The Princesses of Iowa

The Princesses of Iowa

By M. Molly Backes (464 pages)

Published by Candlewick

Bookish rating: 4

Backes is a brand-spankin’ new author on the young adult literary scene, and she has come in strong with her debut novel, The Princesses of Iowa.

Our first-person narrator, Paige, is the popular Midwestern girl, entering her senior year and about to close in on the OMG event of the fall, HOMECOMING ROYALTY COURT. However, during the prior summer, alcohol and driving mix, resulting in an accident that could’ve killed her and all her friends—but didn’t. This bullet-dodging event launches the story, sparking Paige’s sudden introspection.

Tension builds between Paige and her BFFs and hunky hunk jock boyfriend for various reasons supremely important to teens, but Paige begins to sense that having her whole damn life peak at homecoming might not be the best long-term plan, nor does it give her much joy. As she starts to come of age, so to speak, she begins a creative writing class with a grad student from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop (described in another book review), makes friends with peeps who have actual substance, and finds that she has a bit of a knack for writing.

Overall, what carries this novel through (and it’s a long one—464 pages, to be exact) is the quality of writing. Backes practices what she preaches in the fictional creative writing class, and her writing is lively, fresh, and witty, and she’s not above dropping quite a few f-bombs. When appropriate, her well-timed descriptions of the Iowa landscape or autumn or a parking lot are nicely executed and wonderfully descriptive, NOT overwritten, NOT flowery, and NOT forced (as often happens in YA lit).

Backes’s fictional high school world is also incredibly believable, the dialogue is spot on, and the parents appropriately flawed.

I found it so refreshing to read a well-written YA novel deliberately lacking a dark edge, vapid gimmick, or supernatural element. The novel was playful and fun while still full of big, substantive themes. I genuinely enjoyed reading the book, and I highly recommend it. I’ve become a Backes fan, and I hope her novel is read widely enough for her publisher to beg her to write another one—because I wanna read it.