Beauty Queens

Author: Libba Bray
Pages: 396
Genre: Contemporary
First Published: May 2011
Book description (from Good Reads): The 50 contestants in Miss Teen Dream pageant thought this 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? And what should happen when the sexy pirates show up?

Things to consider:

• Characters: 7.5 
• Most of the characters were a bit over the top, they appeared to be too exaggerated. That was the intention it was evident from the way the story was told but still, it made most of the girls and guys a bit too annoying. It's about personal preference if you enjoy quirky and sometimes silly characters go ahead, otherwise, go in warned, it will be a ride of very accentuated clichés and stereotypes. 
• Even the bad guys suffer from the classical evil guy you get to laugh at. 
• Plot: 7.0 
• The story suffers from improbable delusion as well as the characters. Each of the surviving girls represents a nice stereotype, also they each just so happens to have an ability that they causally picked to be more noticeable in the pageant. The coincidences border on ridiculous, the matches they make with the very first males they come across, the fact that they end up uncovering the most thorough evil plan in their country and still manage to do it in style XD It is the best kind of ridiculous story you can come across. 
• Word of advice, go into knowing there will be a lot of things exaggeration, stereotyping and randomness. I personally do not like comedy, most rom-coms, comedian shows or anything so it was a bad choice to pick it up but the message its trying to deliver was enough to get through the story in itself. 
• Logic: 7.0 
• Most of the plot and the decisions and pretty much everything was logical in the way they explained it but still there was something that simply didn't end up adding up in my POV. 
• The animals and the foes in the story were not the sanest of people so maybe that's way it wasn't all that logical. 
• The growth the girls had as individuals, was made in such a way that it made it impossible for them to be any other way, it was made very realistic, also if you are trapped in a deserted island and fend for yourself for any stretch of time you are bound to mature and grow more independent. 
• Writing Style: 8.5 
• Since the beginning of the book you know that there is a message to be delivered, you can't make characters so cliché just because, at least not all of them. Each girl was in the extreme her own stereotype and yet there were people behind those images they portrayed, each girl was not only a state, not only a pretty face they had a story, they had a real dream, they had their opportunity to wake up and think for themselves and want more out of their lives than to look pretty. The story is slow paced and it is more focused on the characters and their personal growth rather than on a plot but that is the way to learn the life lessons those girls needed. 
• The story covers sensible topics in a way that makes you feel them but not feel overwhelmed, it is a very interesting mix of comedy (humor) and life struggles and tough situations. 
• Enjoyment: 7.0 
• The book has a very promising premise, the topics it covers and the morale it gives are important but comedy, in general, is not my thing and therefore my enjoyment was damped a bit because of so many exaggerations, but I assume most people can find that also alluring of the story. 
• Intrigue: 7.5 
• Intention: 10.0 
• Need I say more? 
• Girls are not simply pretty faces, they are meant to be seen, they are meant to be heard, they are meant to contribute to society, they can be smart, they can be imaginative, they can be anything they want. 
• There is a lot of different types of smart. 
• Love is nothing bad, yes there are bad people or bad relationships but falling in love is not a bad thing. 
• Feel free to live, and to express yourself in any way you feel right. 
• Parents not always want the best for you or maybe they just don't realize that their own dreams cannot be translated into their children's dreams. Do not push your beliefs, life expectations or opinion on people regardless of what you think its best. Each individual can be guided but in the end no one can make the decisions for you. So let's stop trying. 
• Confidence in yourself can be the missing key between your success and the failure of a project or idea. 
• Asking for help is not weakness, nor is it accepting your own faults or mistakes. 

Total Score: 54.5
Average: 7.0 

Star Rating: 3.0