Rating: Unrated | 320 pages | Harper Teen | Contemporary/Magican Realism | 09/22/2020 |
I’ve been wanting to specifically read A-M forever. From what I’ve heard their novels are a blend of fantasy and contemporary which is a genre mash-up that has always been right up my alley, so when I had a chance to review the audio for Miss Meteor, jointly written by Tehlor Kay Mejia, I jumped at the chance.
In Miss Metoer a small-town beauty pageant brings together estranged best friends, Chicky a loner and outcast who doesn’t quite fit in with her three larger-than-life big sisters; and Lita, en eccentric girl born from the stardust of the meteor that gave their small New Mexico town its name. Yes, there is a magical realism element to this story that the authors quietly weave in that I think adds a layer of actual alien to the alienation the girls already feel being brown girls in a town that often rewards blonde-haired white girls.
I feel like it’s cliched to say but like…FreeForm ? Can we get this on TV? Maybe MTV? Tehlor and A-M fill this town with a full cast of loveable and witty teens. I think one of the reasons pageant stories are so popular is that there is so much room for shenanigans and comical situations that can happen on the way to the stage. I also find it interesting that our favorite way to tell pageant stories is through the underdog like Dumplin’ or Miss. Congeniality.
There is also plenty of queer representation in this novel. While helping Lita get the crown, Chicky decides she is ready to share that she is pansexual with her community and finally allows herself to fall for her childhood best friend. One of Lita’s only friends and protector is Kendall, a transgender star athlete and the town’s beloved corn hole champion. Cornhole is also like…a really big deal in this book, btw. I didn’t grow up in a place where it was so I always forget what a big deal it is in some places.
A funny, hopeful contemporary YA romp that takes the crown.
Side Note
I actually wanted more about the jalapeno cupcakes on the cover of this book. They are mentioned in passing in the story but this is a new concept to me? Is this something I should try?
1/2 of the blogging duo at Books and Sensibility, I have been blogging about and reviewing books since 2011. I read any and every genre, here on the blog I mostly review Fantasy, Adult Fiction, and Young Adult with a focus on audiobooks.