The Look

by Sophia Bennett

Overview

Can she be a supermodel and a super-sister? She finds her answer in just one look.

Two sisters, both beautiful in different ways: Fifteen-year-old Ted has got "The Look." That's what the scout for the modeling agency tells her, and she can't believe her luck. But just as Ted's jet-setting off on her new career, Ava is diagnosed with cancer. Can Ted be a supermodel and a super-sister? Or will she have to choose between family and fame? With their worlds turned upside down, the girls have to look past appearances, look deep inside, to figure out what really matters.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781906427917
Publisher:	Chicken House
Publication date:	03/28/2012
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 1.25(h) x 9.00(d)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Sophia Bennett won first place in the second annual LONDON TIMES/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition with her debut, SEQUINS, SECRETS, AND SILVER LININGS, a novel that combines her long-standing obsession with fashion with her keen desire to write for young readers. Sophia lives with her husband and children in cosmopolitan London, England. Follow her on Twitter @sophiabennett and visit her at www.sophiabennett.com.

Editorial Reviews

Bennett follows Sequins, Secrets, and Silver Linings with another novel set at the center of London's fashion world. Sisters Ava, 17, and Ted, 15, are opposites: Ava is a confident Elizabeth Taylor lookalike, while lanky, introspective Ted feels uncertain in her own skin. Their lives change drastically when Ava begins brutal treatments for lymphoma and Ted is recruited by a scout for Model City. With Ava's fervent encouragement—and in hopes of making back some of the money the family lost when the girls' father became unemployed—Ted reluctantly becomes a model. When she shaves her head to support Ava, it's viewed as a fashion statement, and her career skyrockets. Bennett insightfully conveys Ted's ambivalence about modeling, while creating an honest portrayal of the business. Ava's story line, as she becomes distant from her boyfriend and endures chemotherapy, is less substantive, but the novel's core is in the solid bond between the siblings and the ways each girl takes a piece of the other with her as she navigates new and frightening territory. Ages 12–up. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for THE LOOK

"A perfect narrative voice. The plot has you laughing one moment and crying the next. Bennett writes about what really matters to teens with zest, warmth, and sympathy." -- THE LONDON TIMES

From the Publisher

Ted's sister has always been the "beautiful one" while Ted has been too tall and awkward. Then Ted catches the eye of a photographer one day while she and Ava are out in the city. Ted's sister encourages her to take a chance and see what the photographer saw in her that she has never seen in herself. This coming-of-age story is rich in emotion and attention to detail. Ted is uncertain about her role as a model, but with her sister's encouragement, she becomes more successful than she thought possible. As Ted learns about the modeling business, she learns about herself as well and realizes what is important in her life. The decisions that Ted makes are not easy but the experiences that result lead her to open her eyes to the world and her place in it. Bennett presents a compelling cast of characters and guides the reader through their confusing lives with amazing attention to detail and a great deal of compassion. This text will appeal to most teenage girls. Reviewer: Danielle Williams

Children's Literature - Danielle Williams

Two sisters face vastly different futures--one as the world's next top supermodel, the other as a lymphoma patient. Ted (short for Edwina), 15, feels awkward and plain next to stylish Ava, 17, with her gorgeous looks and hot surfer boyfriend. Each resents having to share a bedroom in the cramped apartment the family now occupies, thanks to their father's job loss. Everyone's surprised when Ted, not Ava, draws attention from a modeling scout. The same night, Ava's swollen glands draw her parents' attention. Soon, Ted's enjoying a major makeover and tons of attention, including from the intriguing artist son of a London modeling maven, while Ava struggles with chemo-induced nausea and hair loss. Ted narrates with humorous insight, though her incredulity that others find her attractive quickly palls. Ava's a more harmful stereotype: Cancer transforms her from bitch-in-training to selfless angel, though her touching determination to remain in control--both liability and asset--is skillfully portrayed. So too are Ted's evolving feelings about their relative fortunes and her view of the high-fashion world. Marketing-driven high concepts can shape stories into lifeless, literary topiary, but this one's less gimmicky than advertised. However, readers should know this is Ted's story; Ava's cancer is seen through her eyes. A good bet for readers with a taste for glam fashion and boldface names. (Fiction. 12 & up)

Kirkus Reviews