Beauty Queens

Beauty Queens

Teen beauty queens. A Lost-like island. Mysteries and dangers. No access to email. 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.

This is a hilarious satire about a plane load of teen beauty queens who crash-land on a deserted island. They must find food and water, build shelters, fend off a boatload of reality-TV pirate boys who come to rescue them, and defeat the evil Corporation that is using the tropical island for its own means. It's clever, unpredictable, totally over-the-top, and also manages to send a non-preachy message about female empowerment.

As Libba says, "It's kinda like Lord of the Flies meets Lost, but with a swimwear component."

Libba Bray is the author of the New York Times bestselling Gemma Doyle Trilogy, whichcomprises the novels A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels, and The Sweet Far Thing. In 2010 she was awarded the Michael L. Printz award for her satirical road-trip novel Going Bovine. She has written short stories about everything from Cheap Trick concerts to The Rocky Horror Picture Show devotees to meeting Satan worshippers on summer vacation. Libba lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband, son, and two cats. Her dream is to stop sucking so badly at drums in Rock Band.

Beauty Queens
Allen and Unwin
Author: Libba Bray
Price: $22.99