Jana Novak’s history sounds like a classic model cliché: tall and gangly, she’s uncomfortable with her androgynous looks until she’s unexpectedly scouted and catapulted to superstardom.
But the fashion industry is as grimy as it is glamorous. And there are unexpected predators at every turn.
Jana is an ordinary girl from a south London estate, lifted to unimaginable heights. But the further you rise, the more devastating your fall …
Honest and raw, this is a timely exposé of the dark underbelly of the fashion industry in an era of #TimesUp and #MeToo. It might just be Juno Dawson’s most important book yet.
Title: Meat Market
Author: Juno Dawson
Publisher: Quercus Children’s Books
Date: May 23, 2019
Genre: YA contemporary
Meat Market is an eye-opening look into the fashion industry and how damaging it can be, and deals with important themes of mental health, body image, ethics of the industry, and the abuse of power that comes along with it. Just like I did with Juno’s previous book, Clean, I read the whole book in just a couple of days because I couldn’t put it down!
It made me think so much about how we don’t know what happens behind the airbrushed glamour of the images we see in magazines, on billboards, and on TV, and I feel like I’ll never be able to look at these things the same again. The book is incredibly well-researched, and all of the characters are written with so much depth that you forget this isn’t a real-life account of someone’s life, but a work of impeccably-crafted fiction.
I also love how the book takes a positive turn and ends on a hopeful, optimistic note. Instead of ending with the downfall of the main characters, as I came to expect based on the path the story seemed to be following, it focuses on the power of women when they come together to bring down a villain of the industry, as well as putting an end to the other negative things that come along with being a fashion model.
Meat Market isn’t something I’d usually pick up off the shelf based on the description itself, and I’ll admit that the main reason I wanted to read this was because I’m already a fan of Juno Dawson. But this book has made me realise I can broaden my horizons a little and read things I often wouldn’t, because this is one of the best books I’ve read so far this year – or even one of the best I’ve read, full stop.
Juno has done it again with another masterpiece, and I’m already excited to see what comes next!
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