Review: Birthdays of a Princess- Worth Reading!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 31, 2013
I knew that this was not going to be a light-hearted take on junior beauty pageants such as we see on tv, like the show Toddlers and Tiaras. But until I started reading,  I didn't know how serious and suspenseful the tone of the novel was, and how addictive it would be to keep reading it. Ms. Zeiner has certainly done her research on beauty pageants and the guardians who remake their kids into spoiled and glamorous copies of their own childhood dreams. She also seems to have hit the nail on the head with the description of Tiara's psychosis and its treatment. From the opening scene when Tiara's mother Melissa is watching tv and realizes that it is her own beautiful daughter being arrrested for attempted murder, the reader is drawn into the harrowing world of the pageant tour. We get to witness the schemes and illegal activities surrounding the tours, the depersonalization of the young girls with use of painful procedures to "fix up" their tender faces and delicate hair, and hours of exhausting dance rehearsals. We feel sorry for the children made a part of it, and feel contempt for the parents who subject their kids to this for a chance at fame and prizes. This book was sometimes hard to read because we know this is fiction based on reality, and there is also sexual abuse that goes on behind closed doors. This might not be an easy read for everyone, but it is an interesting and suspenseful novel that sadly reminds us more of Jon Benet Ramsey than Honey Boo Boo. 4 stars{full review @ My Home of Books review blog}