REVIEW: BEAUTY QUEENS BY LIBBA BRAY
Beauty Queens was a wonderful surprise for me for many reasons. Here is a quick break down of the plot:
Fifty contestants in the Teen Dream pageant crash on to what they thing is a deserted island . Once shock and panic wears off. Teen Dream Taylor is immediately made leader as the girls set out to build shelters, locate food and oh yeah practice their talent and Q&A parts for the pageant. That's right even being stranded doesn't get in the way of these plucky girls preparing for the pageant to come! At least while Taylor is in charge. I loved everything about this book and there were some really surprising things that I wasn't
expecting:
I spent a great deal of time laughing out loud even. Libbaeeds to win an award for her foot notes alone! Hilarious dialogue and vivid narrative description hep you immerse yourself in the experience. Libba really has a grasp of the large cast in this book. Many of the characters have some of the stereotypical attributes you would expect pageant girls to have but even those who aren't , well Rocket Scientists have wonderful attributes that come to light under duress.
As i mentioned in my Cover Play post recently the cover of Beauty Queens really doesn't do justice to the diverse cast in this book:
Nicole Ade is African American (Nigerian by descent)
Shanti Sing is of Indian descent
These characters really have standout roles in the novel and the are very well thought out and realistic. I really connected with Nicole. There are also lesbian and transgender characters. Wonderful additions that really reflect the diverse world we live in. Teens will really be able to connect with this characters and see they face the same challenges, hopes and dreams as they do.
Though the focus of the book is the girls adventures on the Island you get a sense of the politics of the world and The Corporation an entity that seems to have it's fingers in a great many pies, and controls a great deal of the products and shows that the public consume.
Toss in a little Lord Of The Flies type interaction and a group of soldiers on a mission that makes the girls collateral damage and you get a wonderful read. Oh and did I mention the Pirates ???
Such an amazing read! I hope it finds it's way to your bookshelves. Happy Reading!
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