Reviews

Paper Magazine – April 19, 2007
“There are a lot of cultural cliches attached to models, and for as long as Czech-born former supermodel Paulina Porizkova has been defying stereotypes, nothing could constitute a more radical intervention… than her remarkable literary debut. Smart, eloquent and sensitive… her novel’s charming invocation of that breath-taking moment of youth in which identity and destiny are forged… offers an emotional depth and complexity we seem collectively incapable of reading in our most mediated objects of desire. A book that’s as savvy and sexy as anything you might otherwise bring to the beach this summer, A Model Summer is at once eminently entertaining and happily not embarrassing – even as chick-lit. There’s magic to Porizkova’s lack of judgment and a real virtue to her sense of simplicity. Captivating and demythologizing.” – Carlo McCormick.

Entertainment Weekly – April 15, 2007
“Yes, supermodels can write. Porizkova delivers a dizzyingly detailed and wrenching tale of innocence lost. A-.”

The New York Times – April 8, 2007
“Successfully illustrat[es] how seamy and filthy the world of modeling is, especially for young girls who leave home for their big breaks.”

Kirkus Review – February 15, 2007
“This fiction debut from iconic early supermodel Porizkova is the story of a wide-eyed teenager who gets a good look at the underbelly of the fashion world when she spends a summer modeling in 1980s Paris. Porizkova has enriched this story with details only an insider could provide. The alternately seductive and childlike Jirina possesses a refreshingly clear-eyed point of view and a solid moral compass. A civid, cautionary coming-of-age tale.”

Hampton Sheet
“It’s a superstar debut for model Paulina Porizkova and her first novel, A Model Summer, an insider’s look at the high-stakes world of high fashion. A glittering coming-of-age tale.”

Vogue
“ A gripping read.”

Cosmopolitan
“A delicious debut novel about beauty and betrayal.”

Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“A compelling story.”