Modelland

Modelland is a young adult novel written by model Tyra Banks, published in 2011.^[1]

Plot summary

A young, awkward-looking girl by the name of Tookie De La Crème is invited to attend the legendary boarding school Modelland for a chance to join the Intoxibellas, the most celebrated models in all the world. Along the way she meets a plus-sized girl named Dylan, a 4'7" girl named Shiraz, and an albino girl named Piper. Together they form a strong bond as they face the trials and tribulations of Modelland and endeavor to find the truth about why they were all accepted to it...and why a mysterious impostor seems to want nothing more than for them to be gone.^[2]

Inspiration

Banks has said that the inspiration for Modelland happened one day while she driving down on a street in New York City. She had been thinking about why supermodels are "super" and the idea of Modelland came to mind.^[3]

She wrote on her website, talking about the idea for the book:

"I’m always dreaming up ideas, like when the words “modeling boarding school” floated into my head while I was driving on the FDR highway in Manhattan. I wrote them down in a little notepad and, five years, thousands of pages and dozens of writing getaways later, I finally get to call myself the author of Modelland."^[4]

Cross media promotion

In America's Next Top Model, Cycle 17, Banks instructs the four remaining contestants in episode "Tyson Beckford" to perform as characters in the novel, in a short film based on the book, with part 1 of the film broadcast in that episode, part 2 was broadcast in the season finale.

Sequel

Modelland is the first installment of a proposed trilogy.^[5][6]

References

External links

• Modelland website at Random House Teens
• http://www.typef.com/tyra/blog-journey-modelland/#ixzz1bxMlFsgL
• Modelland review at nyulocal.com