Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Have you ever gotten really excited to read a book because all of the hype, and then when you read it, it's just not as good as you hoped.  I hate it when this happens, but it happens so easily! Darn.

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray is full of great moments and great lessons for young adolescent girls.  But it's over the top and just on the other side of too forced and too silly.  The premise is a lot like Lord of the Flies, but with teenage beauty contestants.  It's supposed to be satirical and it's supposed to be fantastical, I know that...I just didn't like it.

My favorite line in the book represents what I did love, love, love about the book.  The slow realizations the girls have that they can be themselves with a bit more practice and a bit more dedication to the idea.  “Maybe girls need an island to find themselves,” Mary Lou says. “Maybe they need a place where no one’s watching them so they can be who they really are.”  I'm all about doing whatever it takes to help girls find the confidence it takes to be who they really are, including recommending this book for girls interested.  It's not that it's not good or funny, it just didn't live up to the hype.  Try it for yourself and see!

One year later.

A gift for you...


There are several reasons I haven't been posting about YA lit for the past year....
1.  I took a new job as a dean and that meant less books and more naughty kids.  But is a great gig, so if I can just figure out how to be a dean who reads lots of YA lit, I'm set!
2.  Along came Harold Clayton Kujawski.  Yep, that's right, I had a baby.  He was a tiny little piglet baby at first, but now he's a full-fledged infant with fuzzy hair, a nap schedule, and an exersaucer.   Like my new job, this role as a Hal's mom is a great gig, so if I can just figure out how to be a momma to Hal who also reads lots of YA lit, I'm set!
3.  Another year full of classes.  I am taking my last one at Hamline this summer, and I'll be done.  Whew.  I like learning, and the classes have been relevant to my work, so I don't mind.  I just gotta figure out how to be a student who takes class and reads lots of YA lit.

But here I am, back int he blogging saddle.  I don't have a specific book to tell you about but I have a good list.  It's the list of the Best YA Lit for 2011 from Publishers Weekly.  I stopped reading YA Lit in May 2011, so it's a perfect way for me to get caught up.  I hope you recognize some of the books and find a few others to put on your summer reading lists.  Enjoy!

-stenson