''Modelland'' is a young adult novel written by model
Tyra Banks
Tyra Lynne Banks (born December 4, 1973), also known as BanX, is an American model, television personality, producer, writer, and actress. Born in Inglewood, California, she began her career as a model at the age of 15 and was the first Black A ...
and
ghostwriter
A ghostwriter is a person hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...
Michael Salort, published in 2011.
Plot summary
A young, awkward-looking girl by the name of Tookie De La Crème is kidnapped, and forced 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 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.
Inspiration
Banks has said that the inspiration for ''Modelland'' happened one day while she was driving down on a street in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. She had been thinking about why supermodels are "super" and the idea of ''Modelland'' came to mind.
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
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
. 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.''"
Reception
''
Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
'' considered the book "overlong", "
campy
Camp is an aesthetic and sensibility that regards something as appealing or amusing because of its heightened level of artifice, affectation and exaggeration, especially when there is also a playful or ironic element. ''Camp'' is historically ...
and warped", and a "nonstop barrage of surrealism and wackiness", but conceded that it could serve as a
guilty pleasure
A guilty pleasure is something, such as an activity or a piece of media, that one enjoys despite understanding that it is not generally held in high regard or is seen as unusual. For example, a person may secretly enjoy a film while acknowledg ...
America's Next Top Model
''America's Next Top Model'' (abbreviated ''ANTM'' and ''Top Model'') is an American reality television series and interactive competition in which a number of aspiring models compete for the title of "America's Next Top Model" and a chance to b ...
'', but criticized the book's "inner conflict of (...) purpose", and described it as "tacky, predictable and superficial" and "exhausting" to read,Modelland: Inside the Creative Mind of Tyra Banks by John Fischer, at '' Stony Brook Press''; published April 7, 2013; retrieved July 16, 2016 while ''
the Georgia Straight
''The Georgia Straight'' is a free Canadian weekly news and entertainment newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, by Overstory Media Group. Often known simply as ''The Straight'', it is delivered to newsboxes, post-secondary schools ...
the Georgia Straight
''The Georgia Straight'' is a free Canadian weekly news and entertainment newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, by Overstory Media Group. Often known simply as ''The Straight'', it is delivered to newsboxes, post-secondary schools ...
''; published September 29, 2011; retrieved July 16, 2016 ''
Bitch
Bitch may refer to:
* Bitch (slang), a vulgar derogatory term used primarily referring to women, but is often directed towards men as well
* A female dog or other canine
Bitch or bitches may also refer to:
Arts and media Film and television ...
'' noted that although ''Modelland'' "promotes self-esteem and confidence in girls, it is less than empowering since it is all to a depressing
consumerist
''Consumerist'' (also known as ''The Consumerist'') was a non-profit consumer affairs website owned by Consumer Media LLC, a subsidiary of ''Consumer Reports'', with content created by a team of full-time reporters and editors. The site's focu ...
end", calling it "a nonsensical, nightmarish,
acid trip
A psychedelic experience (known colloquially as a trip) is a temporary altered state of consciousness induced by the consumption of a psychedelic substance (most commonly LSD, mescaline, psilocybin mushrooms, or DMT). For example, an acid ...
that seemed like it would never end" with "more made-up words and terms than a
Klingon
The Klingons ( ; Klingon language, Klingon: ''tlhIngan'' ) are a humanoid species of aliens in the science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''.
Developed by screenwriter Gene L. Coon in 1967 for the Star Trek: The Original Series, original ''Star T ...
In ''America's Next Top Model'' (season 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.
In May 2021, Conor Lastowka and
Michael J. Nelson
Michael John Nelson (born October 11, 1964) is an American comedian and writer, most known for his work on the television series ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''MST3K''). Nelson was the head writer of the series for most of the show's origi ...
selected this book for analysis on the podcast ''
372 Pages We'll Never Get Back
''372 Pages We'll Never Get Back'' is a podcast series created by Michael J. Nelson (of ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' and '' RiffTrax'' fame) and Conor Lastowka (writer for ''RiffTrax'' and novelist). Beginning in 2017 with Ernest Cline's ''R ...
'', a podcast dedicated to books the hosts do not expect to like.
Sequel
''Modelland'' is the first installment of a proposed trilogy. However, no news has come out about a sequel.