Fat Hoochie Prom Queen (review)

Margarita Diaz, dubbed Madge by her flamboyantly gay BFF Lucas, lives large in every way: a senior in high school, she parties her way through the weekends, never walking away from her namesake drink, a miniature bottle of Grey Goose, a beer funnel, a bong hit, or a bag of Krispy Kremes. She never walks away from a challenge, either, so when Lucas dares her to challenge Bridget Benson for the title of prom queen, she steps up. It turns out to be harder than it looks, because Bridget is a serious player. The history behind the two girls keeps Madge motivated, however; both fomer child actors, Bridget stole a role out from under Madge ten years ago, and has since become a notorious public figure, while Madge's acting days ended when she came into her genetic heritage of ample cleavage and bootiliciousness. A Jerry Springer twist wakes Madge up to who she is and what she really values, and there's a predictable round of kiss-kiss happy endings for everyone. The clichéd plotline acts as a scant cover for this everybody—rednecks, big girls, drag queens, and gay guys—gone-wild-a-palooza; scene after scene of over-the-top high school fantasy night life, including one particularly raunchy drag show, get more than tedious, and the dialogue is laced with urban slang that, while current, authentic, and sassy, seems more determined to outdo online commentary for tastelessness than to convey plot or character. However, with all the feel-good celebration of the aforementioned rednecks, drag queens, skinny gay boys, and hot big girls, there is something here for all those readers other books often ignore or treat with angst, and Madge does, as they say, learn an important lesson about love.