Published May 24, 2011 by Scholastic PressGoodreads Review
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.
Review: Zany, wacky, silly, hilarious, empowering, awesome. All adjectives that can describe Libba Bray's satire on modern beauty stereotypes and women's roles in today's society as well as consumerism, racism, LGBT issues, and politics. This is a perfect book for fans of Drop Dead Gorgeous, Miss Congeniality, and Legally Blonde (AKA me).
I really enjoyed all of the girls on the island and their unique personalities. What I liked was how each girl started off with their own preconceived notions, their own mold that they were trying to stuff themselves into (in particular Mary Lou was amazing). As the book progressed they learn how to let go of society's demands and expectations of them and to become the girls that they truly are. I think this is a lovely message for the book and I really enjoyed the delivery.
The humor in this book is pretty out there, I will admit. I consider my sense of humor to be pretty dry, so this over the top slap stick humor was a little too much for me at times. Other times this humor was right on point and had some very poignant undertones. Beauty Queens has varying levels of humor, so don't be surprised if you find yourself simultaneously rolling your eyes and laughing out loud.
Overall Beauty Queens is a very funny satire that comments on beauty and how we try and contain it and give it structure and definition instead of letting it be the wild exciting thing it is. While the humor doesn't always hit the mark for me, when it's on it's SO ON and speaks truly about sexuality and growing up.
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