Book Review: The Devil Wears Prada
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What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that this book -- which is now
a
movie by the same name -- provides teens a more than
adequate glimpse into the shallow world of top fashion.
Characters aspire to be skeletal thin and look down upon anyone
wearing clothes off the rack. The protagonist's boss berates
her abilities and criticizes her physical appearance, all the
while holding the carrot of any job in the publishing world.
Young women and men drink excessively, to the point of injury,
have casual sex, and at times swear like sailors.
Families can talk about the allure of this book. Why has it been such a success? Is the author trying to have it both ways by attracting readers with the same glitz she claims to be criticizing? Also, given that the author really worked at Vogue under Anna Wintour, is it fair to write with such disdain about a real experience and a real person? Fiction or a stab in the back?
Common Sense Media Review
This book has a fun premise, but it's a complicated choice
for teens, who may miss out on the message embedded here.
Unfortunately, by the time the main character does learn her
lesson, she has become fairly unsympathetic.
Protagonist Andrea Sachs starts out as a highly likeable character: She just graduated from Brown, traveled to India, aspires to write for The New Yorker, has a healthy relationship with her family, and adores her idealistic boyfriend who works as an inner-city teacher.
She lands a seemingly plum job as assistant level 1 to Miranda Priestly, executive editor of Runway magazine, which is the last, final, and only word in fashion. And so begins her transformation.
Always critical of her snobby co-workers, shamelessly extravagant expense accounts, unhealthy views of the female figure, Andrea saves her sharpest wit (in her head or behind one's back) for her arrogant, demanding, patronizing, and over-the-top in evil boss, Miranda Priestly.
But as Andrea plays the game -- wrapping Miranda's holiday gifts, picking up her dry-cleaning, calling for copies of Harry Potter books (before they are released to the public) -- she begins losing weight, wearing expensive but free designer clothes, attending celebrity parties, and dropping names of the Runway world to other New York young socialites.
She's learning a life-long lesson about the ultimate virtue in being true to yourself despite potential professional sacrifices. Adult readers know this from the start. But teens curious about the world of New York fashion and this look into the inner operations of clothing designers, stylists, models, and photographers may be too caught up in the glitz to catch the author's point.
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
