Remember the good old days, when teenagers were mainly concerned about how to get through the school year without spending too much time on exams and homework, while still getting acceptable grades or trying to figure out how to fix a broken heart?
These days, things have become much more complicated (and dramatic) as today’s youth feel peer pressure to keep up with the latest trends. For boys, this mainly means gadgets, but for girls, it is fashion. Not wearing the right pair of shoes for the first day of school, for example, can mean disaster.
That, at least, is the impression one gets when reading the novel “Brandsetters: An Inner Circle Novel,” written by 16-year-old Indonesian student Natasha Alessandra and published by Buah Hati. But even at her young age, this is not Natasha’s first foray into the world of literature. When she was only 8, she had her first book, “The Adventure of Molly,” published.
“Brandsetters” is set in New York City at West Pacific Preparatory School and follows the lives of the wealthy children of the city’s elite.
Sound familiar? Natasha’s novel is less-than-subtly inspired by “Gossip Girl,” both the books by Cecily von Ziegesar and the TV series that is now in its fifth season and has enjoyed tremendous success, especially among younger audiences.
One of the main characters in “Brandsetters,” Alexandria Blair Masen, or Lexi, has a striking resemblance to Blair Waldorf, the queen bee of “Gossip Girl,” and it is not only a name they share: just like “Gossip Girl’s” Blair, Lexi is described as the leader of her group of friends, and, from time to time, reveals a rather nasty side.
Natasha even lets Lexi wear headbands every day — anyone familiar with “Gossip Girl” knows that headbands are one of Blair’s trademarks.
The plot is simple. Lexi and her best friends Keira, Roxy and Meg are the most popular girls in school; rich, beautiful and fashionable. They call their clique “The Inner Circle,” and it is these four girls, led by Lexi, who decide which of the other students are cool, and which ones are losers and outcasts.
When Taryn, a new girl, comes into the picture, the status quo slowly falls apart. Things become even worse when an anonymous blog, “Gossipgurlxox729,” (go figure) spreads rumors about the four friends that turn them against one another.
The novel is a light and easy read, though predictable, and plays with the new technology that teenagers these days can’t seem to live without: some passages of the book consist entirely of BlackBerry conversations, blog entries and multiple person chats.
In that regard, “Brandsetters” paints a vivid and accurate picture of how the younger generation has embraced the digital and high-tech world, and more than that, how they manipulate it.
Natasha takes a lot of time describing the clothes that the girls — and boys — wear, from their Roberto Cavalli dresses and Alexander McQueen high heels to mounds of accessories and flashy jewelry.
Unfortunately, that is precisely the wrong kind of message to send to young readers, that what you wear determines your happiness in high school. Honesty, kindness or reliability are thrown out the window and even the story’s villain learns that revenge comes in the form of a publicly ruined dress.
Natasha said during the March 30 release of the book at the Times bookstore in Pacific Place mall in Jakarta that she prefers to write in English. She has certainly accomplished a lot for someone her age, and “Brandsetters” shows her potential as an author. Publishing such an accomplished novel at such a young age should serve as an inspiration to other young Indonesians to follow their dreams, regardless of their age.
The story, however, lacks the same inspiration. Natasha has explained that many of the occurrences and characters in her book are based on real-life people and her own experiences. And that, to be frank, is quite a scary thought.
Of course there is no harm in teenagers developing an interest in fashion. But to have their entire lives revolve around it, and to judge others based only on that, is definitely not a character trait that we would like to see young Indonesians grow up with.
Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com
