Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

When I watched The Wilds on Prime I was transfixed so when I found this book I was eager to see if this could fill the hole The Wilds left.

When the contestants of the Miss Teen Dream pageant crash land on a mysterious island, they must adapt to survive but can they shed their pageant-selves crafted for the Corporation to help each other?

As the girls cling to the last remnants of their pre crash lives, they start to realise that in order to make it out in one piece, they must reveal secrets that have hidden away to be the perfect Teen Dreamers. With the Corporation close by, things begin to unfold that threaten the girls survival and test the binds they have formed.

I really enjoyed reading this story. Beauty Queens takes a hard look at the pageant culture and how it affects the girls that take part but also shows how amazing the girls are outside of the shows. The story is also broken up by chapters that are commercials about the Corporation and their products, the main one being Lady Stache-off, the Corporation’s best selling hair removal cream and toilet cleaner.

I have to say, my favourite character in the book was Tiara. She was just the most liveable of the girls and they way her character developed over the chapters really made me root for her. I’d definitely recommend reading this story if you want to see how beauty queens would fair on an island with giant snakes and a volcano that may or may not be trying to kill them.