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 compete 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 eyeliner.

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.

Good Reads Summary

This was an interesting novel.  It was hard to get to know the main characters too well, they kept switching in telling the story.  The plot itself was OK, beauty queens trapped on an island.  The development of the characters was interesting to follow; however, some of it bordered on the absurd.  Out of 13 girls, they all have some deep, dark, unusual secret (OK, fine-but it gets a little too weird after the seventh one).  The novel was funny, the character Tiara offers up some comedic relief.  However, the sheer stupidity of the voice overs and dialogue that encompasses the majority of the book can get a little grating after a while.  Many of the characters were enjoyable to read about and find out more of their background.  The book is slightly disappointing though, the reader does not need to be hit over the head by the stupidity that is highlighted in the novel.  This book may be OK for young adults who don't mind a book that is fairly frivolous.

2 1/2 Stars