Sunday 25 October 2015

The X Factor by Ivan Sivec : Review

The X Factor by Ivan Sivec
Publication date: August 16th 2015
Published by: ICO d.o.o., Slovenia
Genres: Real Life, True Story

Confessions of a naïve fashion model.

It takes three mistakes to be swallowed up and spat out by the fashion industry.
You trust the wrong people.
You think you know everything there is to know about life.
You take drugs.

Maja started off as a regular 17-year-old high-school kid, fighting her inner insecurities while dreaming to become an actress like Marilyn Monroe.

At a party her boyfriend Klemen introduces her to a renowned modelling agent. He sees a special X Factor hidden insight her. And a great business opportunity for himself...

Fast forward a few weeks later. Maja’s charm and talent land her a modelling contract in the trendy and exciting fashion capital of Milan. She’s completely enchanted and determined to make it in the fashion world.

But things don’t turn out the way she had planned.

Exhausting long photo shoots, stressful fashion shows, strict dieting and wild parties start taking their toll on her soon enough. In desperate search for help Maja reaches out to her agent and other false friends from the fashion industry that emotionally and physically exploit her to the point where ‘Maja the Great’ is merely a shadow of her former self.

She starts battling drug addiction that ends up in a tragic event.

Maja has been finally swallowed up and spit out by the fashion industry with its endless traps. What price will the girl with the X Factor have to pay for her naivety?
The young adult novel The X Factor by the bestselling Slovenian author Ivan Sivec is based on a true story and takes the reader on a frightening journey into the world of drug addiction among teenager fashion models.

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed this book. Ivan has a unique writing style htat at the start of the book I hated but by the end I loved it. His writing style meant that you could read the book with no prior knowledge of the modelling industry.

This is a true story, so I can't really talk about the people or the plot because it really did happen to those people.

It was super interesting learning more about the modelling industry and what really happens behind the scenes. It was also fun being able to see how her culture effected her decisions. As Maja is Slovenian. It was odd seeing how differently she reacted to situations compared to what I would do.

In conclusion, it was a great read that really makes you think about what happens in the process of making fashion magazines such as vogue. It did have some mature themes but nothing was described in detail, only briefly mentioned. I'm giving this book 4/5. A very thought provoking read.

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