The Time-Traveling Fashionista by Bianca Turetsky

Title: The Time-Traveling Fashionista
Author: Bianca Turetsky
ISBN: 9780316105422
Publisher: Poppy; Little Brown and Company
Page #: 263
Source: My public library

Summary:
"Louise Lambert has always dreamed of movie starlets and exquisite gowns, and longs for the day when she can fill the closet of her normal suburban home with stylish treasures. But when she receives a mysterious invitation to a vintage fashion sale in the male, her once painfully average life is magically transformed into a time-travel adventure.

Suddenly on board a luxurious cruise ship a hundred years ago, Louise relishes the glamour of this opulent age and slips into a life of secrets, drama and decadence."
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First Lines:

"The invitation arrived on an ordinary Thursday. When Louise Lambert came home from swim practice that April afternoon, as she did every Thursday afternoon, it was lying on top of a pile of mail on the antique, oak hall table."
Page 3
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Review:

When I picked up this book and flipped through it, I knew I had to read it. Mostly because of the illustrations. The quick flip showed me several cool pictures and it made me wonder how they fit into the story. So yes... I read this book for the pictures :).

It's the story of Louise - a lover of all vintage fashion. When she tries on a particular dress, it transports her to a time and place she never expected to be. She transforms into a new person, an actress who wore the dress before her. She is then pulled into the life and tries to make sense of what is going on. Then she realizes what ship she's on...

I'm not sure if I'm giving anything away by saying this, but the ship she ends up on is the Titanic. So, of course, she kinda freaks out. One of my favorite things about this story is that it really seems to bring the story of the Titanic to life. It's not seen from the view of someone from that age. It's looking at things from our perspective, really. Which makes the whole thing very interesting to me. I guess it's that modern "fight for your survival" thing that is different from that time.

I dunno how accurate the history is (I'm sure it's very accurate, for the sake of the author), but I really felt connected to the characters in the story. And I really did feel like I had been transported back in time with Louisa. That whole part is just really well written.

In the end, I did wish for a little more about what happens after. I'm trying not to give it away. The beginning of the book is building up to a specific event and I would have like to see how that turned out. But I loved how a few things came full circle - you're not sure what's real and what's not real.

I will definitely be recommending this book to girls who love fashion and history. The whole concept of living the life of the person who wore that garment is very cool. It makes vintage fashion seem a little more interesting in my eyes. There was a bit more fashion information in this book than I knew what to do with, but I know lots of girls will love it. And it's perfect for younger girls as Louisa is in seventh grade.

I really look forward to the next book in this series. There's a whole lot of fun stuff on The Time-Traveling Fashionista website, so give that a look. And definitely give this book a try. So fast and fun!
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