Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
Published May 24, 2011
Review:
I was
a little skeptical about this book mainly because of two things: low rating on
a Libba Bray book (I have always enjoyed her books) and because it’s about
bimbo beauty queens who are trying to survive on a seemingly deserted
island. However, I still picked up the
book because it was still a Libba
Bray book and because I had picked this book for my NYPL ReadingChallenge. I was expecting stupid
blondes (sorry, stereotype) who end up doing more harm than good. What I didn’t expect was to actually find
this book not only highly entertaining but quite educational as well.
I actually
listened to the audiobook for this one (I think it was read by Libba Bray
herself but not 100% sure about this) and it seemed more like a TV show rather
than a typical audiobook. Especially because
of the music during the “commercial breaks” which showcased different feminine
products from the Corporation or some of their TV shows. It was definitely a unique experience listening
to the audiobook and I’m glad I did it rather than reading the book in
print.
Beauty Queens covered a lot of
controversial topics: women rights, LGBT, and the stereotype of females in a
relatively male-dominated society. There
were a lot of snarky and satire about the expectations of females today and
female sexuality. I found the topics to
be riveting and engaging especially because, yes, we talk about such things
today but I don’t see many YA novels that outright makes fun of these
issues. It points a light at these issues
and even though this book was written 5 years ago, it’s still very relevant
today.
The
beauty queens in this book exceeded my expectations. Sure there were certainly a few really dumb
bimbos in the group but they were only dumb because people expected them to be
dumb. Once they were thrust into this
situation, they really came out of their shells and eventually learned and
helped a lot. In the beginning when I first
started listening to the book and was listening to these beauty queens discuss
the situation, I wanted to smack them in the face. I mean, when faced with the accident, the “team
leader”, Taylor, wanted to practice their routines rather than figuring out how
to survive. They failed to realize the
situation they were in until they were faint with hunger and dehydrated. While a few were the typical bimbos, there
were also a lot of smart ones. It was
also interesting to see their family backgrounds and where they come from because
it helped a lot. For example, Taylor,
Miss Texas, because she had history of shooting live animals and whatnot, she
was able to use some of her hunting skills to help the other girls
survive. This other one grew up in a
fishing community so she knew how to make fish lines to capture fresh
fish. It was quite amazing to see how
these seemingly uninteresting skills can make or break survival.
The plot
also had a lot of twists and turns. From
the synopsis, you don’t get the impression that there is some dark sinister
plot lurking in there; however, there was this huge scandal and conspiracy
where the girls not only had to survive to live on the inhabited island but
also to fight to survive against deadly scheme.
The book
was incredibly fun to read. Definitely exceeded
my expectations on both the beauty competitions and many controversial topics
discussed in the book. I highly
recommend it. But you should listen to
the audiobook instead.
Rating:
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