Robyn's Picks

Did you ever see the movie Drop Dead Gorgeous? Did you laugh so hard you cried? Then this book is for you! A plane of pageant girls crash lands on a deserted island and the fight for the crown, er... survival begins! These girls have to contend with giant snakes, exploding jars of Lady 'Stache Off, and the seriously motivated Miss Texas. Bray has brought her signature punchy style to this satirical tale of female empowerment set in a too-close-for-comfort world of gross commercialization and reality television. With its combination of slapstick humor and over-the-top criticism of our celebrity obsessed culture, Beauty Queens is my favorite laugh-out-loud book this year. Whether you're a life-long pageant contestant or a hardcore teenage feminist (or both), you'll enjoy the pure, but warm, comedy of how these young women come together in dire circumstances. —Robyn

As an avid teen fiction reader, I was drawn in because I loved The Luxe series. Bright Young Things does not disappoint. Written even more lavishly, Godbersen envelopes you in the summer of 1929, when all the dreams and desires of American youth had yet to be daunted by the Great Depression. Reading this book seriously makes me want to pull over a slinky beaded gown and dance the night away at a speakeasy in Manhattan.  —Robyn