“Beauty Queens” by Libba Bray

Since I loved the Great and Terrible Beauty series, I thought it would be fun to read this one.

The Miss Teen Dream contestants have crashed on a deserted island. But appearances are deceiving, as they discover a secret government compound on the other side of the island. With Miss Texas in charge, and a handful of survivors, can the girls break out of the pageant mold long enough to survive?

This book had some really crazy moments. The satire was taken too far in places – instead of making me laugh, I was confused. There were a lot of characters, and while they each had a defining characteristic (the deaf one, the lesbian, the one with a tray sticking out of her forehead), I had a hard time keeping most of them straight. If you like extremely wacky humor, or a bunch of teen beauty queens discovering their power as women, you’ll like this book. I give it a 6 out of 10.

Read-A-Likes: This is a totally unique book. If you like the girl-power aspect, try The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart. If you like the survival part, try My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George. If you like beauty pageants, try The Beef Princess of Practical County by Michelle Houts.