Author: Libba Bray
Series: None
Publisher: Scholastic
Released: May 24, 2011
Website: http://libbabray.com/
Book Summary
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.
First off this is only a partial review because I didn't finish this book. I only made it through the first 7 chapters of Beauty Queens.
This book is irreverent, sarcastic and laugh out-loud funny. It was great fun for an hour or two as the narrator of the audio version gives an amazing preformance.
Unfortunately I don't think I can make it through 400 pages (14 hours) of mockery, shallowness and sheer stupidity. By chapter seven the language that up until then had been bleeped out (Beauty Queens don't swear) was no longer being bleeped and it seemed like the subject matter was taking a turn. What had been funny was starting to get old and instead of laughing I was rolling my eyes.
Beauty Queens was a Best of 2011 pick by one of the Best I've Read Blogs so I gave it a try. There are many people who love this book and I totally understand the mixed reviews. There is no denying that Libba Bray is a great writer. I really enjoyed her Gemma Doyle trilogy but 400 pages of Beauty Queens was just too much for me.
Rating: 2.5 Stars - Take it or Leave it
Content: language, lesbianism, innuendo, crude humor (after reading a few reviews my understanding is there is a lot more content in later chapters)
Source: Library
Also by Libba Bray
That's unfortunate :/ I don't remember exactly when it happens, but the book eventually does become more about fleshing out the characters and their respective back stories. It's a really great look at common, problematic issues that people of different races, genders, and sexualities face, and that YA commonly just ignores. Even with the silliness, I really liked that Bray shined a light on them.
ReplyDeleteAlso, it gets like 1000+ points for developing unity and sisterhood in the girls rather than petty jealousies and cattiness. YA needs more of that!
I'm sorry you couldn't finish it, it really is worth it!
Sounds like a sort of Lord of the Flies in reverse. Despite the shallowness, I think I'll have to check it out. If the first bit is as hysterical and sarcastic as you make it sound, maybe there's enough in the end to make the shallow bits worth it. Besides...great cover.
ReplyDelete- C.J. -
cjlistro.blogspot.com
*sigh* well, I listened to the audio which was fantastic! The narration was awesome and amazing. However, it couldn't hide completely that I also didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped..
ReplyDeleteOh, this doesn't sound like the Gemma Doyle trilogy!
ReplyDeleteI understand that you have to make a choice and not every book is appropriate for everyone...
Maybe I'll give it a try.
I had no idea what this book was about (somehow I missed that the "bullets" were lipsticks), so this has been a very informative review! 14 hours is a looooong time, so I guess the audio wasn't abridged. My husband listens to audio books and he plays them at 1.5x the speed because he finds them a little slow. I talk fast so he must be used to me. But I digress... Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteI agree! I thought it all got kinda old quickly too :/
ReplyDeletemy reaction was similar. I felt guilty because Libba Bray is such a good writer. BUT I couldn't make all the way through either and resorted to skimming. The laugh a second became too distracting- I like my wit, sarcasm & frivolity in smaller does with a rest between; became contrived, hectic & gimmicky.
ReplyDeletemy reaction was similar. I felt guilty because Libba Bray is such a good writer. BUT I couldn't make all the way through either and resorted to skimming. The laugh a second became too distracting- I like my wit, sarcasm & frivolity in smaller does with a rest between; became contrived, hectic & gimmicky.
ReplyDeleteI picked up this book on a whim because the premise seemed interesting. A Great and Terrible Beauty is one of the most beautiful historical and gothic novels I have read in a while. The story enthralled me from beginning to end. Sixteen-year-old Gemma Doyle is different from the other girls at the London boarding school she lives in after her mother's tragic and strange death in India. In addition to not having the conformist mentality that girls of her class and station are trained to have, Gemma has a deep, dark problem that she does not know how to control.
ReplyDelete