Beauty Queens

By: Libba Bray

Narrated by: Libba Bray

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

Great laughs with a ton of heart

As a heads up, YA isn’t usually my genre. I tend to stick fast to Fantasy and Sci-fi. And I am older. But I am so glad I branched out for this one. This book was magnificent and the author proved a truly wonderful reader who made her own book sing. I smiled most of the book and laughed out loud often. It made the drive to work a joy and made it feel too short.

While a few of the girls get lost in the shuffle of the large ensemble cast, the majority of them are completely endearing and you want to see them succeed and bond. Which made for a happy but not saccharine story of friendship.

Definitely recommend. 5 stars on all fronts.

Great fun.

The first part of this story is BRILLIANT. Absolutely hilarious, great satire. The ending (well really as soon as the pirates .. yes pirates... show up) its starts to get a little bit too 'out there' for me.

FEMTASTIC!

What did you love best about Beauty Queens?

I loved how this book was narrated! The author does an amazing job and it really brings it to life.

What did you like best about this story?

This story has no one main character. It follows many without being confusing.

What about Libba Bray’s performance did you like?

Mrs. Bray narrates this book with style. She brings it to life with voices and special effects.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I love how this book is so crazy! It was a wild ride and I laughed the whole way.

Any additional comments?

This is a credit well spent! Highly recommended

Laugh out loud funny

Any additional comments?

I struggled with this book at first- so many stereotypes, so many cliches. Once I let that go I just enjoyed the hilarity. This book is supposed to be over the top and once I embraced the exaggeration it made me laugh out loud. I still chuckle just thinking about the characters in this book.

The audio performance kept me in it

The best thing about this book is Libba Bray's narration. The character voices she did were spot on and entertaining BUT the plot of the book was silly and over-the-top and many of the chapters could have used editing (do editors even exist anymore? So many books would be better with judicious editing). I walked away from the book several times when it veered too far into the absurd but kept coming back in hopes it would right itself. It didn't, unfortunately. Worth a credit? I guess. I did laugh out loud a couple of times and enjoyed the voice acting of the author. Some books, like this one, seem tailor made for Audible - I just wish the plot had been better.