Material Girls by Elaine Dimopoulos

I just finished devouring Material Girls and have already told people how intriguing I found it.  General premise of the story: All decisions of personal taste and expression (music, movies, games, fashion, etc.) are made by tweens and early teens in society. They decide if everything is hot or not, totally prime or obsoloser.  Everyone else is shunted into a range of "less creative" roles (which is pretty much anything that a 12-year-old wouldn't be obsessed over.  The story bleeeeeds social control in a different and quirky manner. I mulled over the idea of all cultural choices in the real world being made by teeny-boppers and had a minor panic attack. The story swaps between Marla of the fashion world and Ivy, the chart-topping pop star with a bad reputation. I was expecting a lot of fluff and was nicely surprised to find interesting ideas of self-discovery, individualism, and questioning the norms. The end left me a little frustrated, but I understand it - it leaves space for a possible follow-up or gives the message that not everything can be a one-and-done quick fix. I give it 4 out of 5 alpaca fur boots.  Tell your young teen girls to check this one out!