I may or may not have been in a few pageants in my day. So when I find some enjoyable reads to get me back in the pageant mood, I’m good to go. See whatcha think.

Ah, I love when I find a good read. As mentioned, I highly enjoy books/movies about beauty pageants, so when I saw this one, I knew it was for me. Basic premise: beauty queen aficionado Ginny has a horrible allergic reaction the night before her big pageant. Luckily, her twin sister, Charlotte, was with her and agrees to step in for the prelims. Now, Charlotte is a nerdy librarian (me too!) so the glamour thing is definitely not her style. But much like our fave Sandy B, while competing, she discovers a whole new side to herself. And the cute billionaire judge she falls in love with isn’t bad either. I loved it and polished it off in just over two days. I chose the audio version, but I’m sure the print would be great too. Pick your poison and have at it.

There's a (slight) chance I might be going to Hell : a novel of sewer pipes, pageant queens, and big trouble by Laurie Notaro

This one probably wasn’t my favorite pageant read, but once I got a look at that title, I knew I was in one way or the other. The story is good, but there is a lot here outside of the pageant world. The best part was The Karate Kid twist where Maye’s sponsor gets her to do a bunch of chores around her house as “training.” Mr. Myagi would be so proud. The pageant part was a fun little tag at the end, but I wanted more from that. The story is worth the read — you’ll have to ILL it if you would like to partake. 

Crowned by Julie Linker

In a lot of pageant books, the main character/contestant is accidental (see above). But in this case, Presley is a pageant girl and proud of it. As the reigning Miss Magnolia Blossom, she just has a feeling that this is her year to win Miss Teen State. And then her boyfriend dumps her for her arch rival. Um…that was so not the plan. I really enjoyed this one and I was rooting for Presley all the way. My only complaint is that the author didn’t have to make Presley quite such a space cadet. She was smart in her own way and I wish that would have shown through more. This one is an ILL’er, so get online and get that request in. This was such a good read I polished it off in one day.

As a girl who also possesses a great personality (or so I’ve been told), I was intrigued by this title. Lexi is a pro at helping her sister get ready for pageants. Her little sister. Who’s only 7. Because Lexi, who is 16, doesn’t do pageants herself, she feels like an outsider in her own family. I enjoyed this one because it was a different take on the pageant scene. Instead of the main character being the pageant girl, she is merely a bystander. I liked Lexi — we’d probably be friends if we met in real life. This is a quick read. I managed to polish it off in less than a day, but it was still enjoyable. 

So those are my pageant picks. Also if you’re wondering, my favorite food is chocolate. I have no idea what I want to be when I grow up, but I also play racquetball. And I really do want world peace. 

Happy pageanting…
:) Amanda