Review: Beauty Queens

Goodreads Description: The fifty contestants in the Miss Teen Dream pageant thought this was going to be a fun trip to the beach, where they could parade in their state-appropriate costumes and compete in front of the cameras. But sadly, their airplane had another idea, crashing on a desert island and leaving the survivors stranded with little food, little water, and practically no eyeliner.

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What's a beauty queen to do? Continue to practice for the talent portion of the program - or wrestle snakes to the ground? Get a perfect tan - or learn to run wild? And what should happen when the sexy pirates show up?

Welcome to the heart of non-exfoliated darkness. Your tour guide? None other than Libba Bray, the hilarious, sensational, Printz Award-winning author of A Great and Terrible Beauty and Going Bovine. The result is a novel that will make you laugh, make you think, and make you never see beauty the same way again.

I enjoyed Beauty Queens, and am looking forward to reading more books by author Libba Bray! This book was funny and original, and kept me up late reading. I did have some little problems with it, as soon as I finished it, I wrote down my rating, which will be three or four bookcases. (Oh, today I wrote a rating guide in the Policies section of my blog, so check that out!)

The wonderful characters were probably the strongest part of the novel, along with the fun footnotes and extra features spattered within the book. All the beauty queens have a unique story and personality. My favorite was Adina, she is smart and sarcastic, and a little more sensible than some of the other girls. I also liked Tiara, she is really sweet, although lacking in the spelling department! And Petra is awesome to! She really makes you think about what it means to be a girl. (Will not say anymore as I am afraid of spoilers!)

Libba bray has a terrific, humorous, and sickeningly true view on life. She has "commercial breaks" in her writing, and they are close to our radio adds, magazines, and commercials. Our commercials say things that convince girls they need fixing: tanner skin, dye, weight loss pills etc. (Although not as glaringly obvious as in Brays examples, which makes her writing so funny)

Also, in the character interviews, you hear some hilarious stuff! And, in footnotes at the bottom if the page, she has promotions and fun tidbits. Things like the latest fake gossip going around about the popular band Boyz will B Boys, or the best shaving cream for a price of only 120 dollars!

The plot was the big thing I found lacking. A lot of the times I found myself skimming to the next conversation between the girls, and not paying attention to the action. This made the book a little less enjoyable. Also, the beginning felt rushed to the extreme.

Overall, I would recommend this book for people wanting to laugh and wonder about what our world has become for young girls. Have you read this book? My favorite characters was Adina. I also liked Petra. Who were your favorites? Leave your answer in the comments!

4/5 bookcases