You Wanna Be On Top? By Sarah Hartshorne is the story of what has deemed a plus size model on the popular show America’s Next Top Model. Sarah tries out and makes it through many rounds to get on the show. She’s very pretty and is not plus size by regular standards and that seems to be one of the issues she faces on the show. She is grilled on how she feels about being the only plus sized woman being represented. This is so ridiculous but is a symptom of some’s view of beauty. The contestants are unable to speak to each other, have access to the outside world or even have a book to read. They are followed nearly everywhere in the house so that sound bites can be edited together to fit the theme of the show. The contestants are made up, dressed up and photographed in order to progress to the next round. I’ve never watched the show but have seen other reality based shows and they just seem to breed unnecessary hostility among contestants. I can’t say that this is what happened in this book but I found the description of living conditions ridiculous. This is definitely an interesting book if you are interested in good and bad of modeling. Despite all of the pro/cons of America’s Next Top Model, it appears from follow-up that Hartshorne has found her niche in writing and comedy, Perhaps being eliminated was the best for her life.

When I came across a book about America’s Next Top Model, I was immediately intrigued. Having watched the show over the years and knowing the fate of some of the contestants, I was eager to read Sarah Hartshorne’s account of her experience on the show. Sarah candidly shares her story, questioning whether reality TV lives up to its perceived glamour and whether modeling truly is as glamorous as it appears. I highly recommend reading Sarah’s book to form your own opinion.

I want to express my gratitude to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for providing me with an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This was NUTS 😨 and so damaging to so many women and young girls.

Sarah, a queer former contestant from Season 9, shares her raw and devastating experience with ANTM and I am truly disgusted in the producers, other crew members, and Tyra for treating those women.. those HUMANS.. the way they did. And have, for SO many seasons. I don’t understand how this has been allowed…

The requirements of these girls before the actual show is mind boggling. They had to write all of their traumas on paper and provide to producers for the show. They were gaslit, brainwashed, and manipulated- to where some women lost their identities completely..They had to have an actual psychological evaluation. They had to submit to hair, urine, and BLOOD samples being taken. They had to provide very detailed financial information and that of their FAMILY’S!! Amongst a number of interviews and harsh criticism. Once they were ON the show, they each had a “wrangler” who was essentially an adult babysitter. The girls were always transported to UNDISCLOSED places and were forced to wear blind folds during the boat, plane, car rides (and/or the windows were always blacked out on the inside). They were never told where they were going or what was happening. Their iPods, books, ID’s, phones, etc were stripped of them instantly and used as pawns to get the girls to behave how they want. The girls were absolutely NOT allowed to talk to each other ANY time they were not on camera or hooked up to mics -EVER- or would suffer consequences, including the withholding of food and water, threats, slander, and blackmail. The girls were always in windowless rooms, never allowed to look outside. The abuse of power and control.. these girls were physically, emotionally, and mentally tortured and controlled. So, so tragically sad to me.

Sad to think I grew up watching this show, seeing Tyra Banks (and the judges) as a fashion icon(s), even wishing I could be one of the models on her show “when I’m older”. This was upsetting, but needs to be talked about and brought to the light. This is a serious problem.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Published for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

What an incredible read!
I am a reality TV junkie and have seen EVERY Episode of America's Next Top Model. Not that I remember half of them and immediately while reading this book. I went and bought the entire Cycle 9 Series so that I can see this in action.
Sarah was ON POINT. For Real.
<b>”And the reality is … it was a cult. I got suckered into a cult."</b>
The entire book was ON Point with what I was totally into the book.
Great Memoir. I will definitely be buying a physical copy of this when it comes out.
Thank you Netgalley. Sarah Hartshorne, and Crown Publishing for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I think this book is going to hit Top Model fans in the nostalgia. I'm not sure if people who never watched the show, and specifically never watched "Cycle" 9, would get as much out of it as someone familiar with the show/cycles. The writing was good, humorous, and honest. I'd recommend it to fans of the show.

Remind me to never sign up for a reality show! I really hope things have improved in the almost 20 years since Sarah Hartshorne was a contestant on America’s Next Top Model. I’m sorry to say that I watched Sarah’s season and now wish I hadn’t as I had absolutely no clue what was happening behind the scenes. Tyra Banks and all the judges and producers should be ashamed. This was a solid read - I appreciated Sarah’s sharing and reflections - NDA be damned but at the end it left me wanting more and feeling unsatisfied. I hope there are more books forthcoming which show the dark sides of reality TV. Congratulations on the good book Sarah Hartshorne - I’d love to see your comedy show! Thanks to NetGalley and Crown publishing for the ARC in exchange for a review. If you’ve ever watched ANTM - be sure to check this book out!

4.5 Stars (I received an e-arc from Net Galley in exchanged for an honest review)

Once again we see how terrible ANTM and Tyra Banks were behind the scenes and all the shit all of the contestants have had to go through. I had a phase were I binged watched multiple seasons on one of those sites that only allow a certain amount of time per day. I don't have a lot of memories of Season 9 but I remember Heather and the Enrique Iglesias music video shoot. And I believe that plus size contestants were starting to be shown a little more.

We get to see her life beforehand and what led her to audition for the reality show. Which is where we first see the signs of producer interference, by having her over exaggerate a very small aspect of her small town life. Oh and of course the comments about her being plus size constantly over the show and what seems like gaslighting by always commenting about potential weight loss. There is also constant surveillance and producers withholding books and iPods/listening devices during long wait times, almost like punishment. Constant threats of legal action, very small weekly grocery budgets, finding a hidden camera panel in a toilet stall and lots of trauma bonding. We see how detached Tyra Banks is from the contestants but turns it on for the camera. We see over time from judging panels and producer interviews, Sarah's self confidence and self esteem plummet. Yet never in the bottom two until the episode she is eliminated. Then unfortunately being forced to stay where the contestants were until near the end of filming.

She also interviews contestants not only from her cycle, to get their perspective and experience. There are also many models/contestants who have come out with their stories from the show and a lot of them have YouTube channels. We see her continuing to find modelling work after the show but finds it's difficult with her portfolio and finds that photoshoots on the show were nothing like real life. She also talks briefly about her journey with bisexuality throughout the book, and then her journey with motherhood. I found myself fully surprised at how intense the show controlled them, though not surprised at Tyra's behaviour. The show (specifically Cycle 9) itself aired in 2007 so probably filmed 2005-2006 ish and as someone who was teenager in this time and this was peak favourite reality show and was definitely of the time.

This book is a page-turner filled with fascinating behind-the-scenes information and tea. It's completely engrossing. But what really hooked me was the unflinching exploration of fatphobia and the poignant portrayal of a person grappling with their own queerness during a time when we were told by society that bisexuality didn't exist. Sarah Hartshorne brings a vulnerability to the page I really appreciated as a reader.

If you've ever watched a season of ANTM, you'll want to read You Wanna Be On Top.

Sarah Hartshorne, contestant on America's Next Top Model cycle 9, dishes out some behind the scenes stuff and her real thoughts about being on the show. We get a lot of insight on being a "plus sized" model on cycle 9 as well. Some said she was too thin to be a plus size but too big to be straight size. We go through all the ups and downs throughout her time in the competition and after. This was a fun read, but I kinda wish there were more interviews or conversations with other contestants or insiders.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for the ARC!

In her account Hartshorne pulls back the curtain on ANTM and reality TV, including coercive contracts and abusive work conditions in the name of entertainment and a compelling storyline for viewers. (I was a regular ANTM viewer back in the day, and did watch Hartshorne's season, yet when I looked up images of the cast I was shocked to see that producers pushed a storyline of her being "plus sized"?!)

The writing and pacing were inconsistent for me, but I appreciated the author's efforts to describe the cult-like experience of being on the show (including referencing research on how cults function, and parallels to how the cast were treated). Even back when the show aired it was obvious that the cast were expected to put up with a lot without questioning it, in exchange for this supposedly great opportunity, but what the book reveals is so much worse. If you are interested in our culture of reality tv in general and how it affects participants, this book may interest you, even if you aren't a fan of the show.

Thank to Crown Publishing for the ARC in an exchange for an honest review.

DNF - 33%

While I spent a good part of the early to mid aughts watching ANTM, I'm not sure I completely remember this cycle of contestants. Perhaps that's part of the reason I failed to connect with Sarah. Regardless, I felt the writing very superficial and wanted her to delve a lot deeper. It felt like a slog to get to 33% to me and better to just DNF. I hope someday there will be a more compelling account that shows the manipulation and problems that occurred within ANTM.

Thank you to Crown Publishing and Netgalley for a copy for review consideration.

As an avid watcher of America's Next Top Model back in the day, I will happily read anything that comes out about contestants' experiences on the show, because everything they were put through was WILD. I think we can all look back at it now and recognize how much toxicity there clearly was on that set, and we can only imagine what went on that can't be talked about due to NDAs. I'm glad to hear Sarah Hartshorne's first hand account of what her experience was like on cycle 9 of the show, because we haven't gotten a lot of details from former contestants (I imagine out of fear of lawsuits or other retaliation), and this really felt like a diary of her time on ANTM. She expresses what it was like to be thrown into this completely unfamiliar situation as someone who didn't have any experience in the modeling or reality tv worlds, and how jarring it was to be under the control of a production team that ran a really tight ship. I had heard about how difficult the filming conditions were for the show, but Sarah included some instances that were really harrowing, such as health issues getting ignored, and long work days with little to no water, food, or bathroom breaks. Meanwhile, she also talks very openly about what it was like to be considered a plus-sized model even though she wasn't truly plus-sized, and how every interview on the show seemed to involve questions about whether or not she was insecure about her weight.

I think that fans of ANTM will find this book very interesting, harrowing, and a little bit nostalgic. I can also see it appealing to people who are just interested in the modeling industry, or the reality tv culture of the time.

fun, well-written book about the situation of america's next top model. i know NOTHING about the show but the book was still really good. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

I have to admit I was not a massive follower of the show "America's Next Top Model," so I think that is why I didn't really get much out of this book. I didn't watch every season, so some of the references didn't mean as much to me as they would to someone who was a loyal follower of the show. I enjoyed the behind-the-scenes look at reality TV and how fake it is, though. I always suspected as such, but Sarah's experiences showed way more than I had suspected.

Please don't construe my two-star rating as a sign that this book is not good...it was still entertaining to me...I am just not the audience this was likely intended for. Sarah does have a talent for storytelling and I'd encourage anyone who is a reality TV or ANTM fan to check this book out.

I remembered watch America's Next Top Model in high school, including Cycle 9, which Sarah Hartshorne was a contested on. In the memoir, she gives insight about the expectations of being on the show and the process of each challenge, shoot, and elimination rounds. Moreover, she goes into details with the behind the scenes information and ultimately, how the show exploited young women to be on the show at the attempts of becoming a famous model; poor working conditions with long hours, limited bathroom breaks and health scares; and the verbal abusive nature of the show's judges and producers.

I never read a book so fast to get more information about the show from a contestant perspective. I recommend the memoir for anyone who watched the show in the naught and 2010 decades.

TW: body image; eating disorders.

Thank you NetGalley & Crown Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. You Wanna Be on Top? publishes on July 7, 2025.

What a blast from the past! For anyone that was enthralled with America's Next Top Model will immediately be taken back to the runway. Sarah does a great job setting the scene where memories of the characters her season were easy to recall. This is a snapshot of the early millennial reality tv shows - parts that are cringe-worthy, rooted in diet culture, and how scripted "unscripted" tv can be. This was a fast read but one where I googled on the side to see the photo shoots and remember the faces - a book I didn't realize I was missing!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

You Wanna Be on Top? is written by a former contestant of America's Next Top Model. A show that was previously a guilty pleasure of mine despite being highly problematic in its treatment of the contestants and that it was highly reflective of the toxic nature of modeling in the aughts (and honestly I'm guessing some of it still persists). Reading a firsthand experience about filming the show and all of the issues she faced as the "plus sized" contestant (she was a size 6...horrors!), confirmed how much reality TV controls their contestants and that there's frankly nothing real about it.

If you were into the show, I would suggest reading this one or honestly if you're a fan of reality TV.

What American millennial woman didn't grow up watching America's Next Top Model? Former contestant Sarah Hartshorne shares her honest experience as a "plus size" model on cycle 9 with candor, wit, and plenty of pop culture references.

Take that, NDA.

i grew up loving americas next top model, dreaming i would one day be on stage with the other women walking down the runway (despite being 5’2). reading sarah’s book was a real eye-opener!

she goes into detail of the casting process, the blindfolded travel from each location, and the abuse - both emotional and physical- that everyone was put through. each chapter was a vivid re-telling that i could picture happening off-screen.

i devoured this book, flipping through the pages on my e-reader to learn what new crazy encounter the models would be put through, and what new friendships would blossom.

if you were a fan of the show, or any reality tv, i think this is a great book to pick up. i will say that some people may be turned off by sarah’s mention of politics toward the end, but it didn’t bother me in the slightest :)

If you're a lover of reality TV, *especially* in the early-mid 2000s, then you most likely experienced and/or loved America's Next Top Model. As an avid watcher of reality TV myself, I knew I wanted to read this.
I also was immediately drawn to this cover, with a disdained Barbie head and the iconic line "Wanna Be On Top?" (Which if you really loved this show, you can hear the theme song immediately play in your head). As far as the content of the memoir goes, Sarah (ANTM-Cycle 9) does a really good job of giving the reader EXACTLY what we asked for, which is juicy, unheard-of, unfiltered behind the scenes info that the viewer did not know beforehand. We, as the viewer, can connect with iconic scenes that the producers wanted us to see and then be able to read Sarah's personal experiences and witty commentary to now accompany it.
I also really enjoyed how Sarah was able to take us from auditions to the finale episode and even a small piece of her life after Top Model. It gave a complete experience. My one qualm is that I think that Sarah misses the mark on going deeper into topics such as racism and sexism(What was up with Nigel?!) of course the qoute of being in a cult, which she expresses but I think could have delved into more. You expect to hear more of her personal negative feelings,-like many other disgruntled contestants about such issues but she tells the story from her view, like a friend telling a friend casually over drinks, not as an expose', which I think makes this book entertaining.

(As I finished reading this, I opened Instagram to see infamous ANTM contestant Yaya give a tearful message about old hard feelings towards Tyra, Tryas recent acceptance speech, steps towards healing those feelings, and the legacy of opportunities ANTM created for young women)

#ANTM #AmericasNextTopModel #YouWannaBeonTop #NetGalley #booksuggestions #crownpublishing #memoirs #realityTV #currentlyreading