‘Beauty Queens’ proves ugly read

Author Libba Bray became widely popular with her first published work, The Gemma Doyle Trilogy. 

Since the trilogy concluded in 2007, Bray has published three more novels – “Going Bovine” in 2009, “Beauty Queens” in 2011 and “The Diviners” in 2012, none of which have had the success of her first three books. 

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Gemma Doyle Trilogy and picked up a copy of “Beauty Queens” while on a camping trip this summer. 

The dust jacket drew me in. I was eager to read a story about beauty pageant contestants stranded on a deserted island.

I was sure that the novel would be a bitingly satirical look into the lives of beauty queens, but I was disappointed. 

While Bray begins the novel on the right foot by parodying the shallow nature of beauty pageant contestants, the novel becomes progressively more strange and confusing. 

Parodies are expected to be exaggeratory, but this book took it too far. With everything from a transgender teen heartthrob in disguise to a crashed ship of TV star pirate assassins, the line of parody was certainly crossed into something far too outlandish.

The novel digresses from a well-thought-out satire to an utter mess. 

While I wholeheartedly recommend reading The Gemma Doyle Trilogy, I would not suggest picking up “Beauty Queens.”