Fairest of Them All

Nov 05, 2012 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: trt-gold-star-award-winner, trt-posted-reviews

Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

Oribella Bettencourt has it all. At least looking outside in, everyone assumes she's got it all.

Ever since she was a toddler, she's been groomed to be a star. She has taken dance and modeling classes. She's gorgeous, and her crowning glory (literally her Crowning Glory, as she won the title in a pageant) is her long golden tresses. Her lovely hair has even landed her a supporting actress role in a Razzi's Tale. Her hair was so important in landing her the...more Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

Oribella Bettencourt has it all. At least looking outside in, everyone assumes she's got it all.

Ever since she was a toddler, she's been groomed to be a star. She has taken dance and modeling classes. She's gorgeous, and her crowning glory (literally her Crowning Glory, as she won the title in a pageant) is her long golden tresses. Her lovely hair has even landed her a supporting actress role in a Razzi's Tale. Her hair was so important in landing her the role that there is a clause in her contract prohibiting her to do anything to her hair. She's going to be a star - and all of her mother's sacrifices will have been worth it.

When Oribella notices a few small clumps of hair have fallen out, at first she panics. But she reads up on hair loss and chalks it up to stress and poor nutrition. She pampers her hair even more, putting as little pressure on it as possible, and renews her efforts to reduce stress and eat better. After all, models have to stay thin and are known to constantly be dieting.

But when Gypsy, a rival at her dance class, makes a comment about a bald spot on Oribella's scalp, her nightmare just begins. When Oribella finally confesses to her mother, months after the initial hair loss, they embark on rounds of treatments to reverse her alopecia (hair loss.)

Just as her hair is unraveling from her head, Oribella's dreams are coming apart at the seams. Her bright future was within her grasp, only to be ripped apart at the finish line.

With her future changed, Oribella and her mother begin to dance around each other. Neither knows where they fit into each other's world, with the life of pageants and acting now gone. But for Oribella, the loss of her dreams isn't the total end. She realizes she is lonely and longs for a real teenage life. She is thrust into a world she's unfamiliar with...high school. Previously, she attended school simply to keep the authorities happy. But she was unconcerned with fitting in or achieving good grades. After all, if she was going to be a star, why would she need it?

Ms. Blazanin writes an amazing book looking at the true meaning of beauty. Oribella struggles to rewire her thought processes to get beyond the outer beauty of everything. She was brought up to look for imperfections. But when she becomes friends with the most unlikely group of girls, Oribella has to learn the hard way what it means to a friend and be a team player.

Ms. Blazanin takes a horrific event in Oribella's life and educates the reader on a little known condition, alopecia areata. It takes a lot of guts for Oribella to embrace her new situation and become an entirely different person. The reader gets to watch Oribella grow and blossom into a true beauty by the end of the story.
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Jan 04, 2012 Melanie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Oribella Bettencourt seems to have it all, sort of. She's a successful model, dancer, and soon-to-be movie star. Other than the fact the she has no friends (other than her mom) and her teachers think her IQ resides somewhere below sea level, things are pretty good. In fact, when she wins the Ms. Crowining Glory pageant and her beautiful blonde locks help her land a role in a major movie, Ori thinks she's the luckiest girl on the planet. But Ori's luck is running out because soon after signing a...more Oribella Bettencourt seems to have it all, sort of. She's a successful model, dancer, and soon-to-be movie star. Other than the fact the she has no friends (other than her mom) and her teachers think her IQ resides somewhere below sea level, things are pretty good. In fact, when she wins the Ms. Crowining Glory pageant and her beautiful blonde locks help her land a role in a major movie, Ori thinks she's the luckiest girl on the planet. But Ori's luck is running out because soon after signing a movie contract swearing not to change her appearance in any way Ori's hair begins to fall out.

After trying desperately to keep her situation a secret Ori is diagnosed with Alopecia, a disease with no known cure. Painful treatments and an even more painful change in her relationship with her mom are almost more than Ori can take. Ori's whole identity has been based on being "the beautiful one" always at the center of attention, so when she loses her locks and her looks, who is she? Has she lost all of her future hopes, dreams and her mother's love along with her hair?

I literally could not put this one down and read it all in one sitting! In her debut novel, Jan Blazanin covers a fresh new issue that teens can relate to and empathize with. Having a niece with Alopecia I am full aware of how devastating this particular disease can be as well as the severe lack of literature and research on it-to say I was thrilled to read a YA novel on the topic would be an understatement.

Ori's journey from beauty queen to class freak is heartwarming and heart-wrenching all at once. When she loses control of her outside appearance, Ori is forced to take a long hard look at who she is on the inside. The author sheds light on the beauty-driven culture we live in without passing judgment or beating readers over the head with the famous "it's what's on the inside that counts" slogan. Blazanin beautifully captures the voice of her bright, bold, protagonist in a realistic story about personal identity. Blazanin reminds readers that sometimes circumstances beyond our control help us to discover who we truly are.

On a final note, what struck me most was Ori's lack of a love interest, Blazanin chooses instead to focus on the mother-daughter relationship. I found this to be a refreshing change and was captivated by the mother-daughter dynamic in Fairest of Them All. As Ori "finds herself" she also finds herself at odds with her best friend and career manager, her mom. Readers will both pity and despise Ori's mom throughout this novel. The two of them have a lot of growing up to do and readers of all ages will be both entertained and educated as they follow Ori's story.

Topics for Classroom/Bookclub Discussion:
Mother-daughter relationships, beauty-culture, Alopecia and other medical conditions, appearance, pageants, parental roles & responsibilities, self-improvement, cliques, stereotypes, harassment, self-identity, personal strength, morals & values, etc.

Discussion Questions from Author's Website

Rec: Grades 7-12

Grade: A(less)

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Jul 15, 2010 Joanne rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-contemporary

Oribella Bettencourt has the world at her feet. She's won the Crowning Glory pageant title, due in part to her lustrous blonde mane of hair, and has just snagged a role in an upcoming movie opposite a hot young star. Sure, she doesn't really have any friends at school, but that's okay - she has her mother, a frustrated beauty queen herself, and she has her brilliant pageant and acting career. She doesn't need anything, or anyone, else. At least, that's what she tells herself. Then clumps of her...more

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Jun 10, 2009 Adele rated it 3 of 5 stars

While I credit Blazanin for tackling the relatively low profile, hair loss condition alopecia, I am not sure she was entirely successful in writing a novel that broke the mold. Oribella (yikes) has been trained to be a superstar since the age of three. With the assistance of her focused mother, she's aiming to be the greatest thing since sliced bread. Amongst all the preparation, competition and some more preparation, Ori forgot to have something called a life.

Ori is what is kindly called social...more

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Jan 28, 2010 Ashley - Book Labyrinth rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 19, 2009 Sophie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-review, signed

Jan Blazanin’s debut novel, Fairest of Them All, is the great story of a girl who survives her whole world crashing down around her.

Beauty pageants aren’t a big deal here in England so I began Fairest of Them All knowing almost nothing about them. I was kind of shocked at what goes into entering one. It’s like another world full of hairspray, spades of make-up and haute couture dresses! That as well as Ori’s dancing, modelling and acting made me realise why she didn’t really have a life outside...more

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Dec 31, 2009 Jenna rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, read-in-2009

I was a little worried about this book at first. Oribella and her mother were so focused on her career and looks that I was frustrated with them and turned off. I also felt like it took a long time for the book to get to her diagnosis.

This may sound terrible, but once it got to the point where Ori is broken down, that's when I really started liking the book. It was interesting to watch her grow up and deal with her diagnosis. Her mother's reaction made it hard to like her. But the characters th...more

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Mar 15, 2009 Katie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Oribella Bettencourt is going to be famous. She just knows that her modeling and dancing careers are going to land her the role in an upcoming movie and her acting career will just take off after that.

All her life she has prepared for this. Her mom has spent so much time and money on all her pageants and recitals. Now it's finally Oribella's turn to pay her back for all her support.

But what happens when Oribella starts to lose her hair? There is no need for bald actresses or models. And how is...more

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Jun 11, 2011 Amanda rated it 4 of 5 stars

I liked this book and Oribella way more than I initially thought I would when I started reading. I mean, who likes a stuck up beauty queen who doesn't care about anything except how she looks? But there is so much more to Oribella than meets the eye. In her mind, looks are everything. However, when her hair starts falling out, she realizes that she doesn't have to look beautiful to BE beautiful. Her career may be ruined, but her life definitely isn't. Ori, with the help of her new friend Phil (P...more

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Feb 14, 2011 Carsyn Grage added it

Fairest of Them All is about a girl, Oribella, that lives for beauty pageants. She wins the Miss Crowning Glory beauty pageant and gets all these modeling deal things. Her mother has to work two jobs in order to pay for all of Oribella's gowns and dancing lessons. And her mother has to take a lot of work days off in order to take Oribella to her pageants and lessons on time and she doesn't get paid for the days she takes off. Her mother also gets really bad migraines and has to take off work whe...more

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Mar 17, 2013 Suzanne Sullivan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Oribella Bettencourt seems to have it all, sort of. She's a successful model, dancer, and soon-to-be movie star. Other than the fact the she has no friends (other than her mom) and her teachers think her IQ resides somewhere below sea level, things are pretty good. In fact, when she wins the Ms. Crowining Glory pageant and her beautiful blonde locks help her land a role in a major movie, Ori thinks she's the luckiest girl on the planet. But Ori's luck is running out because soon after signing a...more Oribella Bettencourt seems to have it all, sort of. She's a successful model, dancer, and soon-to-be movie star. Other than the fact the she has no friends (other than her mom) and her teachers think her IQ resides somewhere below sea level, things are pretty good. In fact, when she wins the Ms. Crowining Glory pageant and her beautiful blonde locks help her land a role in a major movie, Ori thinks she's the luckiest girl on the planet. But Ori's luck is running out because soon after signing a movie contract swearing not to change her appearance in any way Ori's hair begins to fall out.

After trying desperately to keep her situation a secret Ori is diagnosed with Alopecia, a disease with no known cure. Painful treatments and an even more painful change in her relationship with her mom are almost more than Ori can take. Ori's whole identity has been based on being "the beautiful one" always at the center of attention, so when she loses her locks and her looks, who is she? Has she lost all of her future hopes, dreams and her mother's love along with her hair?

I literally could not put this one down and read it all in one sitting! In her debut novel, Jan Blazanin covers a fresh new issue that teens can relate to and empathize with. Having a niece with Alopecia I am full aware of how devastating this particular disease can be as well as the severe lack of literature and research on it-to say I was thrilled to read a YA novel on the topic would be an understatement.

Ori's journey from beauty queen to class freak is heartwarming and heart-wrenching all at once. When she loses control of her outside appearance, Ori is forced to take a long hard look at who she is on the inside. The author sheds light on the beauty-driven culture we live in without passing judgment or beating readers over the head with the famous "it's what's on the inside that counts" slogan. Blazanin beautifully captures the voice of her bright, bold, protagonist in a realistic story about personal identity. Blazanin reminds readers that sometimes circumstances beyond our control help us to discover who we truly are.

On a final note, what struck me most was Ori's lack of a love interest, Blazanin chooses instead to focus on the mother-daughter relationship. I found this to be a refreshing change and was captivated by the mother-daughter dynamic in Fairest of Them All. As Ori "finds herself" she also finds herself at odds with her best friend and career manager, her mom. Readers will both pity and despise Ori's mom throughout this novel. The two of them have a lot of growing up to do and readers of all ages will be both entertained and educated as they follow Ori's story.

Topics for Classroom/Bookclub Discussion:
Mother-daughter relationships, beauty-culture, Alopecia and other medical conditions, appearance, pageants, parental roles & responsibilities, self-improvement, cliques, stereotypes, harassment, self-identity, personal strength, morals & values, etc.

Discussion Questions from Author's Website

Rec: Grades 7-12

Grade: A(less)

1 like · like · see review

May 18, 2009 Lauren rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: own

First of, I absolutely love MTV books. So, I was ecstatic when I got the chance to read Fairest Of Them All, because I knew I was in for a great read.

Fairest of Them All opens up just when Oribella's modeling and movie career is just starting to go well. Though, soon she begins to loose her hair causing drama and suspense about what is happening to her throughout. I thought Jan Blazanin perfectly captured how it feels to be diagnosed with cancer in Oribella. Also, I give props to Jan for gettin...more

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May 01, 2012 Complexitykills29 rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: best-books-i-ve-read, left-me-wanting-more, must-reads, must-review, twists-and-turns, very-addicting, five-stars, inspirational

I dropped every other book I was holding and picked up this one. Once I read the synopsis, I got hooked and I wasn't disappointed :) J.Blazanin did a fantastic job making the reader feel how Oribella felt while she went through the hell that was life. But all's well that ends well! Everything about this book was just flawless! Props!

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Feb 27, 2011 Anna rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: family-issues, friends, three-stars

Plot: The overall idea of the story was really good. I liked seeing how Oribella would deal with it next. I've never heard of or read about a book where the girl loses her hair, and it was a really refreshing change in the YA book world.

Characters: I'm not going to lie: I really didn't care for Oribella for over half of the book. I thought she was very vain, and very annoying. However, after an event that happened a little farther than halfway through, she became real to me. She became a charact...more

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Feb 21, 2010 Heather rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: teenfiction

Yay for addressing a topic I have never seen addressed in teen literature. Unfortunately, Oribella was a fairly unsympathetic character and everyone else felt like stereotypes.

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Nov 25, 2009 Kali VanBaale rated it 5 of 5 stars

Aside from the high quality of author Jan Blazanin's writing, I loved the message of this book for our young girls today. Just a very engaging story with so much take away value.

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Sep 01, 2009 Sharelle rated it 5 of 5 stars

A funny, moving examination of teen values. Beauty versus character. The individual versus the team. A gripping beginning, a compelling middle, and a completely satisfying end.

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Jul 16, 2009 46milestogo rated it 3 of 5 stars

It's not often you find books about alopecia, and this was an interesting look at the condition through the eyes of a girl whose fame and fortune depend on her hair. Interesting.

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Jul 07, 2009 Jan Blazanin rated it 5 of 5 stars · (Review from the author) Recommends it for: teens and women of all ages

FAIREST OF THEM ALL is my first published book, and I'm proud of it. I began writing it in 2005 and finished in 2008. The manuscript went through LOTS of revisions and rewrites to get where it is today. Just like Ori, it grew and changed over time. This is a fast read that will appeal to preteens, teens, and adults, especially those who enjoy coming-of-age stories.

Happy Every After!

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Jun 24, 2010 Sabrina rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

reallyyyy good!!!!! kinda sad because she loses her hair but i really enjoyed the ending!! 'big smiley'

1 like · like · see review

Oct 04, 2011 Heidi rated it 3 of 5 stars

It was alright. Content matter, eh. I finished it cause I wanted to know how things got solved.

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Jul 30, 2011 Liz rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2011

Eh, 2.5/5.0
I didn't find it to be completely terrible, but I didn't find it to be very interesting.

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Nov 28, 2012 Gab Velazco added it

Wonderful book. I loved it. Very nice and perfectly written. :)

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Jul 27, 2011 Meghan added it

A charming story that any girl can learn from and relate to.

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Jun 26, 2010 Ginny rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010

The book started off much better than it ended.

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Jun 14, 2010 Christina (Reading Extensively) rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: read2010, ya

The writing style bothered me at times but the book had a good message.

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Jan 23, 2011 Resident Optimist rated it 1 of 5 stars

I really didn't like it, it was boring to be frank. I couldn't get into it and it was a book I kept putting off reading. i'm not punishing myself anymore, I read for enjoyment not for torture.

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Jun 16, 2013 Ogechi Wosu marked it as to-read

Jun 14, 2013 Elika marked it as to-read

Jun 14, 2013 Stacie marked it as to-read

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