Blog Tour: The Fashion Committee + GIVEAWAY

Title: The Fashion Committee

Author: Susan Juby

Publisher: Penguin Teen

Publication Date: May 23, 2017

Copy Provided by Penguin Random House

Charlie Dean is a style-obsessed girl who eats, sleeps, and breathes fashion. John Thomas-Smith is a boy who forges metal sculptures in his garage and couldn't care less about clothes. Both are gunning for a scholarship to the private art high school that could make all their dreams come true. Whoever wins the fashion competition will win the scholarship--and only one can win. 

Told in the alternating voices of Charlie's and John's journals, this hilarious and poignant YA novel perfectly captures what it's like to have an artistic drive so fierce that nothing--not your dad's girlfriend's drug-addicted ex-boyfriend, a soul-crushing job at Salad Stop, or being charged with a teensy bit of kidnapping--can stand in your way.
 

With black and white art custom-created by fashion and beauty illustrator Soleil Ignacio, the book is a collector's item, perfect for anyone with a passion for fashion.

The Fashion Committee is another winner by one of my all time favorite authors."--Meg Cabot, New York Times bestselling author of The Princess Diaries and Mediator series

Throwback Thursday: Fashion Crafting in High School

Hey, everyone! In honor of Susan Juby's newest book, I thought it would be fun to reflect on my time in high school, and more specifically, the sewing classes that I took way back when... (Just kidding... I haven't even been out ten years... Okay, it's nine, but shhh!)

A Not-So-Great Start

Like most middle schoolers, I had to take introductory courses to a few of the classes that were available to students when they entered high school. Sewing was the eighth grade Home Economics/Family and Consumer Sciences class. I'd grown up watching my mom create countless Halloween costumes for me and my siblings, so I thought the sewing class would be a breeze. Apparently, I was wrong. The teacher and I never really saw eye-to-eye, and she offered very little help for a class that I was so excited for.

When it came time for us to submit our courses for the ninth grade, I included sewing, much to her dismay. I realized that even though my pajama shorts and tote bag looked terrible, it wasn't my fault, and I wanted to see what would happen with a different teacher.

New Beginnings

Step in one of my favorite teachers from high school. 

She already knew who I was because she was friends with my uncle, and she was excited to have me in sewing class. I told her that I didn't exactly do well in eighth-grade sewing, but she assured me that none of it mattered. She would reteach us the basics while fostering our creative attitudes and ideas. I knew I was in the right place! I ended up taking sewing for three out of four years of high school, skipping a year because I needed to take two math classes. (Boo!)

So I made some pretty hideous things, but I wouldn't have it any other way. 

Some of my favorite projects I made were baby clothes, bags, and a white and rainbow polka dotted dress. (I'm not kidding about the dress!) Throughout my teen years, I was obsessed with polka dots, so every time I went to the fabric store, I always walked out with polka dot fabric. One of the bags I made was this Pepto-colored pink with the strangest polka dots ever! I also made pink baby booties. It was a service project, and the clothes were donated to local families in shelters.

If I had time to stack two sewing classes in during my senior year, I would have made my prom dress. It was always something that I wanted to do, but unfortunately, I just didn't have the time. It's the one regret that I have from high school.

However, I did get to make something very important during my senior year of high school - a quilt patch for the Quilt for Diabetes in honor of my younger brother. I worked throughout the semester with some of my brother's favorite things so he would have a piece on a traveling exhibit. I submitted the quilt as my senior project and received high honors. All the teachers on my panel adored the miniature quilt and thought I did a wonderful job.

Unfortunately, most of what I made is gone or we no longer have pictures of it. It makes me sad to think about that, but I have the memories, which I think are the most important pieces of the fabric of life.

Looking back... I really enjoyed sewing and learning different things. We didn't just sew, but we learned how to use an embroidery machine, and even how to cross-stitch. I even received a sewing machine as a Christmas present one year so I could work on my projects at home, too. I wouldn't mind picking up a sewing machine again and get to crafting. I've always wanted to make a quilt for myself, and maybe even some sundresses. Who knows if I'll have time in the near future, but it's my goal to set up and start sewing again. 

About the Author

Susan Juby (www.susanjuby.com) has written six acclaimed novels for teenagers. The most well-known is Alice, I Think, the first of the Alice MacLeod trilogy, which was made into a successful television series. She is also the author of a memoir, Nice Recovery, and the adult comic novel The Woefield Poetry Collective; its sequel, Republic of Dirt, has just been published in Canada.  She is currently working on another novel set at the Green Pastures Academy of Art and Applied Design. 

 

 The Giveaway

Enter for a chance to win one (1) of five (5) copies of The Fashion Committee by Susan Juby (ARV: $16.99 each).

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Enter between 12:00 AM Eastern Time on May 22, 2017 and 12:00 AM on June 5, 2017.  Open to residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia who are 13 and older. Winners will be selected at random on or about June 7, 2017. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.

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