A Black teenager's rapid ascent to the top as the latest modeling sensation reveals that the world of high fashion is a lot less glamorous than one might imagine. Complexity and conflict emerge through Crystal's outward development as a successful, rising star and inward development as a maturing, thinking young woman. A provocative thoughtful novel raises questions about society's standards of beauty, women as objects, racism and ethics, and it does so with intelligence, style, and grace. (Age 12 and older)

Sixteen-year-old Crystal knows she's blessed. She is drop-dead gorgeous and in the beginning stages of a glamorous career as a model in New York City. At first, modeling is exciting. But soon, her life becomes less and less about her, and more and more about her body. Crystal wonders if her new life is worth giving up everything -- her friends, her beliefs, and her self-respect.