The It girls Glamor, celebrity, and scandal

It girls, or young women whose glamour and status dominate public imagination and the press, are thoroughly explored and biographied in Young's latest (after The Fabulous Frances Farquharson, 2024). Young chronicles the evolution of the it-girl phenomenon across (mostly Western) culture, sharing the trajectory of 17 it girls throughout history. Beginning with the 1600's Nell Gwynn, who was an actress and mistress of the king of England, profiling the likes of Josephine Baker and Paris Hilton, and concluding with modern Kpop stars like pop group Blackpink, Young paints a picture of the muses that help define cultural eras throughout Western history. The It Girls is meticulously researched, and Young has deftly synthesized many diverse sources to weave together the tales of each woman. Every story shares the subject's ascent to the heights of celebrity and, too often, the turmoil, abuse, and tragedy that come with their reign as a pop-culture queen. Interesting, readable, and compelling, The It Girls would be enjoyed by readers of celebrity memoirs, like those by Britney Spears and Cher, who want to take a deeper dive into this history.

Young (Crazy Old Ladies: The Story of Hag Horror) writes a riveting study of the celebrated, scandalized women who have served as standards for beauty while also being scapegoated, scrutinized, and shamed. She starts with a depiction of Clara Bow, the first woman officially described as having the "it" factor. The chapters that follow spotlight women including Josephine Baker; actress Nell Gwynn, who was the longtime mistress of King Charles II; Twiggy; Kate Moss; and Kim Kardashian. With descriptions of childhood trauma, misogyny, gaslighting, and exploitation woven into the women's stories, the book lends depth to figures blown up by tabloids into hyperbolic and often dehumanized versions of themselves. VERDICT A fascinating study of what celebrity means, how it makes and unmakes women, and what stories go untold in the relentless manufacturing of women as objects of desire. This book offers intersectional and intentional subversions of dominant narratives about women in ways that will engage readers curious about the strange, oscillating power of fame, especially as it impacts women's sense of self.--Emily Bowles