Beauty Queens - Libba Bray

I picked this up in the cupboard at work and after reading the jacket (in summary: teenage beauty pageant contestants end up sole survivors of a plane crash and must fend for themselves on an apparently deserted tropical island...pirates were also mentioned) I thought, well, that could either be very, very bad or very hilarious.   I opted to give it a try although it was impossible to tell what to expect (beauty queens? pirates? is this a joke?).  Being an very visual person (and shallow as a cookie sheet) I always judge books by their covers, and I liked this one, so that also swayed my decision to take it home.

Anyway, long story short, I read this on Saturday and was pleasantly surprised.  This book does have a lot going on, perhaps borderline too much, but for the most part it's funny and clever.  It really does feature planewrecked teen beauty queens and pirates, as well as "The Corporation," which is basically a metaphor for our modern world.  It also features an unexpected dose of satire that give it a lot of its oomph, and a way of lingering in the mind.

The practical everyday hardships of both being half-woman, half girl-child and trying to survive alone on the island are starkly contrasted to the satirical footnotes peppered throughout the book.  These footnotes and other interludes including "commercial breaks" often bring some serious social commentary to the pages that I loved. (ie: "Bridal Death Match, the popular TV show about brides who cage fight each other in order to win the wedding of their dreams.")

So, despite some flaws and a strange style that wavers between campy, girl-power and stick it to the man (like I said, this book has a lot going on), I'll definitely be giving this to the teen girls who live upstairs; I think they'll like it.