Barham, Imogene faces credit card trouble because all she does it use it and not think about paying the bill. She ignores all the calls she gets from Miss Stevens, and finally the bill is faxed to her parents. Does she still get to go to Paris? She has to work a summer job. When she faces problems with Brooke, the girl she has to report to, things heated up. What will she do, and who will lose their job?

A Girl Like Moi is a very good book. It was well detailed. However, throughout the book a character's name was flipped back and forth between two different things. I would recommend this book to all teenagers.

Don't be fooled by the cover! This book and it's sister book are way too mature for kids under 17 or 18! Sex is implied and a play on the words 'premature ejactulation' is used as a title for one of the chapters. A shame the author ruined what could have been a great book for girls interested in fashion!

J. Waldrop

This is book a book that really is targeted toward the teen crowd. I thought I'd try it because some teen books actually grab my attention like chick lit does. I was a little disappointed by how quickly I lost interest in this book. It started out really great then went downhill quickly.