Beauty Queens

Libba takes a shot at everyone in this book. You can't take it seriously even though there are some serious messages hidden in the humour. This is NOT an 11-13 year old (which is the category it's in). Save it for your older teens. Near the end Bray starts to lose focus and like Going Bovine, needed an editor to say "reel it in" but overall the book was a keeper.

I would recommend this book in a heartbeat. It's laugh-out-loud funny and manages to get important messages across about beauty ideals and gender without being preachy. Bray sends up the pageant world while treating the girls with tenderness and care. She manages to combine a plane full of beauty queens, a secret island hideaway for evil corporation agents, an Elvis-loving South American dictator and a boatload of pirates in a farce that is chock-full of wonderfully fleshed-out characters and tons of social commentary about the pitfalls of commercialism and capitalism.

I loved the backstories we got on all the girls - especially Mary Lou's suppression of her 'Wild Girl' side and the way she rediscovers it on the island. You might not expect swoon from a book that has a plane full of girls crash landing on an apparently deserted island, but there's swoon aplenty.

Libba Bray brings these characters to LIFE with her narration. I don't know how she kept all the accents straight - but these beauty queens are in a national competition, so they represent several different states across the U.S. Each character had a distinct voice and that really helped to bring their personalities to life.
There's also wonderful, very professional production of the little 'commercial' interludes - with perfect accompanying music and sound effects.

Seeing the girls come together and get past their differences in order to survive was very touching. Hearing them form unexpected bonds and get to know one another in a much more in-depth way than they would have if they had only competed against one another in a beauty pageant was great.

There's a bonus interview section with Libba Bray at the end of the book where she answers some questions and explains some of her influences. It's hilarious!

Just Listen to it! All I have to say:)

Tiara- super funny!!

All of the Characters voices! She did a Fantastic job!

Laugh out loud!

Hilarious, entertaining, great characters. I usually don't like when there are too many story lines, but I loved getting to know all the girls and their backgrounds. The author doing the narration was great and I thought really added to the book!

The main problem I had with this book is the action/humor where not consistent. Half a dozen scenes could have been edited. With that said...this is the ONLY thing negative about this book. This book was LOADS OF FUN to read. Very funny. Drive-thru Plastic Surgery? Christian Pole-Dancing. Love it. Bray as a reader? BRILLIANT. One of the best performances I have listened to. Teens will eat this one up. Very new. Very fresh. I can't wait to see the movie.

I would recommend the first six chapters of the book. They are laugh-out-loud funny and satirical. But after that the book bogs down with too many politically correct messages to convey, a silly story line, and the outrageous humor gets dimmed. The language and sexual suggestions make this a book for older teens, not younger teens The narration is outstanding and I looked forward to each time the characters of Taylor and Tiara spoke.

Funny, Ironic, Cynical

Miss Texas, loved her.

No, first one, but I will read more.

Wanted to savor it.

I've read Libba Bray's A Great and Terrible Beauty series, and this book was written in a completely different tone, its hard to compare them. It was fun and lighthearted and seems to be Libba Bray just writing for the fun of it!

The narration was absolutely great! All the characters had their own very distinct and hilarious voices that really made the book fun to listen to!

The book was a pretty fun listen, my only criticism is that after a while the not-so-subtle "see guys, I'm a feminist!" lessons get a bit old, but keeping in mind that I am not of the intended teenage audience (to which some of these ideas may be new) it still didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book!

I don't know.

The problem was more than the narration.

It could have been a clever idea. But the sophomoric sex/body stuff was intolerable.

It was a satisfactory wrap-up.

Not the most deep or inspiring reading, but it is fun and interesting. I was never bored, that's for sure.