Pretty Monsters($18.99Value)

Description

There’s nothing more monstrous than perfection in J. S. Lemon’s masterful and haunting work of middle grade speculative fiction, a cautionary tale about the commodification of beauty. Beauty queens don’t eat candy. Ruby Driscoll became a beauty queen at the age of four. Since then, she’s worked hard to be a flawless pageant girl―a toxic goal that takes on a sinister truth when Ruby’s arms start moving strangely at her latest competition. Less like a human girl’s and more like . . . a Barbie doll’s. Soon Ruby’s already smooth skin becomes poreless, and her already shiny hair becomes impossibly glossy. As Ruby’s frightening transformation progresses, the better Ruby does at her beauty pageants, and the prouder her mother is. But when this newfound “perfection” turns into a nightmare, Ruby must find a way to regain her humanity, or risk becoming nothing more than a pretty monster. J. S. Lemon grew up outside of Philadelphia, and chances are, so did you. She spent most of her childhood worrying about hair removal and trying to make people laugh. Even though middle school was quite a while ago, it still sits right beneath her skin. Lemon was the first girl, on both sides of her family, to graduate college, and she did so while wearing an “I’m with stupid” T-shirt under her gown. She has been an animal psychic, a mime coach, and a spokesperson for the Crocs Evening Wear Collection―all without leaving her home. Most days you can find her gossiping with her dog and writing until her thumbs ache. Her hobbies include doodling, listening to smooth ‘70s music, and dodging invitations to go hiking. She does a pretty good Cher impression.