Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

This is a book every girl should read (if you're a boy and non-chauvinistic,
you'll like it too!). If you judge Beauty Queens solely by its cover, you would think it was a trashy beach romance, but really it's a parody of that type of book, and of every stereotype that is pushed on girls today.
In it, an airplane full of beauty pageant contestants crashes onto a deserted island, forcing the girls to band together and learn what it means to survive, as well as what is important outside the realm of reality TV. It is hilarious, ridiculous, and a fairly easy read, but it's also poignant and just really, really true. It deals with sexuality, friendship, racism, love, sexism, insecurity, and what it means to be a girl today in the least preachy and most fantastic way possible.
The themes in this book are not the best part, though. The characters and the way they develop throughout the book contributes to the flawlessness of this book too. Libba Bray somehow manages to give over a dozen beauty queens as well as a ship full of pirates (don't ask) their own voices and personalities. I want to be best friends with all these girls, and I would happily marry any one of the pirates!! I can see a little bit of people I know in all of these characters, and that gives me a deeper connection.
I don't know what else to say except that I DEMAND you read this book. It made me think twice about the world I live in, and it's not every day that that happens.
-Carly

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