Beauty Queens- Libba Bray

Title: Beauty Queens

Author: Libba Bray

Format: Audio book

Source: Borrowed

Rating: 4/5

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.

Beauty Queens is not at all what I expected.  This book deals with a lot of heavy subjects that I did not at all expect from the cover.  I assumed it would be a fluffy, light read about beauty queens being on a plane crash and getting stuck on a deserted island, instead we meet girls who appear superficial on the surface, but underneath are dealing with everyday issues.

These girls have to learn to survive on the island with the little supplies they do have. They also start dealing with the issues they have left behind. Amazing. I really enjoyed this book. It was deep and emotional.  I would have never imagined I would like this book this much.  I am so glad I picked this up.

Libba Bray is the narrator of her own story, which is just amazing. She brings the story alive in a way no other narrator could. She gives each of the girls there own unique personality and quirks. I feel like I got to know all of the girls individually.  There are so many characters but Libba has a way of bringing them all together and making you feel close to all of them.

I have only read one other book by Libba Bray before this one. I was not a huge fan at the time, but I think I should re-read it. I might change my mind. I will be reading her other books asap. I have become a huge fan.