Brian Tacang

Reviewed by Allison Fraclose for TeensReadToo.com

Middle school inventor Millicent Madding knows nothing about fashion, and neither do any of her friends, the secret society of smart kids known as the Wonderkinder.

Ever since her parents disappeared in the time machine that they invented, Millicent has lived with her eccentric Uncle Phineas (also an inventor), who doesn't make enough money for her to buy clothes anywhere but at the Dollar-A-Pound Overstock Kid's Clothing Store.

Only recently has Aunt Felicity, who'd had amnesia for years after a tragic miscalculation in her cannon caused the former circus performer to crash horribly off course outside the circus tent, come to live with Millicent and Uncle Phineas, and even then, Millicent still can't understand the idea of wearing something like a girdle for the sake of looking good.

On the day that Millicent is to give her speech for the class president election, Winifred T. Langley Middle School receives a slew of new students - members of Pretty Liddy's Junior Fashion Academy, temporarily misplaced due to a termite problem. Millicent is worried sick that her beloved friends will fall victim to the Pretty Liddy's taunts, but the Wonderkinder, as well as every other person in the school, are enchanted by top model Fiona Dimmit and the fashion advice she gives.

When the competitive Fiona decides to run against Millicent in the election, Millicent is shocked when the principal agrees, especially to the part about turning the election into a fashion show! Although everyone else seems to have lost their minds, Millicent must now make the decision to stand up for her principles or play the game.

I was greatly taken aback by this book, since it turned out to be almost the opposite of what I was expecting. This is certainly not your average middle grade chick-lit novel, and a story like this is much better suited for an audience who craves humor and unrealistic situations.… (altro)

Millicent Madding initially thought she would make a great sixth grade class president when she first decided to run. She had the brains, the creativity, and the leadership – all indicators of a great president for Winifred T. Langley Middle School. Furthermore, nobody else would volunteer, so why not her? Imagine her horror when a new rival arrives – Fiona Dimmet, an elitist model from Pretty Liddy's Junior Fashion Academy. Since the academy is undergoing renovation; Fiona, along with her crew, are only temporary students at Langley Middle School. However, Fiona is bent on crushing Millicent as well as her drab fashion sense. Popular, pretty, superficial, and arrogant Fiona then decides to change the rules of the election: the election would take the form as a modeling competition.

In my opinion, the whole story was really pointless. Fiona wasn't a real student at Langley, so it didn't make sense why she would still be allowed to run. The plot was overly dramatized, overdone, and mostly over-the-top, especially with Millicent having two parents who are lost in time travel and as well as an aunt who lost her memory while performing in a circus.

What I especially hated was how the people from Pretty Liddy's all had to mutilate the English language, using words such as "superberific", "spectabulous", "beautilicious", and "fabulistic".

This is another nerd - vs.- popular kids story, and it was clear what the outcome was going to be like. The characters are really stereotypical. Brainiac Millicent has an intellectual uncle as well as super-intelligent parents; while pretty Fiona is perfect in every way, in terms of clothing, style, and popularity.

It was really absurd how all the students just immediately flocked and groveled to the kids from Pretty Liddy's right after they arrived. Even Millicent's friends ignored her after Fiona's overly dramatic, Hollywood-style arrival. They didn't really have to act like mindless zombies, which were exactly what they were compared to in the book. It shocked me even more when even the principal and teachers listened to them. You'd think they'd have the sense not to worship a bunch of kids who put them down because of their clothing.

The Model President certainly was an unfabulistic story for me, unfortunately.… (altro)