The 1980s: the age of Cindy, Naomi, and Claudia, the era of stirrups and spandex. Against this backdrop Midwestern teen Emily Woods plunges into the glamorous but grueling world of modeling. But Emily is more than just a small-town beauty with stars in her eyes: She's been accepted to Columbia University, and she's not about to let couture and klieg lights get in the way of an Ivy League education.

Right. Emily tries to juggle it all but keeps dropping the ball: cramming new bikini poses instead of for finals; gaining the freshman fifteen and busting designer seams; spending more time with Clairol than Cicero.

As Emily pursues her chic fantasy of Vogue covers and prestigious cosmetic campaigns, her priorities start to shift. In the ultra-competitive quest for supermodel fame and fortune, strutting off the runway to study Shakespeare might mean letting another pretty face snag her stilettos, and Emily's thisclose to getting a leg up on her dreams.

Before long, the seamier side of the fashion industry—cocaine and cads, collagen and implants, fad diets and eating disorders—becomes close up and personal, making for one model student who's hardly exemplary and ultimately forcing a choice between style and substance.

Dazzling, dramatic, and as real as it gets, Model Student shines a spotlight behind the scenes and reminds us why you can't judge a book by its cover girl.

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Praise for Model Student

"Fun stuff"
—New York Daily News

"Brilliant and dishy insights into both the world of modeling…and the equally elitist Ivy League scene." —The Chicago Sun Times

"Delicious, dishy fun."
—Jennifer Weiner, author of In Her Shoes and Goodnight Nobody

"If you want to know what it's really like to be a model, look no further. Robin Hazelwood perfectly captures the struggles, the successes, and the excesses of a crazed, camera-ready culture."
—Patrick McMullan, photographer and author of Kiss Kiss, InTents, and So80s

"Fresh, funny, biting, and a little wistful, too, Model Student offers an irresistible insider's tour of big-time modeling, from the alluring to the appalling to the nitty-gritty. Best of all is guide Emily Woods, a winning combination of pluck, vulnerability, and snappy wit."
—Christina Schwarz, author of Drowning Ruth and All Is Vanity

"If you can imagine The Devil Wears Prada meets I Am Charlotte Simmons, this is it. I was thoroughly entertained.”
—Karen Quinn, author of The Ivy Chronicles

"Big dreams—and even bigger hair—go hand in hand in this juicy insider take on the bitchy world of late '80s modeling."
—Lucinda Rosenfeld, author of What She Saw . . .and Why She Went Home