Young Adult Fiction Fashion & Beauty
Bonjour Girl
- Publisher
- Dundurn Press
- Initial publish date
- Aug 2018
- Category
- Fashion & Beauty, Careers, Occupations, Internships, Bullying
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9781459742024
- Publish Date
- Aug 2018
- List Price
- $8.99
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9781459742000
- Publish Date
- Aug 2018
- List Price
- $14.99
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Where to buy it
Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
- Age: 15 to 18
- Grade: 10 to 12
- Reading age: 15 to 18
Description
Dating, fashion, and drama: Clementine never has a dull day at the Parsons School of Design.
When Clementine Liu arrives in New York City to study at the Parsons School of Design, she knows that she’s found her place. It isn’t long before she meets her fashionista soulmate, the loud and charismatic Jake, and Jonathan, a dreamy fashion photographer who turns her world upside down.
Between schoolwork and glitzy fashion shows, Clementine launches a blog, Bonjour Girl, and her wit, originality, and flair quickly catapult the site to cult status. Unfortunately, this comes with a price: Clementine is faced with online abuse and public humiliation. In the midst of all the drama, she finds out that a classmate is not what she seems, and Clementine has to find a way to save both her reputation and Jake’s fashion collection.
About the author
ISABELLE LAFLECHE worked as a corporate attorney and now writes on culture, books and fashion. J’adore Paris is the sequel to her bestselling debut novel, J’adore New York. She lives in Montreal.
WEB: ISABELLELAFLECHE.COM
FACEBOOK: ISABELLE LAFLÉCHE
TWITTER: @ISALAFLECHE
Awards
- Commended, Dewey Divas and the Dudes Spring 2018 Pick
Excerpt: Bonjour Girl (by (author) Isabelle Laflèche)
@Clementines blog, Bonjour Girl, is a total fake-ass disaster. Don’t bother reading it. It’s a waste of your precious time.
The nasty tweet hits me like a wall of vintage boots, handbags, and boho dresses. Or like a hurricane that goes on a rampage in my soul and leaves a gaping wound in my heart. I fight back tears while absentmindedly chewing on my nails. I cringe, knowing how many Twitter followers she has. Her malicious post has lots of retweets, too. Like, far too many. Somebody please shoot me now. This is dredging up old, unwanted emotions, all the pain and worry that nearly destroyed me last year. That’s why I came here, why I escaped to New York.
I want to crawl into the nearest hole and lie there until the school concierge finds my decaying remains.
Okay, I’m being gross and melodramatic. I take it back. I just want to hop on the next flight to Paris and never set foot in America again.
I feel nauseous and dizzy at the thought that the entire Parsons student body has probably seen this awful tweet and is now laughing at me. To make matters worse, I think of a Latin proverb I learned at my private school in France: verba volant, scripta manent. It literally means “spoken words fly away, but written words remain.” This totally sucks.
My mind goes into overdrive:
My chances of making any more friends are nil.
My existing friends will think I’m a complete loser and will desert me.
My chances of ever making it as a fashion journalist are ruined.
My transfer to Parsons will get revoked.
My parents will then kill me and ship me back to France on the next flight. (Not so bad an option considering the circumstances. Actually, that might be a good thing.)
Again, my eyes well up, but I’m too angry to cry. My classmate’s biting words sting to the bone. Especially after all I’ve already endured in my personal life.
What did I do to deserve all this?
Editorial Reviews
Clementine is a smart, strong female character who stands by her friends and stands up to bullies. The diversity of the characters (Caucasian, Asian, LGBTQ, disabled) will also be a strong draw to many different readers.
CM: Canadian Review of Materials
Bonjour Girl is…likely to delight creative young teens with big dreams
Resource Links
A quick, fun read.
Literary Treats
This irresistibly funny and at times heartrending story is a must-have for teen patrons who crave novels about strong heroines reaching for their dreams.
School Library Journal
A delicious mix of fashion, romance, and the power of holding onto your dreams. A fun read for all!
Catherine McKenzie, bestselling author of Spin and Arranged
The world of high style is famous for focusing on fashions – not feelings. That's what makes Isabelle Lafleche's Bonjour Girl especially charming: Clementine's chic and timely adventures expose the grit behind the glamour, and paint a spirited and intimate portrait of fashion's enigmatic trenches. I only wish I had a book like this when I was growing up.
Jeanne Beker
I wish I had this book when I was growing up. I would have read it over and over! Loved it!
Tiffany Pratt, designer, author, stylist, creative
The characters were fresh, the diversity plentiful, the surprises forthcoming, and the payback oh so sweet.
Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers
Bonjour Girl is a witty piece of literature that explores different types of bullying from online abuse to public humiliation through Clementine’s experiences at the Parsons School of Design. A must read for teens and their parents, Bonjour Girl exposes the impact of bullying and the importance of being your true self! All the while falling in love with fashion & beauty just a little more.
— Jennifer Brodeur, Founder & CEO, JB Skin Guru
