I loved this book. I would definitely use this book with the older pupils to discuss some of the issues raised. I thought Jana’s voice was very real and I liked that you could hear her accent throughout and that she didn’t loose that during her journey. The internal conflict that Jana felt about whether something wrong has happened and the bravery she showed whilst being told ‘oh hush’ was really relatable and modern. A modern and engaging read. I’ll recommend it to everyone.

Juno Dawson has been going from strength to strength through her career, showing an adaptability to a range of genres in the Young Adult age category, from horror to historical fiction to this fictional exposé of the fashion industry, through the eyes of a teenage model.

Jana Novak is a character you immediately root for, grounded in her London teenage life with her boyfriend Ferdy and friends Sabah, Laurel and Robin. Jana is more than aware of the usual mean girl insults about her above average height, but is not expecting to be scouted for a top modelling agency and propelled towards fame.

Juno Dawson then takes us and Jana through over a year of ups and downs all over the world and all over the fashion industry, from cover shoots to catwalks to casting sessions. It’s intentionally dizzying and you can only cling on as Jana does as the work takes her from place to place. Jana attempts to keep herself sane in the rush by keeping her boyfriend Ferdy close, bringing him to shoots and shows as much as possible and for a time, Jana is happy in the novelty of her status as a budding supermodel, fawned over by the fashion press as the next big thing.

Our first indication that all is not as it seems comes from the just slightly older (early 20s) models who tell Jana to capitalise now while she’s young and fresh, while others “advise” her to go on Xanax to cope with the long days, flights and constant prodding from one place to another. We also get an insight into the loneliness of the career. One male model owns a dream New York apartment that he rarely gets to live in, while the super-famous Clara Keys lives in a London mansion she hates.

Jana goes along with what she’s told to do, so we go along from London Fashion Week, to NY, to Paris, Milan, Dubai, South Korea, Milan, it’s all there!

There are occasional stop-offs with Jana’s London life as she strives to stay connected to her friends, finding herself increasingly distant through actual distance, lack of sleep and more and more pills. She craves a break from the surreal and altogether fake world of being herded into another ridiculous outfit, pouting at another camera, another grumpy photographer, and being told to walk in a particular way. At home, Ferd is the dedicated boyfriend, supporting Jana as her career blossoms but not really getting the stress she is under, through no fault of his own. Sabah, Jana’s friend, emerges as the star character of the friend group, super clever and telling it as it is. She’s excited for Jana but also worried.

Meat Market takes its foreshadowed turn over the halfway point of the narrative. The framing device shows us Jana in some sort of retrospective interview, but it doesn’t really ever prepare you for some of the horrific situations Jana has to face. Juno Dawson deals with a difficult subject with such an empathetic character, and the narrative takes in a lot of the current zeitgeist with the inclusion of plenty of examples of sexual harrassment and worse. Its apparent secrecy within the fashion industry becomes a hot topic, even if it was previously seen as ‘just part of it all.’

The parallels with #MeToo are obviously not lost on the reader and make Meat Market especially prescient. It is heartening to show that we have come some of the way, though not enough of the way, towards tackling this kind of insidious behaviour in the fashion and entertainment issues.

Meat Market is a rush of a read and as topical as could be expected. Juno Dawson writes in the acknowledgements for any girls that are reading:

‘(Your body) can do amazing things, so care for it, protect it and – above all – have fun with it.’

Moving from a fun bouncy story of friendship, and teen ambitions, it becomes a dark, twisted tale of the fashion industry. A very important read!
It was an easy, enjoyable read but one that delves deep in to important issues. Highly recommend.

Another thought-provoking and hard-hitting read from Juno Dawson. Catapulted into the world of international modelling, Jana discovers that behind the glitz lies an predatory and dangerous environment.

I really enjoyed this book. I can't say I had many illusions about the glamour of modelling, but if I had they would certainly be dispelled. I loved the friendships in the book.

When 16 year old Jana Novak is spotted by a Prestige Models scout on a school tour, her life is flipped upside down. Never mind the fact that Jana has never worn a pair of heels before, in a matter of weeks she's walking London Fashion Show and shooting campaigns for high street stores. Life is a whirlwind for Jana as she quickly learns that while modelling has it's perks (free swag, flying around the world, fun parties in New York), it's not all glamour. Jana struggles with the two versions of herself- Jana Novak, child of immigrants from a South London housing estate and Jana, the supermodel. Can Jana keep her feet on the ground or will the seedy underbelly of fashion and modelling sweep her away and change her for good?

This novel was my first by Juno Dawson and I was very impressed! Jana is such an interesting character, I loved her story arc and how she found her voice. I found myself rooting for her. I wanted her to succeed, felt for her when she was lonely and exhausted, cheered her on when she started standing up for herself. The book touches on a lot of dark topics. With a book about models, eating disorders and diets is of course touched on as well as body shaming, drugs, sexual harassment, misogyny, sexual assault. None of it felt like it was used for shock value though, it all felt natural to the story. Something I'd credit to Dawson and all the research that was done for this novel. I wasn't sure what to think before I picked up this book, I thought it would feel cliched, instead it was compelling and in the end of was dying to pick this up and finish it!

This is the first book I’ve read by Juno Dawson and it definitely won’t be the last. Meat Market follows Jana, a 17 year old from London, as she is very unexpectedly scouted to become a model. We follow her through the extreme highs and lows of her new life and get an intimate look at the perils of the fashion industry. There is a preface to the book where Dawson highlights the research that went into the story and her reasons for writing it. Her words demonstrate how much care she has taken to give an accurate representation of what many young men and woman go through.

I loved this book. I read it super fast and somehow found it depressing and hopeful both at the same time. Unfortunately many of the stereotypical problems with the modelling industry are true just as they have been proved rampant in the entertainment industry with the #metoo movement. There are plenty terribly behaved people in Meat Market that treat Jana horrendously. Every situation she found herself in rang very true and in my view are sadly wholly believable. Aside from the abuse in the industry there is also the very real issue of eating disorders and body image. It is made clear in this book that whether or not anyone will admit it ( and it’s likely they won’t) there is still a tremendous pressure to look unhealthily thin in a way that is virtually impossible to achieve and damaging to young women all over the world. I have a family member who has struggled with anorexia and I am very aware of the role the fashion industry has played in causing/worsening it.

I’m so glad books like Meat Market are out there for any young woman who has looked at a model in a magazine and felt terrible about themselves. Jana is an inspirational character and I really rooted for her all the way through . She felt like a realistic teenager with normal hang-ups and a genuine strength. She realises how many things are wrong in the world she has been thrown into and I loved watching her take some power back. I wish every teenager would read this book – it’s smart, totally unpatronising and a perceptive look at the fashion industry. I also loved that whilst it does demonstrate the dark aspects of fashion, it also shows that there are good, honest and kind people working within that bubble which is a hopeful thought.

I'm not the right age for this book but I really enjoyed this modern tale about the toxic side of the fashion industry. Jana is scouted by a model agency at the age of 17 she can't believe her luck when she immediately becomes the hot new thing. However modelling and the fashion world isn't as glamour filled as it first seems and Jana learns some hard lessons.
I enjoyed this book it reminded me of This Model Life that ran on Channel 4 in the 90's about two young models starting out one was Erin O'Connor who is a top model even now. Great read for anyone interested in fashion.

This book. Oh. This book. It gave me chills, it was so good. Dawson is an expert at combining a fairly casual style full of quirky metaphors and tons of pop culture metaphors with topics that are gritty and real and so, so dark. This book delves deep into the dark world of the fashion industry and does it in a way that gives you an enjoyable reading experience while still getting the point across in a way that makes you want to stand up and take action.

I loved the way that Dawson was upfront about the darkness of the book from the start. How she put the foreshadowing front and centre, making it clear that this wasn't going to be a fairytale model story, but that things would get dark and that Jana would end up hurt. It added a creepy sense of foreboding to the whole thing and led me to pick up little things right from the start that showed the industry's core and the lies of those in charge of Jana's agency.

Dawson also did a fantastic job of treating the issue at hand with respect and sensitivity, showing real, raw emotions without doing it to solely to shock and disturb the reader.

Jana Novak lives on a South London estate with her family. Jana is scouted by a modelling agency whilst on a trip to Thorpe Park and is catapulted into fashion stardom. The fashion industry however is as grimy as it is glamorous and there are unexpected predators at every turn.

41020256Meat Market is beautifully written, heart-breaking and completely honest. It is definitely on the darker side of YA but I am so glad that it is because this story wouldn’t exist otherwise.

I started this book one night and then couldn’t put it down. I was immediately wrapped into Jana’s story from the word go. I had read it within a couple of days, picking it up at every opportunity that I could. After finishing it I couldn’t stop talking about it either.

Jana is such an amazing main character and I cared for her and her story a lot. It was horrible to watch her deteriorate under the spotlight in the fashion industry but she is a triumph and a character I won’ be forgetting about for a long time. Every feeling that Jana felt I felt too. I felt as though I was standing right next to Jana all the way through the story.

Juno Dawson’s writing is completely breathtaking. I don’t usually highlight sections in books to come back to but I couldn’t stop doing it throughout Meat Market. There are so many lines that stood out and had an impact on me. I was a huge fan of the mixed media used throughout this book and I won’t go into it all too much but it flows beautifully and makes the story even more interesting.

It is safe to say that Meat Market is an ugly telling of what happens within the modelling and fashion industry. At times it is quite difficult to read due to its contents. It is dark and it hits you with so many different thoughts and feeling. It is safe to say you will leave this book with many different thoughts, feelings and maybe even things you want to action.

Meat Market is absolutely spectacular. It is a book you will not want to put down. You will root for Jana and her story. Juno Dawson has done it once again and written an excruciatingly honest, heart-breaking and raw story. I will be recommending this book to many people in the future. Meat Market is a book that needs to be read and Jana is a character that will stick with you forever.

Thanks to Hachette Children's Group and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really like Juno Dawson's writing and she's really popular with some of my students so I was keen to see if this was another book I could recommend to them.

The story follows Jana, a young girl who is scouted by a modelling agency and quickly sees her star rise in the fashion world. Jana comes from a working class estate in London and is the child of Serbian immigrants.

The title probably gives it away but you'd be mistaken if you read this book thinking you were getting a fluffy account of the glamorous life of a teen model. This is more of a warts and all exploration of the ugly side of a beautiful world. There are the realities of castings, fat shaming, eating disorders, bitchiness and horrible model flats but also genuine friendships, support and let's be honest, big, fat paycheques.

I feel like this book would really strike a chord with young people. It feels current and fresh and the dialogue is bang on to how teens speak to one another. It's snappily paced for the most part, but perhaps started to run out of steam a little towards the end. The author has clearly done her research and has lived and breathed in this world which gives the story an air of legitimacy.

The cast of characters is diverse and dynamic and is an accurate reflection of modern London demographics. The social issues experienced by the characters also mirror the kinds of real life experiences of teenagers in the current day.

The focus of the story changes about two thirds of the way through the novel from the realities of life as a teen model into more of a focus on the #MeToo movement and the power exerted by men in the modelling industry over young, vulnerable women. There's a Terry Richardson/Harvey Weinstein type who was clearly inspired by his real life contemporaries, sometimes maybe a bit too inspired.

The novel sometimes suffered from a lack of subtlety and perhaps struggled a tad from the amount of issues it tried to explore and I'm not sure it necessarily did full justice to them. I also thought it was weird that her friends got huffy and essentially ditched her after a month? Her friends who encouraged her to undertake the career in the first place? These were just minor niggles however, overall it's a solid book.

Also..I just gotta say.....#TeamWestley.

Meat Market - Juno Dawson

(Not quite spoiler-free, but no actual spoilers. Am v cryptic!)

I’m so behind on my book reviews - like, 2018 behind - but I had to review this little gem from Juno Dawson as there’s a huge buzz around it right now (rightly so!) and I loved her novel Clean from last year.

Goodreads description:
“Jana Novak's history sounds like a classic model cliché: tall and gangly, she's uncomfortable with her androgynous looks until she's unexpectedly scouted and catapulted to superstardom.

But the fashion industry is as grimy as it is glamorous. And there are unexpected predators at every turn.

Jana is an ordinary girl from a south London estate, lifted to unimaginable heights. But the further you rise, the more devastating your fall ...

Honest and raw, this is a timely exposé of the dark underbelly of the fashion industry in an era of #TimesUp and #MeToo. It might just be Juno Dawson's most important book yet.”

For me, this was around a 3.5 - 4 star book. I didn’t love it in the same way as Clean, but it was still a bloody good read. And I agree, it’s a really important story that needed to be told.

I found some of the characters pretty difficult to warm to, but I loved learning about the day-to-day workings of the fashion industry (without the glitz and glamour) and from the unique view of a girl who has zero interest in being a model.

I loved how diverse and real her friends were, and the way they spoke like actual teenagers felt authentic - even if the appalling grammar bugged me every time.

The main ‘event’ in the book was incredibly well written. I felt my skin crawl and my stomach turn. It was horrific in the best possible way. However, it felt as though everything was wrapped up a little too neatly at the end.

Juno Dawson writes incredible YA fiction that doesn’t pander to the PTA, and instead, grabs society by the balls and yells the truth in its face. And I love it.

Meat Market definitely sits in the darker side of YA fiction. Jana has just started sixth form college with her gang of friends and boyfriend and is known as the tall one. Jana is "spotted" by a modelling agency when she is on a school trip to Thorpe Park. Jana’s naturally tall and slim, androgynous look attracts name-calling at school but is exactly what the agency is looking for. Surprised and suspicious at first, she's soon pulled into the fast-paced world of high fashion, hurled into a world of castings, catwalks and parties. Nothing had been further from her mind - until the prospect of earning a bit of money and experiencing a different world beckons.

At first, she's excited but soon Jana misses her family, her friends who seem to be getting on with their lives without her and whenever she manages to catch up with her boyfriend, she's too exhausted and all she wants to do is sleep. Modelling isn’t quite as glamorous as it may seem on the surface and Jana soon finds herself somewhat out of her depth and pulled to the dark side of the industry and finds herself alone and unprotected. The industry is as grimy as it is glamorous and there are unexpected predators at every turn. When Jana tries to expose it, she realises that everyone seems to be in on what's happening and covering it up.

The dark side of becoming a model is well portrayed it's raw and a compelling read and it explains how seductive and completely ruthless the industry can be. A hard-hitting book about the fashion industry with messages about its unrealistic expectations and its influence over those working within the industry and young girls who try to emulate their idols. I wasn’t particularly interested in the fashion stuff but really enjoyed reading Jana’s story even the awful bits. Despite not being interested in the fashion this book absolutely gripped me the way the world of fashion and supermodels is always portrayed as a glamorous and the way young girls are inspired to be a part of it but scratch the surface and you'll find the dirt just waiting to spill out.

Juno has a way of cutting straight to the heart of things and I love it and the way she creates compelling characters is amazing. Juno effortlessly moves us into the mind of Jana, and we experience her exhaustion and shock. The story is raw, it's honest and it's a little bit heart-breaking and I can't recommend it enough.

Ooh, it can be tough to read at times but this is a magnificent book. And Jana Novak is a truly outstanding YA character. I love her.

Gawky, tomboyish Jana Novak has never truly felt beautiful, and so she (and many people in her life) is surprised when she is scouted by a model agency during a school trip. Before long, 16-year-old Jana is fast becoming the UK’s new top model but the dark world of the fashion industry threatens to swallow Jana whole.

Juno Dawson honestly can’t do any wrong in my opinion. Every time she writes a novel, she manages to deliver something modern, relatable but a story that packs a punch with so many big issues. This book tackles so many brilliant things from self-love and body confidence to eating disorders, addictions and sexual assault. There’s a lot of dark in this book but there’s also a lot of fun too.

It’s obvious that Juno put a lot of thought and work into creating the world of fashion Jana enters. It feels very real from the fun, bouncy part to the shady, behind the scenes part when the the girls are fretting about wait and popping pills to stay awake. There’s times, as a reader, I felt frustrated at Jana for being so naive about certain things but she is so young in this book so I had to try and understand.

There is a sexual assault scene in this book that sparks something reminiscent (and was inspired by) the #MeToo movement and the Harvey Weinstein scandal and it’s tough and important but thankfully, for me, it wasn’t too graphic or disturbing to read. Especially with Jana’s age, I’m glad Juno was able to bring such an important issue and movement to light without having to write something extremely graphic (take lessons every TV writer who uses rape as a plot device*).

The end of this book was a little bit too much wrapped in a neat little bow, happily ever after for me that it just didn’t seem very realistic but that’s also just me being cynical. I loved this book, I couldn’t put it down. Juno Dawson is officially on my list of favourite, auto-buy authors!

I am a HUGE Juno Dawson fan. I feel like any book she writes is both thought provoking and utterly addictive and Meat Market is no exception. Based on the world of models and their constant striving for perfection, this book was both controversial and honest and truly showed everyone the true horrors behind the modelling industry. With amazing supporting characters alongside a brilliant lead, it was a must read book that I couldn't put down.

Jana is scouted by a modeling agency at Thorpe park. Surprised and suspicious at first, she's soon pulled into the fast paced world of high fashion, earning thousands just for walking while wearing clothes. Modeling is not a kind industry, though, and she soon finds herself caught up in the seedy side of things, alone and unprotected.

Juno Dawson has a way of cutting straight to the heart of things. Surprisingly, I found this easier to read than Clean, which was desperately distressing: this one is upsetting, but in smaller doses, so it was easier to keep going. I enjoyed it very much and felt great satissfaction at the end. I was also pleasently surprised when Jana's narration turned out to be entirely innocent; I'd been expecting a magazine exposé or a police interview, but it was much more benign than that.

A fantastic read, I really enjoyed it.

Every time I pick up a book by Juno Dawson I have high expectations and she continues to not only meet these expectations but exceed them! Meat Market is yet another deep dive into a taboo area of childhood. Dawson outlines the realities of being a young girl in the modelling industry without brushing over the negatives but still giving the positives. Jana is a joy to get to know, flawed but with a strong moral compass. I rooted for her and felt for her as she tried to negotiate a career she never wanted.

Unflinchingly honest look into the world of fashion and modelling, As someone who doesn't have much interest in either of those worlds normally, I found myself completely gripped by Jana's story. A dark but compelling tale, with humour and hope still very much in evidence.
One I will definitely by re recommending for our older students -and staff - to check out.

I read this with anticipation as, unlike literally everyone, I wasn't a huge fan of Clean (sorry!). This, however, I loved.
This book takes the glitz and glamour of model life and exposes what can be the truth behind these supposedly aspirational looks and lifestyles. In today's Instagram and Youtube focussed society, where you can track what your favourite celebrity does practically 24/7, this story rips off the Snapchat filter. Like Geek Girl for grown ups, the awkwardness and disbelief of an unconventional looking teen catapulted from everyday life into international stardom was brilliantly depicted. Jana's experiences and observations felt very real and there was no sense of glamorization, or exaggeration. Scenes, especially distressing or explicit ones were written baldly and boldly - no holds barred but also realistically and without gratuitousness. Jana's relationships with family and friends kept the character very grounded for the most part and the eventual denouement felt possible in real life, which is something that can be a challenge in a "real life" setting. Incredibly and especially relevant to the recent #metoo movement and the increasing use of celebrity status for positive change. A gritty, hard-hitting, yet positive story.

Anoter excellent book by Juno Dawson! She creates a dark read and inserts raw and gripping situations in a relatable manner through the character of Jana. I found the pop culture references to be relevant and they came across well, rather than sounding forced like some other YA authors have struggled with.

I particularly enjoy the bold style of writing that doesn't shy away from difficult situations and found that between Clean and Meat Market, Juno Dawson has firmly established herself as a fresh and welcome voice in a heavily saturated YA market. I look forward to her next novel!