Braless in Wonderland, fun but thoughtful!

I just finished reading Braless in Wonderland by Debbie Reed Fischer. If you're looking for a quick read that's cute and intelligent at the same time, and if you're an America's Next Top Model addict like me, you will enjoy this book.

It's about overachieving, feminist high school senior Allee Rosen, who, to her surprise, is offered representation from a top-notch model and talent agency, Finnesse. Allee, who never thought herself particularly beautiful, finds herself heading out to Miami, going on castings, and landing commercials, print ads, and even some high-fashion photoshoots. At first she's reluctant to join the modeling world--she only gives it a chance so she can pay for Yale--, but in no time, she finds it enthralling. It unlocks a different part of herself, teaches her some valubable lessons, and is just plain fun. Eventually Allee has to choose between this glamorous world and the world of academia which she had always planned on entering.

As I said earlier, this book is both cute and intelligent, and that's a big deal to me. While I like books that are fun and accessible, I don't want to read shallow, stupid fluff. Braless in Wonderland managed to pack in some serious content about labeling ourselves and others (I have a soft spot for any book that examines intellectual snobbery, because I am sometimes prone to it, even though it is so wrong...and besides, it's just fascinating.), beauty and intelligence and if they can coexist, making choices about the future, what degrading really is, what femimnism really is, etc. However, I didn't feel like I was reading a book that's sole purpose was to make me think. All of this deeper content was inside of a cute, little package of entertainment, and entertained I was. I liked the colorful world of fashion and modeling. I liked the relatable voice of the main character Allee. I liked the interesting personalities of the fellow models and the relationships they had with Allee.

Overall, I just liked this book, period!

Even if I did feel a little funny carrying around a book with Braless in the title, ha ha.