Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, mix the plots from Drop Dead Gorgeous, Austin Powers, Mean Girls, Lost, and Lord of the Flies. Whip until nice and fluffy. Stir in equal parts Bollywood, Boy Bands, Pirates, An Evil Corporation, Crappy Parenting, Reality TV, Miss Teen USA pageants, and commercials aimed at teens. Next add 4 cups Teenage Sexuality (all types), 2 cups Feminism, 1/2 cup Identity Issues, 1/2 cup Self-Esteem Issues, 16-Teenage Beauty Queens (all types. Just make sure one More...

I was on the fence about this book. A story about teen beauty pageant contestants stranded on a desert island just doesn’t do anything for me. After reading Stephanie’s review, I decided to try the audio version. At first, I thought it was ridiculous, irritating and just plain stupid. It wasn’t long before I was laughing and snorting in public places.

In the beginning, it was a little difficult to get to know the characters. The story is told from different perspectives and it was hard for me to More...

Meh. Just meh. Beauty Queens is not at all what I expected. What I expected was a group of beauty queens crash land on an isolated island and it's not long before the ruthlessness of the pageant morphs into a violent "survival of the fittest" mentality, a la Lord of the Flies. I would have also settled for a dark and biting satire on consumerism and pop culture. Alas, what I got was an increasingly irritating "Girl Power!" message that never quite got off the ground as it never quite rejected ev More...

When my smart, normal older sister devoured the Twilight novels a few years back, I wanted to know why. Was she not aware that they were crap? Had she not noticed the awful writing and the creepy glorification of controlling, abusive relationships?

She was, and she had. But, she said, she couldn't stop reading them anyway. "Meyer taps into something deep and primal in the female psyche," she said. "So even though you know it's stupid, it satisfies this part of yourself that's perpetually thirteen More...

"Gather round ladies; we've got ourselves a crisis. Seems some nasty author has written a big pack-of-lies about yours truly, trying to derail my bid for the Presidency," says Ladybird Hope, most famous winner of the Miss Teen Dream Pageant.

"Crap. I've been scooped," whispers Miss New Hampshire to herself.

Miss Mississippi looks confused. "People don't actually read for fun, do they?"

Miss Texas frowns, but attractively. "A future President must take the bull by the horns. Y'all just listen respec More...

Kayso, like, after three books in a row that kinda sorta made me angry, I wanted to, like, read something totally funny and ridiculous. And I was like "Beauty Queens" a book about teen beauty queens on a plain, that like OMG, crashes on a desert island and they have to survive and stuff, wouldn't make me, like, have to think and stuff....none of that politicy stuff either....yuk.

But I was wrong. Yes this is a story about 50 beauty contestants for a pageant called Miss Teen Dream, and how the 12 More...

In most ways, this book was absolutely written for me. It is LOST + Miss Congeniality + Susan Faludi’s Backlash. Sarah Palin and GW stand-ins make appearances to be generally villainous. It has lovely, lovely girls, lots of action, and some pretty hilarious jokes. Oh, and hilarious jokes in the footnotes. (Because why use endnotes, people? No need to be coy.) There is one about putting dolls on a pedestal that is my favorite joke in the book, if you want to know. The odd thing about the book is More...

A group of teenage beauty queens board a plane headed for a photo shoot in some tropical destination. En route, something bad happens and the plane crashes. Amid the rubble and bodies, a relatively small group, maybe fifteen or so, survives. Any hope of rescue quickly proves pointless.

Imagine for a moment that everyone on Gilligan’s Island was Ginger, or that the island in Lord of the Flies was populated only by valley girls. At first, it’s strikingly stupid, isn’t it? Instead of focusing on res More...

Whoa, where do I start on Libba Bray's "Beauty Queens"? I haven't had a book completely blindside me as far as content goes for quite some time. I'm clearly at a loss for words as I write this review, because 1. I'm trying not to hold my sides from laughing so much at this book, and 2. I don't quite know how to explain "Beauty Queens" appeal when it has so many elements in it that work, but theoretically shouldn't. That might sound odd, but I'll explain it as I go into further detail.

I went into More...

Hate reality tv and think the world is going to hell because of how shallow the American culture is? Libba Bray agrees with you. Beauty Queens is an awesome, extremely strong satire sending up:
- reality tv
- beauty pageants
- advertising
- arms dealing
- international diplomacy
- and Gilligan's Island

Beauty contestants crash land on an island, and it's a battle for survival with nothing but beauty products! Yes, it can come across like Libba Bray hitting you over the head with all of this like More...

Also appears on The Screaming Nitpicker. I received my copy through Amazon Vine. Rewritten in July 2011.

After their Corporation plane crashes on a desert island, the fourteen surviving beauty queens of the Corporation-sponsored Miss Teen Dream beauty pageant must fend for themselves and find a way to either make a home out of the island or be rescued. Between their clashes and practicing for the pageant, they come to rely on one another and discover themselves now that they're away from the pres More...

This book has received such mixed reviews, I didn't really know what to expect. I tried listening to the audio - which was read by the author. She did a great job - I loved the voices she gave some of the girls. The beginning was pretty funny. Then things just got crazy and the story totally lost me. I finally just turned it off as I couldn't stand it anymore. I don't think I would have made it past the first few chapters if I had been reading the actual book so I am glad I listened to as much a More...

Summary:
A plane full of teen beauty queens crash on a “deserted” tropical island. Will they survive the giant man-eating snakes, the pirates, the secret agents, and each other? Find out in this wild, laugh out loud funny, romp through the wilderness.

Review:
First off let me say that this book isn’t exactly what I expected. When I first heard about this book I was expecting something a little more Lord of the Flies with girls. Of course I expected the comedy, but what I didn’t expect was to find m More...

COMMERCIAL BREAK

VOICEOVER
My fellow Americans, your girls are being targeted by a very dangerous enemy. Young lives are at stake. And what's to blame? Books.

(Close-up of Ladybird Hope, standing in the foreground of an empty classroom with a prominently hung American flag)

Now, as y'all know, I'm all for education and the four Rs—readin', writin', 'rithmatic and razzmatazz. I'm all about that, you better believe it. I'm a mom, just like y'all, and when I'm not living in my six million dollar house More...

Why I picked it up: The cover is awesome, the premise sounded hilarious, and I’ve heard Libba Bray speak, so the idea of listening to her read her own book had me giddy with anticipation.

A plane carrying the contestants of the Miss Teen Dream pageant to a remote island crashes on said island. None of the camera crew or adult chaperones survive, and only some of the contestants do. Those who do survive must figure out how to survive, and since the show must go on, they also prepare to put on a pa More...

EDIT: I wanted to update this review and state that I listened to it on audio. It was, hands down, the best audio book I've ever heard! I was told that Libba won an award, and she deserves a million of them. I HIGHLY recommend this book on aduio.

Read this review at Smash Attack Reads

I knew this book was going to be amusing. The cover sorta leads to that assumption. What I did not expect, however, was the mockery and satire within the pages. This book is a breath of fresh air in a world so full o More...

I had such a weird time reading this, you guys! First I called it satire and loved it. Then I called it an expansion of an angry feminist blog post, and loved it. Then I called it overly self-aware, and was cautious about it. Then I sat back and read the damn, story, and loved it.

Then I got to the epilogue, and bawled my eyes out.

This book is a lot of things. It's satire, but it's a mirror to modern-day American culture. It doesn't take itself seriously, but then it does. It's thirteen coming-of More...

I’ve read all of Libba Bray’s books so far, and have enjoyed most of them. Well, sort of. After her last book, I decided that her style just isn’t my taste and figured that would be that. But then I read the summary above. Sounds fantastic, right? Plus, the cover is hysterical. So, I got sucked into reading this book. And…

…Libba Bray’s style just isn’t my taste. I know this now, clearly and unmistakably, and I won’t be picking up another of her books. So, keeping that in mind, here are my though More...

Beauty Queens was a fun book to read. But it was also very, VERY frustrating!
At times I just wanted to scream: "Miss Teen Dreamers, CALM YO TITS!" Geeeeez! Definitely WAY too much estrogen in the air & poor me who forgot to bring an oxygen mask along got choked up in the process.


THE GOOD:

1. The book's hilarious! The "footnotes" were an absolute delight to read.
2. Tons of pop culture reference.
3. There were some very interesting characters. Some I have never even met before "cough Mary Lo More...

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray was the perfect book to read as a follow up to City of Fallen Angels... not too hard, not too soft... wait, strike that, very soft. Very fun...it's satire after all.

A plane of contestants from the Miss Teen Dream Beauty Pageant has gone down in the ocean, the inhabitants washing up on an island paradise. They are all determined to maintain the pageant perfection, spurred on by the spunky Taylor Renee Krystal Hawkins...from Texas, of course! Adina Greenberg, the pagean More...

This took me forever to finish. Probably due to the amount of characters and stream of conscience writing style.

But I liked this book...even if I didn't really like this book. It was utterly entertaining, fun and original with a depth you wouldn't think possible. It was also mentally and emotionally exhausting. So much of our culture tells women that they are only their looks, and then turns around and tells them that their brains count, too...sort of, maybe, sometimes. It seems like women have More...

That was freaking amazing. There are so many things I want to say about this book, but at the moment I'm so overwhelmed by the whole thing that I can't even think of what to say... I loved it.

Was it just me, or did the epilogue feel like the end credits to an awesome movie? I could picture the entire thing in my head, and it looked fabulous, bitches.

I JUST GOT THIS IN PAPERBACK

This is sort of a strange book. The premise is pretty out there. Teen beauty queens from the Teen Dream pageant are stranded on a tropical island after their plane crashes. Was it really just a plane crash or something more? Add a creepy corporation and a sinister Sarah Palin-like pageant owner and you have a whole bunch of craziness. I had a really hard time with my suspension of disbelief for this book; it was just that crazy.

At first I really liked the story and then it got stranger and stran More...

When I started reading Beauty Queens I wondered if I'd get through almost 400 pages peopled by shallow girls, whose biggest concern is outward appearance and public acceptance. I worried that even Libba Bray's wit and biting style wouldn't make me care about them. I was wrong. One of the beauties of this book is that the girls shed their secrets, overcome their fears and use whatever skills they have to stay alive after a plane crash on a deserted (or so they think) island. The survivors transfo More...

I really liked this book. It's about girls who kick but while breaking all the stereotypes but not for the sake of breaking them (if that makes sense).

The book is about a plane full of teen beauty queens who crash on a (very Lost-like) island on their way to a national competition. At first Miss Texas, who declares herself leader, keeps the girls practicing their opening statements, dance routines, etc. Eventually though, the girls find out (I won't say how) that the whole world assumes them de More...

Okay, i NEEDED this.

First of all: This.Was.Hilarious! Really, couldn't stop appointing funny quotes in my little notebook for posterior laughter. Also, i realize that i really like satires, at least the funny ones.
It's funny, this pointed out the ridiculous of our society almost perfectly, not centering only the aspects that surround the Beauty Pageants but also the stupid stereotypes that are part of our daily life.

(view spoiler)[
So, i have to say that Tiara is my baby. Like, half my pointed-out quotes are h (hide spoiler)] More...

There are no words to describe the awesomeness of this book. Even now that I've finished reading it I am still laughing.

Beauty Queens is a laugh out loud book whose main message is about women empowerment. The book is full of crazy characters who go through crazier situations that could only happen in a Libba Bray book or a Lady Gaga music video, but Libba B actually makes it work!

Three stars. I recommend this book with reservations. This book is not for everyone. The best way to describe this novel is that it is a satirical, modern day Lord of the Flies with sparkle, lip gloss and caricatures. The first half of the book was amazing. Twelve beauty queens survive a plane crash on an island. At first glance the girls come across as stereotypical teen age beauty contestants. As the book progresses an intimate portrait of each girl is revealed and you understand the undermini More...

If anyone else had a plot like this, I would put it in the category of "stupid" just as I would with Going Bovine.

But hey, that was amazing. So why not this?

{after reading review}

I will say it.

Beauty Queens was disappointing. I expected superawesomespectacularosis (is that a disease? Because it should be. The disease of awesomeness!) from Libba Bray, but instead, I got amazing. What the hell? After reading The Gemma Doyle series and GOING BOVINE (best book ever much?), I expected more than aweso More...