Review: Beauty Queen

Title: Beauty Queen
Author: Linda Glovach
Publication Date: September 19, 1998

Summary:
I felt the prick of the needle, but only for a second, because this great rush of warmth quickly followed, encompassing my whole body from my toes right up to the top hair on my head. I couldn't move for a minute as she guided the needle in and out of my vein. When she was done, I felt like I had entered heaven. I looked in the mirror and felt beautiful, confident. I felt this great peace, at last, a warmth, and I knew that everything was going to be okay- and really always had been. Like time had stopped and I was floating on a cloud.



Review:
Since it didn't really say much in the summary on the book itself, I'll give you a bit more about it first. Beauty Queen is about a 19 year old girl who has low self esteem, an alcoholic mother, and hates where her life is going. She finds a new job as a topless dancer, where she gets introduced to heroin.

Honestly, I was disappointed in this book. It was way too predictable and seemed just like every other book I've read about a young girl getting sucked up into the world of drugs and writing entries in her journal about it. If there weren't so many other books like this, I think I would have enjoyed it. But I found it really predictable and somewhat boring to read. On a positive note, I loved the cover. And the fact that Sam has a job in topless dancing, is a bit different from any other book like this that I've read. Overall though, I was pretty disappointed in it. If you're looking for a quick book in journal-entry style about a young girl dealing with heroin, go ahead and read it. But if you're expecting an exciting book that's different from all of the others like it, you'll be disappointed.


Characters: 7/10
Plot: 7/10
Originality: 5/10
Writing: 6/10
Overall grade: D