The "dog days" of summer are a great time for reading--so that's what I'm doing, especially now that Joel's baseball season is over and we have a couple weeks of downtime before school starts. This weekend I read a ridiculously over-the-top young adult novel. It's really not just for teens, though, and adults will enjoy it as much as kids will. There were parts of it that were so funny, I had to read them out loud to JB. In spite of it's irreverence, and some language and scenes that many will consider offensive, it also presents some not-so-subtle moral lessons on issues of sexuality, racism, and empowering young women. It reminds me in some ways of Christopher Moore's and Janet Evanovich's books.
The book is
Beauty Queens by Libba Bray. It begins with a plane carrying contestants in a Miss Teen Dream competition crash landing on a tropical island. All the crew and chaperones are killed, as are many of the teen dreamers, and those who survive the crash must work together to survive their weeks on the island. Miss Nebraska is one of the survivors, and she's not your stereotypical Nebraska farm girl!
Beauty Queens isn't going to win any awards for quality literature, but it's a fun read and makes you think a little. Definitely a good choice for summer reading!
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