Book Review ~ Voya
Seventeen-year-old Jane Fontaine Ventouras begrudgingly moves back to Bienville, Alabama, after being kicked out of thirteen boarding schools. Jane is a girl with issues: her mother died of ALS, her father has checked out, and she has never forgotten Luke Churchville, the boy she was caught kissing when her father sent her away. As a way to rehabilitate Jane, her grandmother convinces her to try out for the Magnolia Maid pageant. It should be every southern girl’s dream to wear a $7,000 antebellum dress and serve as “Bienville’s ambassadress to the world,” but Jane is the anti-belle who lacks all grace and femininity. Southern pandemonium erupts when the judges diversify the sixtieth court and choose unseemly Jane and a few other unconventional finalists, including the first African American maid. Jane is an apathetic maid until the head advisor, unhappy about the ill-advised selection process, asks her to quit, igniting Jane’s combative nature. She decides to fight fire with fire by undergoing a Southern Belle makeover and becoming the most perfect Magnolia Maid that ever existed. This fun and fast-paced book reads like a Reese Witherspoon movie, complete with Southern drawl, angst-filled romance, and happy ending. While both cliche and predictable, it easily engages readers who will root for Jane. By the end of the book, Jane drops her tough girl facade and productively deals with her issues. Themes like standing up for what you believe in, being true to yourself, and working as a team resonate. It contains some adult language and underage drinking, but nothing too mature for the middle school crowd. Reviewer: Sarah Cofer
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