Violet is 6′1″, which from what I understand is actually a bit taller than even the ideal height for a runway model, and in my experience, super tall girls were ostracized in high school. It’s not so much that they weren’t pretty — though I think Violet comes off more as “plain” in the context of the book and her peers with her freckles and dirty blond hair — but that my high school’s ideal was a shorter girl with curves and an all-American Barbie doll face. I haven’t read the first book (but I intend to seek it out now because I’m curious) but I believe Violet tries to redeem herself in the eyes of the popular clique as Kathleen rightly pointed out that many outcast girls would try to do. From what I inferred, however, that “redemption” does not work.

Tracey: I do agree with your points. This book follows a certain formula, as many books are wont to do, but the body image issues it touched upon worked well enough for me that I didn’t mind. But it’s not a formula that will work for everyone.

Kathleen: I definitely agree that most models aren’t that much prettier than the average woman when stripped of their makeup, styling, and lovely clothes. Especially when we start talking about international runway models — which is what Violet is — where the key is not so much how beautiful the model is but how beautiful they make the designer’s clothes look. There’s a difference between print and runway, commercial and editorial couture, and it’s rare that a model can span all those categories. When they can and do, that’s when you get the Tyra Banks, the Adriana Limas, and the Heidi Klums. But those are few and far between comparatively, in my opinion.

As for the friends-becoming-more… I think that’s why I loved Anne of Green Gables so much. That and L.M.Montgomery’s humor. It’s the build-up, when you, as the reader, see how they’re falling in love, and you’re just waiting for them to realize it! And then there’s the moment of realization. Can’t beat it! *smiles*

Tracey, if you want to read a romance with a less-than-pretty heroine, try This Is All I Ask by Lynn Kurland. It’s not a friends-becoming-more, but neither is it a love at first sight. The reviews will give you a good idea of why people either love it or hate it. Lynn’s novella To Kiss in the Shadows, which won a Rita, also has a heroine with scars all over her face. (It definitely deserved the Rita, too!) And that one IS love at almost-first-sight! (There’s not much time in a novella, I suppose, but you can’t help loving a hero who can see past scars and a lack of self-confidence.)

Personally, I don’t find this unrealistic at all. School kids are notorious for choosing ANYTHING to turn someone into an outcast, and in my experience, kids that are extra tall are often self-conscious because they can’t blend into the crowd. And what outcast girl WOULDN’T jump at the chance to “redeem” herself as a model? IMO… very few models are really that much prettier than your average woman, too, once you take away the makeup artists and stylists, etc. Those people could make 75% of the not-horribly-out-of-shape population beautiful… and if you add digital enhancement, then include the rest of the world! I’ll bet, if you took all of the school outcasts, gave them self-confidence to improve how they carry themselves and some stylists to show them how to look their best… I’ll bet that we’d be surprised how many of them are beautiful or handsome or cute.

That’s my .02! (I’ll get off my soapbox, now.)

Right away I was turned off. I get so tired of all these books in which the heroine is a terrible outcast because of her looks…and then we discover that she’s tall, slender and beautiful enough to be a model. Or, as in the Earth’s Children series, the heroine doesn’t conform to the ideal of beauty in the culture in which she was raised–but is nevertheless a tall, slim, blonde, blue-eyed goddess living among Neanderthals. It’s wearying, especially since we’re supposed to feel sorry for such heroines and their belief in their own unattractiveness. I see no reason to pity a tall slim model in perfect health who makes thousands of dollars for getting her picture taken. I wouldn’t mind having these problems. What’s Violet’s excuse?

Also, why is a girl who is a social outcast and who has no faith in her looks ends up going into a profession that’s all about looks and confidence? It seems odd to me that she would have the self-esteem to even consider such a thing.

In fact, I’ve been trying to think of a story which involves romance and which genuinely deals with bodies that don’t conform to the expected ideal of our society…and all I can think of is Hairspray.

And of course the supposedly-unattractive heroine has a man who’s been her friend since childhood/best friend in high school/companion on a long journey/ support in times of trouble/etc. The point is that he’s always been there and has loved her all along.

Not that there’s anything wrong with friends becoming more–I like those kind of stories. It’s just that the supposedly-unattractive female ALWAYS has a Xander Harris in tow, and the Xander is always in love with the S.U.F. I’ve seen the pattern in mystery, in fantasy and in romance. The pattern never changes.

When I was a teenager, I was once approached by a recruiter too but if she was legit, and I don’t know if she was, it had to have been for print because I’m not tall enough for runway.

And like you, I’m a sucker for friends-becoming-more. That’s what my own romance was, and that’s what three of my stories are. :-) There aren’t enough of them out there!