JUBY, Susan. The Fashion Committee. 320p. Viking. May 2017. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9780451468789.

Gr 9 Up –Charlie Dean and John Thomas-Smith live on the wrong side of the tracks, but they both want to attend the private and exclusive Green Pastures Academy of Art and Applied Design. Their local public high school is so poorly funded that all nonessential classes, including art, have been eliminated from the curriculum. But every year, Green Pastures sponsors an emerging talents scholarship worth one year’s tuition to its exclusive academy for the winner of a discipline-specific competition. This year, Charlie Dean is in luck. The competition focuses on fashion design, her specialty and lifelong obsession. John, however, is into metalwork, but this being his junior year and last chance to enter, he’s fudging his way into the competition just to get his foot in the door. Juby has created two compelling, multidimensional narrators whom readers will laugh with and cry for as they vie for the coveted prize. Charlie Dean is a master at turning the sow’s ear that life has dealt her into a unique silk purse, while John is so consumed by anger at his circumstances that he fails to appreciate the many blessings laid at his doorstep. The cleverly deceptive title, cover art, and opening pages belie the strength of the protagonists’ personalities as well as the tragic elements that have shaped their lives and define the story. VERDICT An excellent purchase for YA.–Cary Frostick, formerly at Mary Riley Styles Public Library, Falls Church, VA

This review was published in the School Library Journal April 2017 issue.