Fix

by Leslie Margolis

Overview

It hurts to be beautiful.

Pretty, blond, popular Cameron Beekman has it all — lots of girlfriends, a hot boyfriend, and a successful family. She's perfection. Gone are her days as the outcast, huge-nosed "Beakface." Which, as it turns out, was nothing a good nose job couldn't fix.

While her little sister, Allie, struggles with doubts about her own approaching "procedure," Cameron wants more. She's headed to UC "Santa Barbie" and needs to look the part. After all, why settle for smart and pretty when smart and drop-dead gorgeous is just a surgery away?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781416924562
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Publication date:	10/03/2006
Edition description:	Original
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.00(h) x 1.00(d)
Lexile:	NC690L (what's this?)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Leslie Margolis is an author and novelist, whose works are more targeted towards children.

Editorial Reviews

Two sisters-both born with "long and hooked" noses-act as protagonists in this book about teenage plastic surgery. Cameron, on her way to college in California, became popular after her nose job, but still feels unable to "keep up" with the perfect girls she sees around her, and now wants breast implants. Meanwhile, younger athletic Allie is not sure that her own rhinoplasty, mostly her parents' idea, will be worth skipping a week of soccer camp, and a chance of playing on her school's varsity team. There's no missing that this is an issue-oriented book; even secondary story lines are designed to get readers thinking about the meaning-and price-of beauty: Cameron struggles to make a point with her photography portfolio, the girls' mother, a former actress, schedules her own face-lift, and Allie meets a retired movie star at the senior citizens home where she volunteers who tells her, "No one ever thinks they're beautiful enough." Readers also learn that there were more than 11.5 million cosmetic procedures performed in this country last year, and get gritty details about procedures and risks. Teens can draw their own conclusions, but they may find it easier to root for Allie, who realizes "Lots of people had big noses. They didn't all get them fixed. Somehow people managed." In the end, this is a provoking, if somewhat scripted, novel. Ages 14-up. (Oct.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Gr 7 Up-Cameron, 18, and Allie, 15, have inherited their father's nose. However, thanks to their mother, Julie, an ex-model and former movie star, Cameron had her nose fixed three years earlier. She is thrilled with the results and contemplating breast augmentation. After years of being ridiculed by her peers, she was catapulted into the world of the beautiful and popular at her new school, Bel Air Prep. Allie, an avid soccer player, is not bothered by her appearance and already has self-confidence and friends. Still, now that she is 15, her mother insists on making appointments for her with the plastic surgeon, with little consideration of Allie's thoughts on the matter. Characters are more complex than they first appear, and a subplot involving Allie's befriending a now-elderly Hollywood starlet nicely contrasts with the beauty-obsessed Cameron and Julie. Margolis deals with the topic of plastic surgery evenhandedly, showing how it can be positive, but also excessive and extremely painful. She is never preachy, making this quick read entertaining and thought-provoking. Readers will relate to each sister's point of view.-Michelle Roberts, Merrick Library, NY Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

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