Prettiest Doll

October 22, 2012
Beauty pageants hold a particular fascination in the American consciousness,
especially when children are involved. Thirteen-year-old Olivia has been entering—and often winning—pageants in smalltown Missouri since she was three. Her overweight mother happily works two jobs to fund Olivia’s appearances, but Olivia is starting to feel lost and angry behind the heavy makeup and extravagant dresses. When Olivia meets Danny, a 15-year-old runaway headed for Chicago, her discontent boils over, and she decides to join him. Once in Chicago, Danny confronts his long-missing father while Olivia reconnects with her uncle. As the two fall for each other, Olivia must decide whether to return home and continue participating in pageants. Willner-Pardo (The Hard Kind of Promise) gives Olivia a realistically conflicted narrative voice that reveals the immense pressure she is under to perform, her concerns about her mother’s weight and the family’s finances, and her guilt over not sharing her mother’s passion for pageant competition. Olivia’s attraction to moody Danny is perhaps less believable, but her growth is organic and genuine. Ages 9–12. Agent: Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

September 15, 2012
Thirteen-year-old Liv feels invisible behind the facade of her beauty. A veteran beauty-pageant participant, Liv recognizes life is easier because she is attractive. However, she longs to be valued beyond her good looks and feels trapped by her mother's expectations. Willner-Pardo skillfully conveys Liv and her mother's complicated relationship. Even as she struggles to extricate herself from her mother's goals, Liv is keenly aware of the many sacrifices her mother makes so that Liv can achieve those goals. Liv rebels against her beauty-pageant image through subtly defiant acts; while her mother rarely swears, Liv occasionally sprinkles her language with curse words. However, her mother's insistence that Liv sing at the upcoming Prettiest Doll pageant catapults Liv into open revolt. Danny, a 15-year-old runaway with his own struggles, inspires Liv to escape from her woes. When she impetuously joins Danny on the run, they discover a common goal: Both want to confront a person who has left them. Dan's and Liv's subsequent discoveries empower them to reconsider their futures. Willner-Pardo deftly captures the complexity of adolescence as these resilient teens endeavor to define their identities and establish control over their lives. (Fiction. 10-14)

COPYRIGHT(2012) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

February 1, 2013

Gr 6-8-Olivia Tatum has won beauty pageants since she was a small child. Now 13, she is starting to question this activity, thinking her only asset is being pretty. Meanwhile, her overweight mother and pageant coach are drilling her for the upcoming Prettiest Doll competition, and she's had enough. Then she meets Dan, an unusually short 15-year-old who has landed in her Missouri town, camping out, having run away from his home in Texas after his mother pressured him to get growth hormone shots. He intends to go to Chicago, and, after a sleepless night, Liv decides to join him. During the bus ride north, they talk about their lives, and in Chicago make their way to the apartment of Liv's deceased father's brother. They visit some of the city's sights as their mutual attraction grows. Both of them are trying to work on issues with the adults in their lives, but as runaways, they are wary of encountering police, spending a risky night hiding in a movie theater. Dan gathers the courage to go see his divorced father, and the encounter is an exchange laced with disappointment and anger, but reflecting on it, Dan sees himself anew. Liv also has a candid talk with Uncle Fred, and both teens return to their homes with changed perspectives. Considering the vulnerability of Liv, the self-assertion she seeks, and the hint of romance, this coming-of-age novel will strike a resonant chord with middle school girls.-Susan W. Hunter, Riverside Middle School, Springfield, VT

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2012
Grades 4-7 After winning such titles as Glitz n' Glamour Girl, Adorable Missouri Miss, and Little Miss Queen of Hearts, 13-year-old Olivia has had it with pageantsespecially now that she is expected to sing, a skill she simply doesn't possess. So she joins Danny, a 15-year-old teenage runaway with a growth deficiency, on a bus to Chicago. Willner-Pardo juggles a lot here: pageant life, neglectful parents, a grow-as-you-go road trip, and first love. But her leads are strong and sympathetic, enough so that readers will overlook the periodic strains in credibility. Swear words pop up with surprising frequency, but make no mistake: this is a sweet and gentle offering.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)