Willner-Pardo, Gina. Prettiest Doll.

Willner-Pardo, Gina.    Prettiest Doll.   Houghton Mifflin/Clarion  2012  234p  ISBN 978-0-547-68170-2        ms/hs  Hardback  VG-BN  Realistic fiction 

Olivia has been winning beauty pageants since she was three years old.  Her mom works extra jobs to pay for the clothes and lessons.  Now mom wants Olivia to sing for a competition.  This is Olivia’s weakest skill.  After a chance meeting with a fifteen-year-old runaway, Dan, who is avoiding the growth hormone shots he doesn’t want, Olivia starts thinking seriously about her options.  On a whim she joins Dan at the bus station and they head toward Chicago.  Along the way they look out for each other, and both discover a great deal about the responsibility of independence and the meaning of family.

Both teens return home to make difficult decisions.  Dan starts the injections and Olivia competes in her pageant. She knows her singing is not good, but for the first time her smile and ease are natural rather than forced.  She is ready to face her mom with her decision to stop participating in pageants.  A very satisfying ending demonstrates thought and maturity on the part of the main character.

This is a girl’s book.  It is well written, providing an inside look at beauty pageants and the pressure they put on the girls.  It also addresses the emphasis on outward appearance and the importance society places on this shallow viewpoint.  Great for girls in grade 6 and up. 

Summary: Olivia has been prepped for beauty pageants for the past ten years.  Now at thirteen, after meeting a runaway, she rebels against the pageant scene and runs away. This novel examines the world where outward appearances are all important. 

Beauty pageants-Fiction                                     --Joan Theal