Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

If I could have coffee with any writer living or dead, high on my list of picks would be Libba Bray. Even if she didn't write witty, irreverant, and often intensely personal blogs and tweets (which she does), I would find her diverse range of characters and unorthodox plots irresistable . As we sat down for lattes, I'd ask her things like: "Libba, you describe A Great and Terrible Beauty as 'a gothic creepfest of a Victorian story with a heroine who could kick butt and take names all in a crinoline and corset' ...did you always want to write a Buffy the bustle wearer-type novel?" Or maybe, "Libba, how exactly does one decide to write a surrealist contemporary novel about a boy's Don Quixote-esque adventure as he descends into the insanity caused by mad cow disease?"
But after reading her latest novel Beauty Queens, I would start our conversation with a giant thank you for writing such a moving and honest book about young women--how they are perceived and what they perceive, how they are treated and how they treat each other.

The book begins with a plane crash (not unlike the popular TV show Lost, one of many pop culture icons parodied in the novel). The survivors are contestants in the Miss Teen Dream USA competition, but through chapters told from alternating characters' perspectives, we discover each young woman has more to offer than her beauty queen package. Unlike their Lord of the Flies and Lost counterparts, these young women manage to work together in suprising ways to survive and even thrive in hostile conditions. But as they begin to discover their own power, they are tested by temptations they discover on the island, temptations that reflect the challenges all young women face in trying to become strong, self-confident, empowered females.

By turns quirky, philosophical, fantastical, and touching, Beauty Queens is definitely the best book I read this summer. I foresee more awards coming Libba Bray's direction. Guess that means we'll have more to talk about when we finally sit down for coffee.

For a fun look at the making of the novel (and a glimpse of the author's personality), read this interview Libba Bray conducted with herself: http://www.omnivoracious.com/2011/04/ya-wednesday-a-conversation-between-libba-bray-and-libba-bray.html.

Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd

I'm back from a loooong break and rarin' to go. For my first review of the year, I snagged Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd, a collection of short stories edited by well-known authors (and good friends) Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci. If you haven't noticed, we're currently in the middle of a Geek-Chic Phenomenon wherein, geekiness, nerdiness, dorkdome, etc. have come in to their own and suddenly, being an outsider is a very fashionable brand indeed. I happen to agree with Wikipedia's astute analysis of the geek chic trend, which points out that the Geek-Chic label is largely superficial. However, as a rather dorky person (I heart reading, Star Trek NG, Star Wars, LOTR; I was in band and 4-H in high school, as well as the forestry team), I couldn't resist the premise of this book.

The editors have gathered an all-star team of YA authors to write stories in which the protagonists are all geeks of one ilk or another. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I was surprised by the variety of tone and theme offered in these stories, which ran the gamut from dark, social commentary to silly, entertaining romps. I have to say, I expected better from some of the authors whose work I know and love, but was not let down by John Green and David Levithan. I thought Libba Bray's "It's Just a Jump to the Left" was an interesting commentary on growing up which channeled Judy Blume's ability to nail the fears of a teenage girl while covering more mature concerns. I also enjoyed Sara Zarr's "This is My Audition Monologue," whose intriguing narrarator surprises with her blunt honesty (and, I might add, this story would make for an interesting audition monologue, even if it is long). The majority of stories contain some mature content, mostly language (a lot of which I felt was unnecessary and self-conscious) and some themes. Admittedly, I didn't enjoy every story in the collection, but, found the collection entertaining on the whole. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone with a little geek in them, whether they let it show or not. To read an excerpt or play the game "The Great Geek Escape," check out the publisher website: http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/features/geektastic/index.html.