In this semi-autobiographical debut novel set in 1983, Vanessa Martin's real-life reality of living with family in public housing in Newark, New Jersey is a far cry from the glamorous Miss America stage. She struggles with an incarcerated mother she barely remembers, a grandfather dealing with addiction and her own battle with self-confidence. But when a new teacher at school coordinates a beauty pageant and convinces Vanessa to enter, Vanessa's view of her own world begins to change. Vanessa discovers that her own self-worth is more than the scores of her talent performance and her interview answers, and that she doesn't need a crown to be comfortable in her own skin and see her own true beauty.
| ISBN: | 9781580897778 |
| Publication date: | 2nd March 2018 |
| Author: | Tami Charles |
| Publisher: | Charlesbridge |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 284 pages |
| Genres: |
Children's and Young Adult Fiction |