Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
When I read Going Bovine a few months ago I found Bray's take on Don Quixote to be refreshing and truly funny. So, when Beauty Queens billed itself as Lord of the Flies with teen beauty pageant contestants I snapped it up right away. Hard bound copy in hand, I discovered something entirely different. Queens is, in a way, Lord of the Flies, but Bray's argument for putting the girls on an island was so wonderful it nearly brought me to tears.
I'm going to break from my normal review patter to address two characters that struck me in this novel. One, Petra is a transitioning transgendered girl. I simply cannot remember the last book that treated a transgendered character with such care. It's rare to find a character like Petra in modern fiction, rarer still to find one who isn't self loathing, and, as far as I can tell, the first who was able to have a relationship with an opposite sex partner that isn't abusive. The second, Sosie, is a bisexual girl who has a lovely moment when other characters want to pin her down as a lesbian. She gives a wonderful response about why it is not that easy. Again, I'm hard pressed to find a character like Sosie in YA lit. Usually the bisexual girl has a drug habit and ends up in rehab after she's labeled a slut.
Bray's book will find its way into the hands of girls and women that need it the most. Currently, the reviews are mixed, but I see this novel as having a cult like following. It will be the Mean Girls of young feminist literature. I have become a big fan of Bray's novels. She writes young voices from a fresh perspective. It feels like she gets inside their heads and takes up residence. Their hopes and fears lay displayed for all to see. The most vulnerable side of a sixteen year old girl is laid bare in this book. Sometimes that can be a bit hard to take.
My next read is When She Woke. From what I can tell it's a hybrid book of The Scarlet Letter and The Handmaid's Tale.
When I read Going Bovine a few months ago I found Bray's take on Don Quixote to be refreshing and truly funny. So, when Beauty Queens billed itself as Lord of the Flies with teen beauty pageant contestants I snapped it up right away. Hard bound copy in hand, I discovered something entirely different. Queens is, in a way, Lord of the Flies, but Bray's argument for putting the girls on an island was so wonderful it nearly brought me to tears.
"Maybe girls need and island to find themselves. Maybe they need a place where no one's watching so they can be who they really are." pg 177.And they do. The book hides a powerful message behind a fantastical plot. Each character represents a stereotypical teen girl. Each character finds herself, and is able to be who she wants to be. As much as I enjoyed the book, Bray's style can come off a tad overbearing. She whops the reader over the head with message. However, when the book lays it on thick, Bray often comes back with a sly joke, wink, or commercial break.
I'm going to break from my normal review patter to address two characters that struck me in this novel. One, Petra is a transitioning transgendered girl. I simply cannot remember the last book that treated a transgendered character with such care. It's rare to find a character like Petra in modern fiction, rarer still to find one who isn't self loathing, and, as far as I can tell, the first who was able to have a relationship with an opposite sex partner that isn't abusive. The second, Sosie, is a bisexual girl who has a lovely moment when other characters want to pin her down as a lesbian. She gives a wonderful response about why it is not that easy. Again, I'm hard pressed to find a character like Sosie in YA lit. Usually the bisexual girl has a drug habit and ends up in rehab after she's labeled a slut.
Bray's book will find its way into the hands of girls and women that need it the most. Currently, the reviews are mixed, but I see this novel as having a cult like following. It will be the Mean Girls of young feminist literature. I have become a big fan of Bray's novels. She writes young voices from a fresh perspective. It feels like she gets inside their heads and takes up residence. Their hopes and fears lay displayed for all to see. The most vulnerable side of a sixteen year old girl is laid bare in this book. Sometimes that can be a bit hard to take.
My next read is When She Woke. From what I can tell it's a hybrid book of The Scarlet Letter and The Handmaid's Tale.
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