Miss Smithers [Paperback]

Susan Juby (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 11, 2004

In spite of the premature publication of my 'zine and resulting renewed social ostracism, things are happening for me! I've been stood up by the coolest girl in school, I have a Jesus bracelet, I ate dinner at a steak restaurant and lived to tell, I may be a virgin until I marry, I'm a Miss Smithers candidate, and I HAVE LEATHER PANTS! I even feel ready for the first official event of the pageant, the Etiquette Workshop.

No longer homeschooled and socially isolated, Alice McLeod has: 1. a female friend, George; 2. a male friend, Goose; 3. a $400 clothing allowance to dress herself for the Miss Smithers pageant.

Following on the debut of Alice, I Think, Susan Juby's delightful second novel is about finding the perfect outfit and finding oneself, about winning a pageant and winning at love.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up–Alice MacLeod, 16, had been homeschooled since being pulled out of first grade for thinking she was a hobbit. Now she attends alternative school, and describes herself as "a total misfit," so she is understandably surprised when the Smithers Rod and Gun Club asks her to be their representative for the local beauty pageant. She keeps a diary of all of her school and pageant misadventures, including cantankerous descriptions of her hippie parents, friends, and fellow contestants. Alice's meanderings through a religious group, alcohol experimentation, and fruitless hopes for a first sexual encounter seem contrived for their shock value. Although she is certainly intelligent and insightful (with a very sharp cutting edge), she never seems to understand that she's her own worst enemy until the end. By that point, it's too little too late, and readers will have trouble caring if she gets it or not. She seems to veer from one ridiculous or dangerous situation to the next, and blames much of it on everybody else (sometimes correctly, but often not). Despite its wit and spearing of inane beauty contests, teens will have trouble finding this book's heart, or Alice's.–Paula J. LaRue, Van Wert City Schools, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 7-12. This sequel to Alice, I Think [BKL Ag 03] finds our young Canadian protagonist participating in the town beauty pageant, much against the wishes of her hyperfeminist mother. As a representative of the pageant, Alice is allotted a $400 clothing allowance, the main motive for her participation. She details her hilarious experiences in both journal entries and a zine, which deliciously skewers every group possible, from aging would-be rock stars to vegetarians. Despite the novel's rural, small-town setting, urban teens will also delight in Alice's misadventures, as she combines sometimes alarming fits of self-confident, outrageous activity with more predictable teen angst and ineptitude. Be warned that Alice gets drunk, tries to lose her virginity, and engages in other risky behaviors and attitudes, with very little judgment levied by the author. Readers of Alice's previous adventure will be eagerly awaiting this new title, but the sequel easily stands alone and will send new readers back to the first book. Debbie Carton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  
• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: HarperTempest (May 11, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060515465
• ISBN-13: 978-0060515461
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,515,495 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars very funny, July 15, 2004

By 

BC Gal (Northern BC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Miss Smithers (Paperback)

The book caught my attention because of the bright green cover, but I bought it because an author on the cover was quoted saying, "I laughed until my diet soda came out my nose". I didn't quite snort soda but this book made me laugh out loud. I read it in one sitting. Also it was really cool to have my hometown mentioned in the book (Prince Rupert). The way Juby wrote about teen issuse, parents, small-town life, etc was dead on, I had a ball reading it.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Unusual..., May 11, 2004

By 

Huntress Reviews (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Miss Smithers (Library Binding)

Alice McLeod is offered four hundred dollars to represent the local gun club in the Miss Smithers competition. Four hundred dollars to spend on clothes is a dream come true, especially when she imagines being able to stretch it all the local versions of Good Will or the Salvation Army. Added bonuses are she will get an inside scoop for the paper she produces and horrify her parents who strongly disapprove of the blatant anti feminism of a beauty contest and the principals inherent in a shooting club.

There are enough events in the contest to assure that almost anyone can score well in one or two of them. Yet, it is not the contest that will be the most educational for Alice. The reactions and politics that enter her life as she comes under the spotlight are a revelation. She will get fashion advice from bikers, find herself in a fight with supposedly respectable young women, and shock her parents by converting to a Christian lifestyle and chastity. While there can be only one queen, Alice finds there can be several winners.

*** Miss Smithers is unusual. Its satirical look at life is told from a first person point of view. While some scenes are difficult to imagine, that does not detract from their realism. Alice is in her own version of wonderland, strange but possibly true. ***

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A quirky fast read, June 12, 2004

By 

"canadianbookloverchick" (Never, Never Land) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Miss Smithers (Paperback)

I found this book and was drawn to the cover because it was just so bright and beautiful. I didn't read the first one in this book but i wasn't confused with out it. Alice, is a teen who is just trying to become normal, this is really hard for her because her mom is a feminist/hippie and her dad is a soft core romance novalist. She starts out by entering this Miss Smithers Contest. (She is actually the normalist person there) This book was a very fun/funny book to read. (I can't help being a little bit biased over this book cause i myself am Canadian)