Book Review: Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Scholastic Audio Books; Unabridged edition (May 24, 2011)
• ISBN-10: 0545315387
• ISBN-13: 978-0545315388
• I finished listening to this audiobook on January 8

I feel like from the cover you could tell that I HAD to read this book. Also, I have a long history of loving Libba Bray. Here are my reviews of her awesome historical fiction/paranormal romance the Great and Terrible Beauty series, here, here and here. She also has a book about mad cow disease which is in my towering to be read pile.

The story is about what happens when an airplane full of teenage beauty queens crash lands on a Lost-like island. Long story short: shenanigans ensue. There is an evil corporation, a Sarah Palin type character named Ladybird Hope, reality tv show pirates and all sorts of other amazing things. Shockingly, the girls don't go all Lord of the Flies on it. Instead they learn to survive and actually turn pretty kick-ass. They find out that they are good at things other than being pretty. They find hallucinogenic fruit. All good things. To boot -the story is broken up by hilarious footnotes and commercials.

What makes this even better was the reading by author Libba Bray. She does a host of amazing voices, from pageant loving Miss Texas to Momo B. Chacha. Oh, what? I forgot to tell you about Momo B. Chacha? Okay, he's an Elvis obsessed dictator of the Republic of Chacha who is working on a secret arms deal and creepy relationship with Ladybird Hope. (I imagine Momo as looking like Kim Jong Il in an Elvis costume (which is, unbelievably, something you can google image search) If you're wondering what this all looks like, I've gotcha covered.

Young love

There are so many adorable characters and great subplots in this book it's hard to tell you about all of it's awesomeness. The book was feminist and awesome without being preachy. There was much laughing out loud by me in my car like a creep. I highly recommend it for girls, people who used to be girls, and people who know girls. One more thing: if you don't read it, you'll never know who General Goodtimes is.

Soundtrack: Killer Queen by Queen