User:1993gabrielle/B Model

B Model an embellished memoir is a novel by Australian ex-model and Author Miranda Darling. It was first published in 2004 by Wakefield Press. The book introduces you to 15 year old Justine "Justin" who is thrust into the modelling world by her naive mother. She moves from Australia to Tokyo were she first begins her career, she later is tranfered to London, New York, Milan and Paris. During the height of her career and only being the age of 16 she begins to come to the realisation that the Fashion Industry is an extremely pretentious and dangerous world where she had been Neglected, Sexually abused and treated like a toy. Eventually in a rage of anger Justine dramatically quits her profession as a model even though she is inches away from gaining the highly sought after supermodel status.

Plot Summary
Justine "Justin" is thrust from her innocent 15 year old life in Australia into the glamorous Fashion World and modelling. She is transfered to Tokyo where she is forced to live in small apartment with fellow models, after being 'finger' raped by a male model during a photo shoot and the fear of being filmed in her model apartment Justine decides to transfer herself to London. Once in London she develops the realisation that she can either make it to become a 'Supermodel' of stay a 'B Model' during her stay in London she makes friends with fellow models and room mates, Lara O'Hara, Debbie "Caprice", Christina and TK. She travels from London to Paris and Milan frequently for photo shoots and begins to become mixed up in a world of cocaine and champagne.

Her appearence is changed by her agency against her will where her hair is bleached from brown to white blonde and cut off into a boy-style cut. She is again sexually assaulted by a photographer and starts to develop low-self esteem which manifests it's self with disordered-eating. After an arguement with her agent she is sent to New York to "refresh" where she and her friend are bashed and mugged by three gangsters. Justine who's name changed to Justin (due to a mix up with her comp cards) scrapes past the attack with a bruise on her cheek that was indented by the ring the attacker was wearing bearing the sigh of a crown, Photographers become fascinated with the bruise and use her for a campaign that would sure enough shoot her to superstardom, Justin is discusted by this and the neglect for her now in the eyes of the fashion world 'dead' friend and decides leave and go back to London.

When she arrives back in London it is christmas and making her was to her male friend Ali's party on a large cruise in the river thames with Debbie "Caprice" and TK. She is while on the boat captured by Ali's brother and held hostage for her to be taken back to Saudi Arabia with Ali, spare of the moment adrenaline pushes Justin the pull her way through the tiny port hole on the side of the ship and jump into the river. Once she has made it a shore she comes to the realisation she is not immortal and bad things can happen to her, after dragging her muddy and battered body into the main streets of london she faints. Once awoken she finds herself in the familiar company of Jebbery Hooch. The ending of the book finds Justin quitting her job as a model and painting sets for her now partner Jebbery "Jeb" Hooch a horror film director.

Memoir
The embellished memoir, Darling says, means everything in the book happened but not always to her. "And sometimes I exaggerate. "I wrote it when I was 22 to show those who come out of it badly are not the photographers or those who prey around the industry, but the agents who push the girls into it and don't take enough care of them," she says.