Beauty Queens

Bray, L. (2011). Beauty queens. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN 0439895979

Plot Summary

                      When a plane full of teen beauty pageant contestants crashes onto a desert island, chaos ensues.  No cell phones, no showers, no mirrors or make-up – how will these girls carry on?  Some of the survivors want to focus on shelter and food, while some want to keep their eyes on the prize and continue pageant rehearsal.  At first they cannot get it together, but as the circumstances grow more dire thanks to tsunamis, giant snakes, and the threat of starvation, they slowly pull together and find that they are more capable than they or any of their relentless parents and pageant sponsors could have thought.  As time wears on, the girls begin to discover who they truly are without the pressure of the pageant and their daily lives, and they are able to unite and achieve true girl power in the face of extreme opposition.  But can they keep it together despite the constant onslaught of fresh peril – including a murderous presence on the island and a wrecked pirate ship of beautiful boys who threaten to send them spiraling back to helpless giggles and batted eyelashes?

Critical Analysis

                          Hidden in what first appears to be a vacuous novel about self-absorbed, unrealistic characters is a true anthem of feminine power and self-discovery.  When they first crash, the teen beauty queens are hopeless.  Some give up immediately, some pin their hopes on unrealistic ideas of immediate rescue, some focus nonsensically on the pageant itself with continued pointless preparations, and some snipe viciously at their fellow castaways.  But the perils of the island become increasingly clear, and there is no choice but to pull together and put their extracurriculars to use – previously only useful for impressing judges and rounding out pageant entry forms.  Imagine their surprise when they discover that each and every one of them is capable of more than smiling, waving, and spouting empty pageant rhetoric.  Gradually the unique story of each character becomes known, encompassing a variety of hardships including juvenile delinquency, broken homes, sexual orientation, gender identity, race, sexuality, and, above all, crippling feelings of inadequacy.  The girls come to life as the novel unfolds, seeming almost to inflate as the reader understands each of their individual struggles.  One of the characters compares their time on the island to Lord of the Flies, pointing out that the boys on that island broke down without society to rein them in, but perhaps girls truly blossom without society keeping them in line.  Point of view switches freely between the girls, confusing at first when they all seem like stock characters, but more easily deciphered as they grow unique.  Mostly the story is told from the perspective of Adina, a teenage journalist and bass player who entered the pageant to bring it down from the inside.  She, too, is in for a hard lesson, not only about herself, but about the girls who she underestimated as bubble-headed and vain.  The plot is raucous and nonstop, twisting and turning to the point of ridiculous, but it is all in good fun, as this novel does not take itself seriously in the slightest.  The message here is clear: be yourself, embrace your so-called flaws, and don’t allow the pressure to be perfect to rob you of your natural perfection.                     

Reader’s Annotation

                                  Can a crashed plane full of teen beauty queens survive being stranded together on a desert island?  These girls must pull together in the face of peril in order to stay alive, and along the way they discover amazing things about themselves and each other.

About the Author

                            Libba Bray grew up in Texas, the daughter of a preacher.  She started writing early.  Her first story was about a family held hostage by a group of murdering bank robbers, whose plot is sabotaged by the twelve-year old daughter.  When she was eighteen she was involved in a horrendous car wreck that severely damaged her face and caused her to lose one of her eyes.  Following years of reconstructive surgery, she moved to New York, where she still lives with her husband and son.  She loves movies, music, and guilty pleasures like Velveeta.  One of her bad habits is overeating.

                            Her favorite way to write is to take her laptop (named Lucille) to a coffee shop and listen to the eclectic music played by baristas as she types.  Although she does commonly write about girls, her themes vary greatly, from beauty pageants to Gothic romances to mad cow disease.  She has also written a collection of short stories.

Genre

         Romance - chick lit

Challenge Issues

                          Possible challenge issues in this book include sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, underage drinking, and profanity.  In the event of a challenge, I would consult the challenge defense file prepared for this book.  The challenge defense file would include: positive reviews from credible sources for the purpose of proving merit to the challenger; negative reviews in order to inform me on what might be challenged; a written explanation of my own rationale for including the book in the collection as well as a summary of the plot; the American Library Association Bill of Rights; a review of my branch’s selection policy; and, as a last resort, an explanation of the reconsideration policy for my library and an official reconsideration form.

Curriculum Ties

                        English and Writing: voice, character development, dialog, and parody.

Booktalk

              Do you judge people by the way they look?   Do you feel like you get judged by the way you look?  When these beauty queens get stranded on a desert island, they have to look beyond the surface in both themselves and the girls around them, and in the process they discover that people do not necessarily fit into the narrow categories created for them.

Reading Level and Interest Age

                                                   Grades 9-12.

                                                  

Why I Included This Book

                                          Chick lit can sometimes be underestimated as shallow and pointless, like harlequin romance novels.  This book flashes the shiny veneer of chick lit but boasts a much more substantial message and plot line.  While not taking itself seriously, it delivers a serious lesson: love yourself for who you are, don't let the stereotypes and pressure define you.  It was a welcome surprise to me and enhances my collection.

References

Bray, L. (n.d.). Biography. Retrieved from http://www.libbabray.com/bio.html