From the Bookshelf of Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge…

Most of the descriptions I’ve read compare this book to two of my favorite things: Lost and Drop Dead Gorgeous. Those comparisons are 100% accurate, as it is like

Most of the descriptions I’ve read compare this book to two of my favorite things: Lost and Drop Dead Gorgeous. Those comparisons are 100% accurate, as it is like a cracked-out cross between both stories. Basically, a plane full of beauty contestants crashes on a mysterious island. Most of the contestants and all of the “adults” die in the crash. The girls who survive decide to fend for themselves, splitting into the awesomely-named Lost Girls and Sparkle Ponies to divvy up responsibilities. They spend a lot of time practicing for the pageant they still think will somehow happen (even though more than half of the contestants are dead), but eventually the girls begin to focus more on survival than fabulousness. Plus, all kinds of strange things keep happening on the island...and then some pirates show up.

It turns out that the island is something of a stronghold for The Corporation (they control everything), run by one Miss Ladybird Hope -- a Sarah Palin stand-in. Ladybird has apparently been conspiring with MoMo B. ChaCha (Kim Jong-Il) in some sort of arms deal. The plane crash was planned by The Corporation as a way to frame MoMo, get the Republic of ChaCha out of the picture, and restore the US to arms superiority...and also gain Ladybird the presidency, of course. And MoMo has a stuffed lemur named General GoodTimes. Because why not?

This is all exactly as absurd as it sounds...it’s difficult to explain much of the plot without it sounding completely bizarre, because it is completely bizarre. It’s set up almost like you’re watching the events unfold as a reality show -- the footnotes all advertise products from “The Corporation” and there are even “commercial breaks” for various other Corporation products. It’s obviously meant as satire, but there are times when it’s a little too on-the-nose. We also see inside the Corporation headquarters as they plot what to do with the crash-landed beauty queens (the answer? deadly beauty pageant!). Most of them are, of course, idiots, but I did love the guy who kept telling people to stop “misunderestimating” him. Gold.

I suppose the primary narration style is 3rd person (though there are a few scripts thrown in, along with some direct address to the audience). It shifts pretty rapidly from person to person, and there are about 8 different protagonists to keep track of. What I liked is that the characters, in spite of how many there were to keep track of, all felt real and fully drawn. Even though we hear more from some than others, you get the impression that Bray has thought about who all of these girls are as people. They’re all different, and they’re all dealing with different sorts of issues, which means that there’s a pretty good chance anyone can relate to at least one of these characters. What I liked about this is that, yes, there’s a strong feminist message at the novel’s core, but for the most part, Bray isn’t beating you over the head with it. It’s a story of female friendship and perseverance (and also sexy pirates and crazed dictators) set against an absurd backdrop. And while I liked the story far more when it was just being absurd, I do like the message that can be taken away from the novel. There were times when that message was a little too on-the-nose, but only a few. Unlike Commencement, which took a turn for the bizarre in a bad way, I never felt like I was reading the author’s attempt at a feminist manifesto.

I also liked that Bray isn’t afraid to point out that girls can be stupid and make poor decisions and treat each other like crap -- people behave this way in nature! It’s how real life works! Even after the girls are on the island together for a while, and are starting to change and grow as people, the minute the pirates show up (they’re not actual pirates, but attractive actors who took their ship out for a joyride), they revert back to pre-island life for a bit. I loved that, when Adina’s chosen pirate is a total tool and screws her over, she refuses to take him back even after he apologizes and says all the right things. In most YA, that would be enough for a typical heroine to forgive him, but I like that Bray gave her characters more of a spine.

Overall, this was a highly entertaining read. It really made me want to watch Drop Dead Gorgeous again...and I was sad that no Miss Minnesota survived the crash (that seems like a wasted opportunity to me). I’m torn about putting this on the classroom shelf, however. I’ve been reading a lot of articles lately about sex in YA, and how we shouldn’t be “censoring” books because they happen to contain sex scenes. Teenagers have sex -- it’s a thing, it’s happening, it’s hopefully happening safely, but it’s not something we can just push under the rug and ignore. However. I teach 12-year-olds. While I’m not enough of an alarmist to think that they’re going to go out and have sex because they read a book on my bookshelf, I worry about what would happen if an alarmist parent were to pick up this book, with BURNS written in big red letters across the top. If I were still teaching high school, this would absolutely go on my shelf (along with John Green’s entire oeuvre). And maybe once I have 8th grade again next year, I’ll recommend it to a few students who I think are mature enough to handle it. I mean, when I was in 7th grade, I was working my way through the VC Andrews catalogue, which....just no. At least this particular book containing a few sex scenes has a positive message (and everything is consensual and no one is related). But I’m all about covering my own ass, and I just never know how parents are going to react.

Blah. Unnecessary digression! This is fun! It’s funny! I liked it!