A review by protoman21
Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

3.0

I have a lot of thoughts on this book, but I'm not sure I can express them all. I wanted something like Lord of the Flies or Hunger Games, but instead the story is a complete parody and I just couldn't take it seriously at all. Ok, maybe it isn't meant to be taken seriously, but with all of the political and social messages Libba Bray injects into the story it's hard to imagine that she doesn't want you to. The characters are so over the top it's hard to really connect with them and the "growth" they experience through the story is predictable at best. I'm also disturbed at some of the mixed messages she sends to young readers. Half the girls fall immediately in love with a guy on the island and then sleep with him within days. Some of them get their hearts broken and some end up happy, but the message is still rush rush rush into love, sex and everything else with no real consequences besides a broken heart (which couldn't be broken too bad since they only knew each other for a day or so). These things took away from the story for me and though there were some amusing moments, overall I was left disappointed.