Beauty Queens
(Libby/OverDrive eBook, Kindle)

When a plane carrying contestants for the Miss Teen Dream pageant crashes on a remote island, the survivors face greater challenges than just finding food, shelter, and missing cosmetics. Unbeknownst to the girls, the island is not deserted: its volcano houses a secret U.S.-government enclave involved in illegal weapons trading, and the cast grows further after some studly reality-TV pirates arrive on the scene. Outlandish? Yes. And there are characters that veer toward stereotype: take-charge Miss Texas, incognito-journalist Miss New Hampshire, and transgender Miss Rhode Island (who has a surprise under her sash), among others. But rather than letting the plot reel out of control, Bray, author of the Printz Award-winning Going Bovine (2009), spins this hilarious romp into an examination of femininity and feminism, sex and sexuality. And while they await rescue, the girls discover moving truths about themselves. The text is interspersed with commercial breaks, contestant fact sheets, footnotes, radio broadcasts, and spoofs of reality TV and celebrity status, all of which add to the appeal of this sure-to-be popular title.--Dobrez, Cind. Copyright 2010 Booklist

Bray follows her Printz Award-winner, Going Bovine, with an only slightly less absurd premise in this out-there satire about a planeload of teen beauty queens who crash onto a (not so) deserted island. Lord of the Flies with an evening gown competition, anyone? Led by the indefatigable Miss Texas, Taylor Rene Krystal Hawkins, the 14 surviving contestants must rely on competitive moxie. Despite the large cast, Bray makes the Misses distinctive, though each is more a stand-in for a particular brand of diversity than a fully dimensional teenager (one's black, one's deaf, one's gay, one is a boy in the process of becoming a girl). Poor Miss New Mexico stands out because she has a serving tray embedded in her forehead. ("Bangs are the new black!") Halfway through the ordeal, a boat full of shirtless, reality TV pirates runs aground, allowing for some smoking hot scenes. Fun footnotes, contestant profiles, and scripted commercial breaks are interspersed. There's a lot of message, but every time the story veers toward sermonizing, Bray corrects with another crack about our media-saturated, appearance-obsessed, consumer-driven society. Ages 13-up. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Gr 9 Up-Libba Bray takes vicious aim at American corporate culture, politics, our perceptions of physical attractiveness, and much more in this scathingly humorous tale (Scholastic, 2011) of a beauty pageant gone wrong. Fifty "Miss Teen Dream" beauty pageant contestants and all of their "people" are headed for a fun in the sun promotional photo shoot. Those plans literally go up in smoke when their plane crash-lands on a desert island and only a handful of the girls survive. This is by far Bray's best written work. She pulls no punches as she takes on everything from tea party politics to reality TV. She trumps her incredible storytelling skills with her narration. Each contestant has a distinctive personality, and Bray she masters a variety of accents from a Texan twang to a California Valley girl. Her male voices, including a crazy dictator, are flawlessly convincing. Bray even improvises by having a breathy Marilyn Monroe-like teen queen introduce each disc number with one of her hilarious observations. "The Corporation," the sponsor of the pageant, provides commercial breaks throughout the story that is far more effective in audio format. The best of the best!-Shari Fesko, Southfield Public Library, MI (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

The premise of Bray's uproariously funny and sharply observant novel is this: on their way to the Miss Teen Dream competition, a planeload of beauty pageant contestants crashes on what appears to be a deserted island. While the surviving Teen Dreamers valiantly cope with the basics (finding food, water, and shelter; practicing their pageant skills), they become pawns in a massive global conspiracy involving a rogue former Miss Teen Dream winner; a megalomaniacal dictator; and a Big Brother-ish pageant sponsor, The Corporation. The scope of the plot is mind-boggling, the list of characters is dauntingly long, and many of the plot turns require much suspension of disbelief, but Bray's tour-de-force audio performance sparkles with the reflected light of a million sequined gowns. Her distinct and lovingly caricatured voices for the many over-the-top characters, chirpy footnotes, and sanitized Corporation messages and commercial breaks enhance the experience of the book. Bray's quieter message about the power unleashed when teenage girls think society isn't watching carries more weight when Bray herself gives those girls voices. Also, when Tina Fey decides she's tired of parodying Sarah Palin, someone should give Libba Bray a call. kitty flynn (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

This inventive satire mocks celebrity culture while celebrating the resilience of teen girls.Printz Awardwinning author Bray (Going Bovine, 2009) plunges into cultural criticism with her latest teen novel. The plane carrying the 50 Miss Teen Dream Pageant contestants crashes on a remote desert island, and the survivors must channel the skills that made them successful on runways to keep themselves alive until they can be rescued. ("From Ladybird Hope'sI'm Perfect and You Can Be Too, Chapter Three: 'A lady's quick thinking can save a bad situation.' She was talking about putting nail polish on a runner in your hose, but I think the same rule applies here.") Unfortunately, their sponsor decides there is better press in avenging their deaths than in mounting a rescue and sets that scenario in motion. An encounter with the stars of a pirate-themed reality-TV show highlights their vulnerability. By now, though, genuine survival skills have been honed, and the teens foil the dastardly plot. While the foibles of today's media/celebrity/political culture are the clear target of this stinging satire, the teen cast is funny and endearing in its own right. As the story unfolds, each girl's back story and actions under duress reveal a unique character.The humor is both dark and madcap, including footnote asides and commercial scripts that keep the laughs coming.(Fiction. 14 up)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

When a plane carrying contestants for the Miss Teen Dream pageant crashes on a remote island, the survivors face greater challenges than just finding food, shelter, and missing cosmetics. Unbeknownst to the girls, the island is not deserted: its volcano houses a secret U.S.-government enclave involved in illegal weapons trading, and the cast grows further after some studly reality-TV pirates arrive on the scene. Outlandish? Yes. And there are characters that veer toward stereotype: take-charge Miss Texas, incognito-journalist Miss New Hampshire, and transgender Miss Rhode Island (who has a surprise under her sash), among others. But rather than letting the plot reel out of control, Bray, author of the Printz Award–winning Going Bovine (2009), spins this hilarious romp into an examination of femininity and feminism, sex and sexuality. And while they await rescue, the girls discover moving truths about themselves. The text is interspersed with commercial breaks, contestant fact sheets, footnotes, radio broadcasts, and spoofs of reality TV and celebrity status, all of which add to the appeal of this sure-to-be popular title. Copyright 2011 Booklist Reviews.

Whitney Huston once sang that learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all; this is only one of many lessons to be learned in Beauty Queens. Fourteen Miss Teen Dream Pageant contestants survive a plane crash on a deserted island. Not knowing when rescue will arrive, the girls set about the business of survival-food, water, and shelter-while their self-appointed leader, Miss Texas, encourages them to stick with their pageant prep. Unbeknownst to our heroines, the island's volcano hides the secret lair of the Corporation, an all-ruling intergovernmental super-entity planning some bad, bad business involving explosive hair removal cream, a crazy dictator, and one-time-pageant-winner-and-now-presidential-candidate Ladybird Hope. Bray's delicious satire does not overpower the beating heart at the center of this empowerment tale. Each girl's backstory is equally compelling, and when these ladies bond together to bring down their oppressors, they keep the reader eager to reach the action-packed conclusion. Did I mention the boatload of sexy pirates? Treat yourself to the best beach read this summer. - "35 Going on 13" Booksmack! 6/16/11 (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Bray follows her Printz Award–winner, Going Bovine, with an only slightly less absurd premise in this out-there satire about a planeload of teen beauty queens who crash onto a (not so) deserted island. Lord of the Flies with an evening gown competition, anyone? Led by the indefatigable Miss Texas, Taylor Rene Krystal Hawkins, the 14 surviving contestants must rely on competitive moxie. Despite the large cast, Bray makes the Misses distinctive, though each is more a stand-in for a particular brand of diversity than a fully dimensional teenager (one's black, one's deaf, one's gay, one is a boy in the process of becoming a girl). Poor Miss New Mexico stands out because she has a serving tray embedded in her forehead. ("Bangs are the new black!") Halfway through the ordeal, a boat full of shirtless, reality TV pirates runs aground, allowing for some smoking hot scenes. Fun footnotes, contestant profiles, and scripted commercial breaks are interspersed. There's a lot of message, but every time the story veers toward sermonizing, Bray corrects with another crack about our media-saturated, appearance-obsessed, consumer-driven society. Ages 13–up. (May)

Gr 9 Up—Whip-smart social commentary, surreal plot elements, and feminist themes come together in this bizarre and brilliant story about a group of beauty pageant contestants stranded on a remote island after a plane crash. Undaunted by disaster, the teens hone their survival skills as they practice dance routines and pageant interviews, while a ruthless corporation secretly plans to use them as pawns in an arms deal with an insane dictator. Beneath an entertaining veneer of witty dialogue and comic absurdity lies a thought-provoking exploration of society's expectations for how young women should look, feel, think, and act. Wry footnotes lampoon the media and pop culture, while hilariously scripted "commercial breaks" interrupt the narrative, leading readers to question the pervasiveness of self-improvement products that make consumers feel inadequate. Using multiple points of view to tell the story, Bray rises admirably to the challenge of developing a large cast of characters. Each pageant contestant possesses much more than surface-level beauty, and even the most stereotypically ditzy girl offers unique and unexpected strength. Readers from all backgrounds will identify with the representation of various religions, ethnicities, and sexual orientations among the characters. Occasional strong language and a frank approach to sex may make this novel most appropriate for older teens. The empowering theme of self-acceptance and the affirming message that women should not underestimate themselves or others makes this novel a potentially life-changing book for budding feminists.—Allison Tran, Mission Viejo Library, CA