Mundie Moms

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Book Review/Blog Tour- Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Published by Scholastic
Released on May 24th, 2011
Source- ARC from Teen Book Festival/book to review from publisher

4.5 stars- I really enjoyed it


The fifty contestants in the Miss Teen Dream Pageant thought this was going to be a fun trip to the beach, where they could parade in their state-appropriate costumes and complete in front of the cameras. But sadly, their airplane had another idea, crashing on a desert island and leaving the survivors stranded with little food, little water, and practically no eye liner.

What’s a beauty queen to do? Continue to practice for the talent portion of the program – or wrestle snakes to the ground? Get a perfect tan – or learn to run wild? And what should happen when the sexy pirates show up?

Welcome to the heart of non-exfoliated darkness. Your tour guide? None other than Libba Bray, the hilarious, sensational, Printz Award-winning author of A Great and Terrible Beauty and Going Bovine. The result is a novel that will make you laugh, make you think, and make you never see beauty the same way again.


The only thing better than sitting down to read Beauty Queens would be to have Libba Bray herself reading this out loud or hosting her own reality show called Beauty Queens. In true Libba fashion, Beauty Queens is a hilarious, one of a kind read with literally a little bit of everything mixed in. The book is full of satire and honestly I don't remember the last time I laughed out so many times while reading a YA book while at the same time feeling some sort of connection to each of the characters.

Only Libba Bray could create a story with a cast full of Beauty Queens who have crash landed on a island that supposedly "no one else lives on", but it's really a secret location for a corrupt corporation, mixed with other social hot topics, sexy pirates and even some reality T.V. commentary. The girls themselves fit the Beauty Queen stereotype, but the way in which Libba introduces the surviving contestants personal stories makes each of them relatable in some way. There's at least one character within in the story that everyone who reads this will relate too. For the first time in a long time I can honestly say I don't have a favorite, each contestant had a least one quality that I loved about them. There are moving scenes, hilarious scenes, action, and romance scenes and one of my favorite scenes was Miss TX's butt kicking scene. Too bad she wasn't wearing a "Don't Mess with Texas" t-shirt.

Beauty Queen is one crazy, fun, wild read and just as I thought the plot couldn't possibly get any more outrageously funny, Libba throws something else into the story. This books is the perfect mesh up of Lord of the Flies meets Miss Congeniality, with a mix of reality tv that pokes fun at the latest trends and topics, while at the same time connecting with readers on serious topics with out feeling like it's in your face. This is a book that will make you laugh, and it will make you think. It's hilarious, it's entertaining and if this was a reality show I'd totally watch it wearing my team Sparkle Ponies t-shirt.



Thank you to Scholastic, we are giving away two copies of Beauty Queens! To enter, please fill out this form below:

The Dark Days of Supernatural Blog Tour- Interview with Aprilynne Pike

We're excited to be the next stop on The DARK DAYS OF SUPERNATURAL Summer Blog Tour, hosted by Harper Teen. Today we have Illusions author Aprilynne Pike with us. *click on the links and pictures to be taking to Harper Teen's The Dark Days of Supernatural pages*

Illusions

Laurel hasn't seen Tamani since she begged him to let her go last year. Though her heart still aches, Laurel is confident that David was the right choice.

But just as life is returning to normal, Laurel discovers that a hidden enemy lies in wait. Once again, Laurel must turn to Tamani to protect and guide her, for the danger that now threatens Avalon is one that no faerie thought would ever be possible. And for the first time, Laurel cannot be sure that her side will prevail.



Author Q&A

What gets you through a dark day?
My family. My family is the most important thing in my life and what makes me smile the most. My husband and I both work from home, so day or night, he is always there for a smile of encouragement, a big hug, or a shoulder to cry on. We have four fabulous kids who are extremely creative and rather silly (as all children should be!). I can’t watch any of them for more than a minute without having something to crack up about, and they give the best snuggles when I’m feeling down.

Them, and chocolate. Chocolate is always a good bet.

Laurel struggles with feelings for both David and Tamani. To you, what is the strongest quality in each of them as a partner for Laurel?

David’s best quality is definitely his loyalty. It would be very difficult to lose David as a friend. I think you see it as much in his friendship with Chelsea as his relationship with Laurel, and as the series progresses, we get to see it in his friendships with other characters as well. Once David commits to you, you have him for life!

Tamani’s best quality is his persistence. Whatever Tamani says he’s going to do, you can bet he’s going to do it—or die trying. His unwillingness to give up helped him rise quickly through the sentry ranks, which was essential to his long-term pursuit of Laurel. In fact, in Illusions we will learn in some depth how committed he was and is to that particular cause.

Feelings of jealousy can be found throughout this series, but especially in Illusions! How does Laurel deal with this emotion?

Not well. Laurel, because she was homeschooled and is naturally a bit introverted, is late to the social scene and has to learn how much competition can be involved in being part of a group of friends. In some ways she is like an oldest child who gets a younger sibling and is distressed to learn she is expected to share her toys! In Illusions, Laurel discovers that she is going to have to share the people in her life. She also has a couple of . . . friends . . . who are not great at sharing her. So she is surrounded by jealousy and it really wears her down. Laurel doesn’t spend much time being happy in Illusions and that is because all of the conflict of the entire series is starting to come to a head and the pressure of that bears squarely down on her.

In Illusions we’re introduced to Yuki, a foreign exchange student. Have you ever been the “new kid”? How did you make new friends?

Oh, man! Have I ever! My freshman year of high school I attended three schools in three different states. Just as I was starting to make friends, we moved again. Being the “new kid” is especially tough if you’re not great in the social scene to begin with. (I was a nerd and proud of it!) Thank goodness for extra-curricular activities! I was a theatre buff and I also ran cross-country; cast and team members gave me an instant group of kids to spend time around, and I could count on every one of them having at least one interest in common with me. This was how I met pretty much all of my friends in high school.

Flowers play a big role in this series. Do you grow flowers or do any other type of gardening?

I love flowers. Flowers are so effortlessly beautiful and they smell good and make you smile. What’s not to love? However, I also have what I refer to as a black thumb. Sometimes I tell people that Laurel could never come visit me, because I would probably kill her by mistake! I can’t even keep potted plants alive. I keep trying . . . but no luck. My mother is a great gardener, but apparently she kept those genes to herself. So I guess I would have to label myself a flower appreciator rather than flower grower.

Quickfire Questions

1. Describe yourself in just three words.

Quiet. Athletic. Musical.

2. Vacation spot you want to visit?

The Caribbean! I love, love, love the ocean and have heard great things about the Caribbean!

3. What’s the best way to overcome writer’s block?

Writer’s block is like the monster under my bed: if I don’t believe in it, it can’t hurt me!

4. TV show you can’t live without?

Doctor Who. I do miss David Tennant but Matt Smith is growing on me.

5. Favorite quote?

“The most important part of childhood is just trying not to forget it.” --Neil Gaiman

Top 10 List

Top Ten Fictional Characters I Wish I’d Thought of First

10.) Anne Shirley (Anne of Green Gables, Lucy Maud Montgomery), who is totally nothing like Chelsea. *shifty eyes*

9.) Prince Zuko (Avatar: The Last Airbender, Nickelodeon). It’s true that I wasn’t so keen on him with the shaved hair and ponytail, but once he grew his hair out, he was hot enough to even turn Chelsea’s head.

8.) Fitzwilliam Darcy (Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen). Or maybe just Collin Firth’s rendition of Mr. Darcy. Wavy hair, British accent . . . come to think of it, he’s a rather perfect mix of David and Tamani.

7.) The Little Mermaid (Hans Christian Andersen). The real one—the one who is given a chance at happiness at her love’s expense and refuses, choosing to die rather than harm him. That is true love. Still trying to think up a good book with mermaids!

6.) Edward Cullen (The Twilight Saga, Stephenie Meyer). Wait, no, I mean Jacob Black. No, I mean Edward Cullen! Anyway, a vampire boyfriend is a lot less dangerous when you don’t have blood. Edward, meet Laurel.

5.) Rory Williams (Doctor Who, BBC). I love this guy. Down to earth, geeky, and willing to guard his lady love, unacknowledged, for two thousand years. Sound like someone else we know and love?

4.) Death (The Sandman, Neil Gaiman). The perfect woman: one who can make even the ultimate bad news seem okay. This is a character with a very hard job—but characters who do hard things are all the more admirable. It’s the reason I made Laurel struggle with her magic.

3.) Colonel Brandon (Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen). I have always thought Sense and Sensibility was the best of Jane Austen’s books and Colonel Brandon is a big reason for that. The silent admirer who truly puts his love’s happiness above his own—and wins in the end. *swoon*

2.) Inara Serra (Firefly, Joss Whedon). What can I say? I think a girl should be stunningly gorgeous if at all possible. :) Inara is the embodiment of choosing your own life regardless of who judges you for it. It’s a lesson Laurel is still in the process of learning, but she’ll get there.

1.) Merlin (Arthurian legend). A lot gets said about the sexy heroes and fiery heroines of our favorite stories, but where would any of them be without that one kindly old man? Gandalf. The Giver. Dumbledore. Uncle Iroh. Yoda. And, of course, Jamison.
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Thank you to Harper Teen and to Aprilynne Pike for being with us today. Don't miss your chance to meet Aprilynne on The Dark Days of Summer Tour beginning June 6th. Go HERE to find out more information about the tour and the cities she'll be visiting.

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Want to win a copy of Illusions? Be sure to enter our giveaway courtesy of Harper Teen. Just fill out this form here for your chance to win:

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