AustLit

'Cassie Lane had a quintessentially Australian, dysfunctional, single-parent upbringing. 

'They loved each other, but in a stealing-Christmas-trees-together kind of way. For as long as she remembers she wanted to be somebody else. Miraculously, aged 16, her prayers were answered and she got boobs. Great boobs! And a body that would make Hugh Hefner blush. She went from awkward, gawky bogan to international model, jet-setting around the world and hanging out with A-listers in LA. But the dream turns into a nightmare; and when she resists the exploitation of the industry the is shunned. Cassie’s health suffers and her life spirals.

'She returns to Australia to find herself. She enrolls in university and starts dating someone who becomes a famous footballer. She attends the Brownlow and refuses a Collingwood alpha female’s invitation to do cocaine and finds herself declared ‘the worst dressed at the Brownlow’ by the Herald Sun (while the best dressed by Mx). Suddenly the media is full of scathing commentary commenting about the way she looks, everything from the size of her lips to her hair and dress. She is labelled a slut, a skank and a stripper. Her famous footballing partner has become abusive and she ends the relationship. His form suffers and staff from Collingwood call her and pressurises her into getting back with him. She yearns for an ordinary life; she finishes university and starts looking for entry-level jobs despite being in her late 20's.

'Cassie eventually comes full circle and realises that beauty is not about a symmetrical face or a 24-inch waist but it actually thrives in the imperfect and vulnerable. She learns to accept herself, and see how a woman should be.' (Publication summary)