Poser

by Alison Hughes

Twelve-year-old Luke "Spin" Spinelli is sick of fake running, fake laughing and fake pointing. Sure, he once made the cover of Baby Show magazine, but now his secret modeling career is making him miserable. He dreams of using nonwhitening toothpaste. He can't wait to stop styling his hair. And he really wants to stop worrying that the school bully will discover he was once the face of Dribbleez Diapers. After all, Spin's just a normal boy looking for a hockey game and some pizza with extra cheese.

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Humor, Juvenile

168 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Erika · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of Luke who has been a model since babyhood but now that he's in junior high, he tries to keep his job a secret. He also wants to leave modelling but doesn't want to disappoint his aunt and mother. It was ok but not much of a transformative book on being true to yourself.

[Shelley Mastalerz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Luke Spinelli wants nothing more than to be a real kid, one that doesn’t have to fake a pose for his modeling career, but modeling is hard to shake since his mother and his Aunt Macy threw themselves into Luke’s career to avoid the pain of his father’s death. However, Luke has had enough of the health food, missing out on hockey, and the constant cover up through lying (because if anyone found out that he was a model, his life would be over) and so begins his attempts at derailing his modeling career. The dialogue is artificial and many of the events feel unrealistic. There are “Interruptions by Macy” that pop up throughout the book that do not serve a purpose and are not continually seen through. Overall, for a character that is so concerned with being “fake” the author makes this fate inescapable. Poser is for a younger audience, fourth through sixth grade.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being a normal kid is something that Luke Spinelli dreams about all the time. He feels he is different because he has a secret life as a model, and Luke absolutely hates modelling. He hates it so much that he does anything to avoid modelling, even making himself sick. All he wants is to play hockey and be like everyone else. Luke's story has some good points. For, example, his "funny voice" is amusing, and his desire to fit in is similar to other people's desires to be liked. However, the storyline was a bit repetitive, because he just kept talking about how much he hated modelling. I would have liked to have seen his character not be such a complainer. All in all this is an average book in my opinion.

[Erika Janni · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really good! And I really liked it, this book was about this 12 year old boy, named Luke, he is sick of his job, secret modeling. He wants the job to be over, and he can't wait to be able to stop doing his hair, and stuff like that. This book was quite funny at some parts and I really liked this book!

[Ampersand Inc. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so charming and funny! It’s about a boy who’s a child model and he hates it! It’s a great story, and even though there’s a bit of a moral to it, I never felt preached to. And this kid has the best voice. I can’t wait to read more from this debut author.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poser is about a boy who is a model - against his will. His worst nightmare is that his fellow students will find out what he does on the weekends and days he misses school. The lies he tells to avoid them finding out get bigger and bigger until he gets trapped inside them.

[Mrs. Melaugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Believable narrator introduces the reader to the world of a boy who is trying to keep his modeling career a secret from his middle school classmates.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was quite charmed by this humorous tale about a reluctant 12-year old model. The writing is clever and joyfully fun.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boy model tells his story about how he tried to keep his classmates from finding out about his line of work. Funny voice. Could be a hard sell, though.

[Ericka · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like this book at all. I think it should of explained more about his job. I thought it would of been more fun and interesting. Overall this book was defiantly not my favourite.