Aug 9, 2011

Beauty Queens review


I've heard so much about Libba Bray that, when I saw this cover, I snatched it up and devoured it one evening. I cannot wait to read her others, including Going Bovine, which makes me think of Far Side cartoons.

Blurb: Teen beauty queens. A "Lost"-like island. Mysteries and dangers. No access to e-mail. And the spirit of fierce, feral competition that lives underground in girls, a savage brutality that can only be revealed by a journey into the heart of non-exfoliated darkness. Oh, the horror, the horror! Only funnier. With evening gowns. And a body count.

What I liked: Everything. I LOVED this book - the sly parodies in each footnote of the author's alternative world, the over-the-top characters (one girl had an airplane tray lodged in her forehead the whole time!), the unflinching way Ms. Bray looked at teen sexuality and all its pitfalls, the jars of exploding exfoliating cream, the bodacious reality TV pirates who were vanquished in every sense of that word...Libba Bray's sense of humor is sarcastic, skewering and completely soft. Her writing snaps with life. She's on her characters' side, even when they make horrific mistakes. Or accidentally overdose on tranquilizer darts and go completely crazy. Whatev. There's room for them all in this book.

What I didn't like: Ummmmm...nothing? Is that acceptable to say in a review? *taps chin, stares into distance* Well, the ending is a bit out there. I guess. If you're twisting my arm to write something.

Fun stuff: Check out Libba Bray interviewing herself here. And her book trailer here.

2 comments:

Angela Cothran said...

It sounds delightful--in a hilariously horrifying way :) Thanks for the review!

Matthew MacNish said...

This really does sound hilarious.