Beauty Queens

By: Libba Bray

Narrated by: Libba Bray

Length: 14 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

The 50 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.

©2011 Libba Bray (P)2011 Scholastic Audio

Hands down the best

This is one of those books that should only be experienced through the audiobook. Bray's storytelling finesse is coupled with her ability to bring these characters and story to life. The story is hilarious but also incredibly pointed in its message. A must listen for women everywhere who feel like the status quo beauty culture just doesn't get at the heart of the individual.

There's nothing wrong with it . . .

Where does Beauty Queens rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The story was cute, and it was a fun satire. It was pretty predictable and not really interesting but a nice fluffy bit of entertainment.

What does Libba Bray bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Libba Bray does a great job with the voices and intonation of the different characters. Her reading this story is at least 50% of the reason it is so entertaining.

Fabulous

I am soooooo glad I read this as an audiobook. The voice is so important to this and Libba does an excellent job. The story is hilarious, edgy and has serious bite. Great "read".

Holy crap, this is amazing

This immediately skyrocketed into my top 10 books of all time. Bray’s book is so much fun it’s like a guilty pleasure, BUT then there are very sophisticated layers of feminist inquiry and political and economic satire. Compelling characters, a sadly realistic evil corporation, sex scenes, and makeovers galore—what more could you want? Read this book, like, for real.

Hilarious!

Have just finished listening to this for the second time and only just realized it’s narrated by the author. So funny, download this now!

Laugh out loud!

I don’t usually write reviews,but I loved this book and listening to her discussion after. Libba Bray sounds like sunshine ,and I smile, but when she reads her tale and creates her characters , I literally laugh out loud. A real pleasure, thank you Ms Bray.

Romantic tie in ruin the girl power tale

I could have dealt without the romantic dream boat pirates subplot.
It derailed the story completely.
And the constant footnotes for world building were annoying.

the most terrible audible book ever

This was torture to get through. I was determined to listen until the end, thinking it had to get better. It never did. The characters are stereotypes of the worst kind with absolutely no dimension and performed in stereotypical accents. The narrator ( the author) delivers the text with a nudge-nudge quality to her voice, letting the listener know how funny it all is. Though the story is way too long, it is padded with * commercials* and dream sequences that have nothing to do with the plot. Worst of all is the beauty queen contestant who is deaf and has lost her hearing aid in the opening plane crash. The narrator/author shouts at the top of her lungs to illustrate her deafness all through the book, requiring constant volume adjustments. I got it the first time.

Libba Bray is a fine author; I've enjoyed other books she's written. Something went very wrong here.

This book is the worst book ever written

What disappointed you about Beauty Queens?

It was stupid. The foot notes were annoying.

Has Beauty Queens turned you off from other books in this genre?

no but will never buy another Libba Bray book

How could the performance have been better?

Burn it!

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Anger that I bought this book

Any additional comments?

Terribly written

Can't get past the first chapter - ughh

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

A decent story and narrator.

What could Libba Bray have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

ditto

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Libba Bray?

someone professional

What character would you cut from Beauty Queens?

So unmemorable - can't even remember who they were.

Any additional comments?

skip this one!