Beauty Queens by Libba Bray (Review)

Genre:	Young Adult, Adventure
Publication.Date	May 24th 2011
Pages:	390
Published By:	Scholastic Press
Website	Libba Bray | Beauty Queens
	Beauty Queens - Goodreads
My review copy:	Provided by the publisher (thank you!)
Where to get:	Barnes and Noble | Amazon      | Book Depository

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.

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.

(goodreads.com)

“It’s super creepy. Like a haunted Chuck E. Cheese’s where the games all want to kill you and you never get your pizza.”

 “Why do girls always feel like they have to apologize for giving an opinion or taking up space in the world? Have you ever noticed that?” Nicole asked. “You go on websites and some girl leaves a post and if it’s longer than three sentences or she’s expressing her thoughts about some topic, she usually ends with, ‘Sorry for the rant’ or ‘That may be dumb, but that’s what I think.”

“The most important quality in a friend is to be yourself. Unless you’re not a very nice person. Then you should try to be somebody else.”

 “When you looked up to the sky and cried “Why?” sometimes the sky shrugged. Yet other times it answered with the warm assurance of linked hands. “Sorry,” it whispered on the wind. “Sorry for all the pain and loneliness and disappointment. But there is this, too.”

 “Maybe girls need an island to find themselves. Maybe they need a place where no one’s watching them so they can be who they really are.”

“The world expected girls to pluck and primp and put on heels. Meanwhile, boys dressed in rumpled T-shirts and baggy pants and misplaced their combs, and yet you were supposed to fall at their feet? Unacceptable.”

 “What's your favorite color?
Tiara's eyes darted left and right in fear and her smile was strained.
"Um. Thank you, Fabio. I personally believe that we have a duty such as...as Americans...to help other people who are not Americans such as the peoples of the China and the Alaska and the freedoms we enjoy in our great nation and such and that is my opinion which I personally believe will make us a stronger nation. Thank you.
Adina squeezed her hands against her head. "What are you even saying? You just made my brain die a little. You know, people, just beautiful isn't enough."”

     

     What happens when a plane full of teenage beauty pageant contestants crashes on a deserted island? What if the supposedly deserted island is not deserted at all and there is something very suspicious going on there? Ever since I first read the synopsis of Beauty Queens by Libba Bray, I knew I had to get my hands on this novel. It sounded like a perfect summer read that had it all: a broad cast of interesting characters, dynamic action, masterfully crafted satire and plenty of good entertainment. I haven’t read any of Libba’s previous novels, and I started reading Beauty Queens knowing nothing about her writing style. To tell you the truth, this book exceeded all my expectations. I knew it was going to be fun, but I never expected to find depth and three-dimensional complexity in this book. What a pleasant surprise that was!

      This book begins with a plane crush. The Corporation’s Miss Teen Dream plane, with 50 beaming girls on board, is on its way to Paradise Cove, where the Forty First Annual Miss Teen Pageant will be taking place. It’s supposed to be a fun trip to the beach, where the girls will get to film their cute promotional videos, ride the waterslides, and practice their performance numbers. But then something goes wrong. There is an explosion and a lot of smoke, and then next thing they know, they’re falling, tumbling through the air and landing in the mound of warm sand. Only 13 of the girls survive the crash and if you think that’s the end of their problems.. well, you’re wrong! They’re stuck on a deserted (?) island, with very little food and even less survival skills. Is this every beauty queen’s worst nightmare or the beginning of a life-changing adventure? Well, you’ll just going to have to read it and find out!

     I had so much fun reading Beauty Queens! It was exciting and witty, and although I didn’t feel the need to stay up all night to finish it, it held my attention up until the last page. It’s definitely a book for people who can appreciate a good satire. And what a satire that was! I was deeply impressed with the way Libba Bray constructed this novel.  She crafted a deep, thought-provoking story that is absolutely hilarious and entertaining at the same time.  She tackled some heavy (and very relevant) subjects, like sexuality, gender, racism, self-worth, standards of beauty and objectification of women, and she did all that in a very subtle, enjoyable way. Honestly, I don’t know how she made this work. Just the idea of pampered teenage beauty queens stranded in wilderness and being forced to fight for survival was exhilarating to me. Add to that a skillfully incorporated pop culture satire and you’ll get a one-of-a-kind reading experience that not only makes you laugh, but also causes you to stop and think.  

     Every character in this book has a unique and compelling story to tell. As we learn more and more about each beauty queen, we begin to understand the motives behind their decisions to join the pageant. It’s really easy to get emotionally attached to them. I was amazed at how fast Libba’s characters grew on me, I never anticipated that (not a huge fan of air-headed look-at-me-I’m-perfect teenage girls). Thankfully, these girls turned out to be so much more than just pretty faces and beautiful bodies. Each one of them added something essential to the story. In the end I couldn’t decide which character was my favorite, I liked them all so very much! 

     Overall, this was a deliciously fun read. Fresh, unique, full of unexpected twists and wittiness, this book is a perfect summer read. Don’t hesitate to pick it up, you won’t regret!