Customer Reviews

This Year's Model

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In this fun new novel the reader gets to experience the outrageous world of professional modelling through the eyes of newly discovered model Melody Ann Croft.

Melody is just a normal kid from New Jersey, working as a waitress during her last summer before going away to college. Then one night a professional photographer happens to have dinner at the restaurant where she works. He thinks she has potential and gives her some contacts which turn out to be top modelling agencies in Manhattan.

After some indecision she decides that she has nothing to lose and calls some of the numbers on the card. The photographer's name is enough to get her interviews at several top agencies. The first one she visits immediately snaps her up, they think that she has "it", that elusive quality that means success. She is immediately thrust into the competitive and frantic world of professional modelling.

It's an eye opening experience. There are ugly sides to the new world that she finds herself in. She has to lose weight, of course, and it is difficult to maintain the waif like appearance that is demanded by most clients. The other models are fiercely competitive and some are downright mean. Then there is the ever present drug use. Melody is a strong girl with a solid middle class upbringing, so she is grounded and able to resist the temptations around her, but she still learns some difficult lessons.

Supermodel Carol Alt has written a fast-paced, fun novel that gives the regular person a peek into the inner workings of an industry that most of us will never experience. I know that I'll never look at a glossy fashion advertisement the same way again!

It's that classic story - fashion photographer discovers a new face waitressing in a small town, and that girl is soon propelled into the modeling world and seemingly imminent super stardom.

Mac didn't take it seriously when the odd man at table eight insisted she had what it takes, but she pocketed his card anyway, never really meaning to follow up on his suggestion to contact modeling agencies about work.

But her world soon changes, and the promise of fast and easy money to fund her college aspirations is a heady enticement. She soon finds herself scuttling back and forth between go-sees in New York and waiting tables in New Jersey. It isn't long before her look garners attention from those who count, and she starts navigating the murky waters of high fashion rather than beating the streets of New York City.

Write what you know. That's what they say, and Carol Alt has certainly taken this to heart in her new fictional book, THIS YEAR'S MODEL. With the character of Melody Ann Croft aka `Mac' Croft, Alt immerses us neck deep in the glamorous yet often brutal world of the fashion industry, making us feel as if we are experiencing every step with the young model.

We watch as Mac is discovered by the modeling world, soon finding herself thrust into the limelight almost before she realizes it. The promise of success as a high-fashion model, with the requisite fat paycheck, is a lure she finds hard to resist, even if it means forgoing her dreams of attending college.

But her new career is not without its pitfalls. Suddenly Mac finds that her athletic figure is too heavy for the camera, and she practically starves herself to lose that extra fifteen pounds. She tries to make real connections with friends and a possible romantic interest along the way, and finds those relationships fraught with numerous industry-related problems, including drugs, backstabbing, and cheating.

Can Mac succeed as a fashion model without losing herself? That's the real question, and one we only begin to explore in THIS YEAR'S MODEL. This book chronicles only the very beginning of Mac's journey, one I expect will continue in Ms. Alt's next release, NEXT YEAR'S MODEL. I am very much looking forward to following Mac's journey in future stories.

**Courtesy of Wild on Books**

THIS YEAR'S MODEL
CAROL ALT

Rating: 4.5 Enchantments

Melody Ann Croft finds the guy she's waiting on at table eight to be unnerving, what with the way he keeps complimenting her, like he thinks she should be on the menu. But when his meal's done and he hands her a card, telling her to call the modeling agencies and drop his name, she can't imagine the sudden twist her life's about to take.

Within the course of a few months her life is barely recognizable. The eighteen year old Melody is now 'Mac', and she's spending more time in the city than at home with her family. Her days are filled with go-sees, photo shoots and rare down time spent at the local tea shop, hanging out with Jade and her crush in newcomer male model, Duncan Shiloh. From her newfound jet setting model ways to walking the runways for Fashion Week in New York and Milan for some of the hottest designers, her dreams of a scholarship to Penn state gets put on the backburner as she pursues her newfound dream of modeling. The only stable thing in her life is her at times awkward friendship with fellow model, Jade, who is not only Mac's best friend but at times, her competition as well.

I really enjoyed THIS YEAR'S MODEL and the set up of Mac flashing back to how she ended up on the cover of the swimsuit issue of S.I. Mac's journey from a small town waitress to one of the fashion world's rising stars. I think my favorite part of the book was Mac herself, how she didn't let anyone walk all over her or push her into doing something she really didn't want to do, even if her booker was telling her to just do it and let it go. I also enjoyed the unusual friendship between Mac and Jade. The ending while not entirely surprising given Jade's behavior throughout the book, is a great set up to see where Ms. Alt takes Mac and co in the next book in the series. Readers apt for a behind the scenes look into the NYC model scene won't want to miss this debut!

Ms. Alt pens an interesting behind the scenes glimpse into the life of a "Supe" model in the making in THIS YEAR'S MODEL, her first fiction novel. The sequel is due out next year. You can visit her online at www.carolalt.com

Lisa
Enchanting Reviews
September 2008

Carol Ault's new novel, This Year's Model, published by HarperCollins (Avon A) is a story of friendship played against a background of high and low fashion. The two friends are a study in contrasts: light and dark, reckless and self-disciplined, indulgent and moral, cynical and realistic, genetic and athletic, eating and starving.

The story is fast-paced with good character development of the two central figures and their satellites. There is interesting information throughout the book about behavior and products in the business of modeling and the mental and physical strength it takes to be a supermodel. An important theme is the isolation of the "supe" when surrounded by dressers, designers, editors, photographers, and other models. Engulfed in chaos, how the supe reacts, learns, reasons, and makes decisions in these long periods of solitude can make or break even the most gorgeous model. Survival requires discipline.

There certainly are opportunities for sequels with strong, continuing story lines. Ms. Alt, a supermodel, offers some advice and insight about modeling at the end of the book. This Year's Model could be a very good movie with super roles for several actors.

This book is, to steal a word from the book itself - 'fabtastic'!
Superb writing - the story grabs the reader from the get go. Talk about a hook - this book is it. The oh-so-personal writing style left me wanting more. Kudos to Carol and her editors. I can't wait for her next book!
Because of my name, people always ask if I know Carol. The book's tone has a being there - in the moment realness, makes the reader a part of the story and makes me feel like I really do know her!
Read 'This Year's Model' - you'll love the becoming part of a model's world. I did.

Melody Ann Croft is a little creeped out when a man she serves at the restaurant she waitresses at insists that she must be a model. Certain that he's a pervert or just plain crazy, she really doesn't think much of the business card with phone numbers of top modeling agencies scrawled on the back, or his insistence that she use his name to get an appointment. But curiosity wins out in the end, and Melody schedules a few appointments just to see what happens.

What happens is she's snatched up in a minute by Delicious Models, and put to work right away. Melody becomes Mac, the svelte, chic, and sophisticated model whose dreams morph from attending Penn State and becoming a nutrionist into picking up an ad campaign and making it big. Nothing in this business is easy, but with the help of her new best friend Jade Bishop, Mac is getting by, making money and becoming famous. But even the prettiest facades of modeling have a darker underbelly that Mac can't ignore.

This Year's Model is yet another fiction book written by an insider, model Carol Alt, to hit shelves. The novel contains all of the obligatory topics covered in such stories: the glamour, the pressure associated with weight and BMI, alcohol and partying, and snippets of drug abuse, and the plot unfolds in an interesting and engaging manner. Mac's disbelief that she could become a model is genuine and not overdone, but how easily she adapts to her new life is a bit surprising.

Alt also glazes over details of running to and fro castings, and instead focuses more on Mac and Jade's friendship and the jobs they land rather than the times they've been turned down, giving readers a slightly skewed impression of the competition involved, but readers won't mind as the name dropping and lavish events are detailed.

Mac is a more daring character than those seen before as well, at first wary of lecherous men and nudity in modeling, but gradually she becomes willing to shed all of her inhibitions--and clothing--in the name of art. Despite this, she remains grounded and realistic, even as she's exposed to drug users, alcohol abusers, and men with lacking morals. However, Mac is no Mary-Jane--she deals with friendship issues that are just as familiar to us regular girls as the attractive and famous, which punctuates the book with reality nicely.

This Year's Model leaves off with a twist that gives the cliffhanger at the end an abrupt, underdeveloped feel, but promises of a sequel, Next Year's Model, and advice and extras from the author herself soften the blow and cause excitement for more dish on the modeling lifestyle.

Trying to earn some money before going off to the University of Penn; tall Melody Ann Craft works as a server at the Porter House in Morristown, New Jersey. On his way back to civilization after visiting family in Cleveland, photographer Jonathan Novak stops on the barbaric side of the Hudson to grab a bite to eat. Melody Ann is his server and he thinks she is a beauty who displays decorum and cool calmness with a nice smile. He says he is not a stalker, leaves her with his business card and tells her to call the Manhattan model agencies using his name as a reference. He leaves her a nice tip before finishing his drive back to what he considers the real world.

Although cynical Melody calls and soon finds herself in Manhattan learning what it takes to be a supermodel. She is sent on shoots with photographers who must have been part of the Spanish Inquisition in a previous life and finds her peers detest rivals. However, Mac struggles with the male model hunks and huggable who are temptation. Still she wants to make it in Manhattan, but remain an ethical Jersey girl; a seemingly impossible mission.

THIS YEAR'S MODEL is an exposure of what happens behind the scenes in the world of modeling as seen through an increasingly former innocent turning cynical gilded. Character drive the story line especially the Jersey teen who tries to avoid the drug scene, the hunk scene, and the cat fight scene; which leaves her somewhat remaining as an outsider. Although nothing new, Carol Alt provides a deep look "beyond the glory", glitter and glamor to the ugly underside of super modeling.

Harriet Klausner

This Year's Model has all the sparkle and insider, page-turning cachet of The Devil Wears Prada -- except it's better written and funnier. Carol Alt has created a down-to-earth character who you root for to succeed. On her website, it claims that Carol Alt continues to silence her critics who say a beautiful woman can't be smart. She has certainly done it with her debut novel. It was a fun and a pleasure to read.

Janice Dickinson claims to be the first Supermodel. Carol Alt however is the true title holder. She rose to fame swiftly in the 80's creating a new legion of models, Supermodels -or Supes as they call themselves.

Carol Alt has appeared on over 700 magazine covers. The woman is a legend! When she set out to write a fictional novel about the world of modeling, she certainly had done her homework. Her portrayal of the industry seems to be spot on. I read Carol Alt's biography and found a lot of parallels between her life and the book. I would venture to say that this book is a semi-autobiographical fiction.

When Melody Ann Croft is discovered at a steakhouse, she is lured into the world of modeling, thinking it is only a summer job to make a few bucks for college. She has dreams of becoming a doctor and has no intention of giving that up. As she is morphed into Mac, a girl on the verge of becoming a Supe, she has to reevaluate her plans.

Her closest friends in the industry show their true colors and the picture painted isn't what Mac chose to see. She struggles with her family not agreeing with her decision as well. Will Mac make it big, or be stomped on in front of NYC's elite at Bryant Park?

This was an excellent read, I loved every minute of it and cannot wait for the next installment.

Author to watch!

This Year's Model was an entertaining book. I really enjoyed Alt's writing style and storyline. For me, it was just one of those books I couldn't put down. I don't give it 5 stars for 2 reasons.


1) I expected there to be a little more romance because of the book's genre. I understand why Alt didn't do this, but let's face it, sex sells.
2) I didn't call my friends and tell them it was a must-read when I was done. Usually when I'm really into a book with a great ending my friends are the first to hear about it.