Pagents and Politics

 Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

This was a social commentary on society's obsession with youth and beauty. I never knew where the story was going. There was no one main character, although some characters had more of an impact on the story than others. Teen beauty queens get stranded on a desert island and have to survive. Their survival is not important to The Corporation so even though they are on the literal same island they let the girls deal with it on their own, hoping they die because it will be better for them if they are dead.  But, the girls not only survive, they thrive. When they discover the hide out the realize they are not going to be rescued, but sacrificed, and they plan their own rescue. I did not like that when the book ended and they characters were getting their where are they now Taylor was not included. She stayed on the island. Did she die? What happened to her? I like that the book addressed real concerns held by the girls and women of the world. It handled the LGBTQ+ characters well; they were fully developed and not just plucky sidekicks. This book also tackled the inherent racism of the beauty industry. And, it focused on the development of female friendships. I was mad at Libba Bray because of how she ended the "Great and Terrible Beauty" trilogy and avoided reading this for years, but I'm glad that I got over that and finally read it.