Tookie, according to the urban dictionary is an adjective used to describe a) a shotgun killing, in particular those of notorious Crips Gang founder, Stanley 'Tookie' Williams, and b) a female sex organ.
After having read this book, I think I can safely say that Ms. Banks is not alluding to Stanley Williams, his innocence or guilt or gangsta culture in general as for the female sex organ, hmm, I'm still not entirely sure.
Tookie de la Creme, the heroine of Modelland, wants to be a model, she also wants friends, a boyfriend and other stuff. In particular she wants to be an Intoxibella, think super models + the kind of power over life and death that Kim Jon Il has over the North Korean people. Somehow her life's goal is meant to be not only normal, but admirable.
Now if you thought Modelland was just a book, think again, it has it's own language, watch out J.R.R. Tolkien, you thought you were so clever putting your years of linguistics training to use creating a language of the elves, Modelland's vocab is totally Sm-ize (that's a term for a ridiculously coveted object of power). Here, I will use it in a sentence, 'my new headband is Sm-ize.'
One big barrier for Tookie's goal to be a model; she's ugly and a Forgetta-Girl (another prime example of this book's kickin' made up language!). The story abounds with descriptions of her freakishly ugly appearance, giant feet, a punch bowl sized head, frizzy hair, I could go on and on but I won't.
Oh, also, no one can see her. Seriously folks, Tookie tumbles down a flight of stairs, is so badly injured that she lies on the ground for hours and crowds of people walk around her, parting like waves around a rock and she is completely invisible (cue the spooky music). She also has a preternatural ability to heal herself, falling down a flight of stairs and being so injured that you can't move for hours, well, at the very least she had a spinal cord injury and any normal person would need a doctor, phys therapy, cervical collar, etc.
When Tookie isn't being ignored, pushed down stairs and cruelly mocked by her sister Myrracle(who can see her, but only to sing weird put downs about her) she visits her bff, Lizzie, who lives in a tree on a dirty mattress.
Yes, I did say Lizzie lives in a tree. Not a tree like the Bernstain Bears, this is for reals, chickies, sap, leaves, bark and bird poop!
Enough with all the world building, now onto the action-y stuff, the whole world goes crazypants for a giant modelling contest, if you think it can't be cutthroat and dangerous, then this little snippet will rock your brain, 'Kenya use the Gyaku Zuki move!' her mother screamed. "Reverse-punch the hairy hag! But watch your hair, sweetie!"
Stuff is going down and you as the reader are in for a roller coaster of goodies, the likes of which haven't been seen since, well, darn, I'm drawing a blank, this book has that effect on me, my mind has been botoxed into wrinkle free paralysis.
"Dos: the meek and misguided muckety-muck flunkies
Will ride senso unico through farewell tollbooths." Say what?
"Tres: Other castaways'll opt for Mannecan't (Mancat?) memoirs,
Perhaps better to pitiful pre-Modelland pursuits."
and then,
"Cinco: Prime few'll emerge 7Seven 'toxibellas.
For this reward, pathetics would sell their eyetooths." Double WHAT? No, the 7Seven is not a typo.
Is this a test? An engram? A riddle or a haiku gone terribly wrong? Wellll, I'm still not sure. I thought I'd better go back and read them again, but I had a sudden spike of pain in my head that just wouldn't allow me to read the chapter a second time, sorry.
I haven't even gotten to the romance, it sizzles and pops with SM-ize'ing sensuality, "His thumb touched both of her lips, then entered her mouth just a bit. He removed the last traces of chipped wood, but his thumb lingered between her lips and made slight contact with her tongue. Tookie wanted to bite down hard on his hand to teach him a lesson to not touch her in such a way . . ." I cut out the last bits because it is seriously too hot to type here.
Finally I made it to chapter 37 and the Man-Attack and made a startling discovery, this book is like the Hunger Games! Well, except that the contestants have to battle it out in make-up and skanky lingerie, the story doesn't make sense and the characters insult each other and spend too much time changing their clothes.
After a lot of improbable fighting and silly emoting, the book got down to some real dramatic drama stuff, "It's a LeGizzard! They killed my father! And now one's come for me!"
Wasn't LeGizzard those men's shirts with the crocodiles near the collar?
Anyways, the books ends on an ambiguous note. I'd like to say that it cleared up my confusion, but instead I'm left shaking my head astounded that I read the entire thing in just five days.
Borrow this from a friend.