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Miss World

by Randi Black

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1331,514,599 (5)None
It's 1993. Kimmy Ho's never really been happy (and thinks her life sucks). She's not really good at anything - or at least, that's what her mother says. But music makes her feel better, and gives her something to live for. Then, she gets raped on the day Kurt Cobain's found dead. And her life begins to suck even more. From his death comes her cross-dressing imaginary friend Joey, and her budding romance with Walter, the skinny kid from special-ed. Walter shows her love and the ability to feel pleasure again, but even he can't make everything better. Not when he also awakens a lust for violence and revenge that she never knew she had inside her.… (more)
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Full, non-spoiler review from {Book Tour} courtesy at Book & Movie Dimension a Blog

Kim Ho embodies in Miss World the type of new age young woman of more modern times. She's what young adults might see in each other in regards to taste in cool music and what to do for fun. While it may not be completely accurate in every piece represented, it does present quite a few shards of what an adolescent really is. By that, meaning spouting profanity liberally like "Fuck" and "slut". While also being in touch with sometimes tons of experiences of sex from either wanting to have it or having it. A novel that doesn't hide anything at all. Has a very sort of real experience grip to it. Kim (Kimmy to some) is a girl that has very strict parents who happen to be conservative Chinese parents that don't like her non-conformist attitude that borders on rebellious.
"Who do you think you are?" Her mom's face is scarlet, with narrowed eyes. The corners of her tight lips curve upwards. "No one want to see fat, ugly Chinese girl on stage!"
Kim wants to yell, shut the fuck up! but her throats wired shut. She blinks. Forces her shaking hands to grip the body of her guitar. Holding it across, her chest, she takes one step backwards, then another. And another. Until her back hits the woodenchest of drawers.

"Do you steal guitar strap?Huh?" She's sprayed with her mom's saliva.
"D-D- Don't spit on me!"
Ptfffffft! A stream of spit hits Kim's right cheek. A stream of spit hits Kim's right cheek. "Take off guitar and do homework!"

And there is the matter that her parents judge her weight. Believing she's so very fat. Yes, she likes loud music and dresses differently than what her parents would choose. From what they want. So it is not a surprise they clash with each other and have many arguments. Kim, a willful girl doesn't really allow her parents to change her. Well, not until , Kevin , the guy she thought would be her savior from her mistreating parents turns out to be a jerk and forces her to give him sex from vaginal sex to anal sex. After a while she realizes he's a user and has been using her to exploit her. To cope with all the bad in her life she creates an imaginary friend who is a cross-dresser named , Joey, that would make her laugh and insult others that hurt her for her. It is good exchange until it isn't.
Kim isn't the same with Joey. With Joey comes a certain comformity. She is listening to the parents that judge her in hurtful ways. The Kim that has emerged is in a way--deafeated-- until she turns to getting to know ,Walter, a guy from her high school, that has until recently been known to stare at her from a far longingly. As she gets to know Walter she gets her old self back along with some confidence. Though its not at all easy.

"Oh, my god." Kim feels like she's having a seizure. The tears pour out. "Oh, my god."Walter kisses her wet eyes. "Wh-What's wrong, Doll?"
"I just, I don't know... I've never been with someone I loved before."
"Y-You love me?" Joey pounds on the door. "You love me!" Kim wipes her eyes. Looks at Walter and nods. "Yes. I love you." An anguished howl. More pounding.
Walter sighs, a deflating ballon. Holds her tighter to him. "Oh, god. I-I was so scared y-you didn't, especially after I told you about Lisa. I mea, m-my cousin. And w-when I went down on you, it was like you didn't care."
"I did. She shakes her head. "It just that, I don't know, no one's ever done it to me for that long! I was expecting you to shove your dick down my throat a few seconds later!"

She'll have to conquer the past with Kevin that wounded her so badly. Though the revenge will be something.
Miss World was a genuine novel as in it had moments that seem so lively where Kim is a sweet girl that is just trying to be herself and at the same time trying to please some hard to please parents. Randi Black's Miss World is a admirable book for she manages to weave popular pop-culture references of muskc and movies which makes it alk the more relateable. There are also friendships that are present in the novel which tend to be sort of full of vanity or convenience which often parallels life. Some friends just wont always be there to be understanding for whatever reason. This was a realistic fiction read that was really curious as how it will play out since realistic fiction so many times fails to capture interest or the right note but Miss World was very fast to hold attention. Randi Black has this to place it --a vibrant voice in writing-- whether describing surroundings or using humour is pleasant to take in. For a book this was obviously more of a grim topic at times concerning an abusive side to the novel of Miss World where Randi Black still managed to bring us as readers into the good points of life in general. Miss World is high on the list for realistic fiction recommend novels that speaks in honest tones to the souls of young adults as well as those of us that treasure the individual as unique.
Overall: Amazing read!
Genre: Realistic Fiction, Romance

Contains: Sexually-Charged Scenes, Parents Being Abusive

[Miss World ended with an opening to its provocative sequel Two Sides of the Beast by Fire Spirit Publishing. Coming Summer 2013!] ( )
  Cassandrabookblogger | Sep 7, 2012 |
Miss World by Randi Black is a about Kim, a chubby 16 year old who loves Kurt Cobain, Doc martins, and wants to become a musician like her idol. Set in the early/mid '90's, we learn about Kim's life, her emotionally abusive parents and her self esteem issues.

OK, I just have to say right away- I LOVE this beautiful and heartbreaking book!! This is the first book in a LONG time that I was truly upset when it ended. I want more. I don't know if its the fact that I was a teenager in the 90's, i wore Doc Martins, blackberry lipstick, listened to Nirvana, Hole, grunge and punk (I was more of a Misfits fan than anything) etc.. was in the "freak" crowd or the fact I had major self esteem issues with my weight so much that I completely understand from experience what Kim went through in regards to boys (yeah I'm calling them boys..Kevin was grown up boy!) Luckily I did not have emotionally abusive parents and my home life was MUCH better!

I read Miss World in one sitting. This isn't a cookie cutter fluffy contemporary YA book, this is a blunt and unfortunately realistic look into a teenage life. I highly recommend this to anyone however due to the sexual content I would recommend this to the mature YA crowd or older.

Miss World needs to be read!! ( )
  BrianneRS1979 | Feb 12, 2012 |
My initial interest came with the title for the book – not gonna lie about that. I grew up with Hole and Nirvana on the radio, so it’s a comfort area for me. Luckily, Randi was awesome enough to send me a copy of this for review. The synopsis got me, and I more or less read it in one sitting. Yeah, it was that good. It lets everything hang out, and for that, I must applaud Black for doing what so many authors choose to not do: tell ugly truths about young adults/teens, no matter what the time period.

This book isn’t just about Kim’s journey to healing after an awful event, but it’s about the healing of a hurt generation, a generation that found healing in music more than anything else. Going into reading this, I knew that those born during the 1990s who read this now won’t get a lot of the more obscure (and awesome) pop culture references and thanked my lucky stars that I was a Gen Y/Millennial baby. But Black writes this so well that it transcends the generational divide, the pop culture divide, and speaks to the hearts of hurt and angry girls everywhere. It certainly spoke to mine.

The early 1990s was a very scary time. I was 9 when Kurt Cobain killed himself, and I remember crying about it for days. I had a huge crush on him, and I was nine. Go figure. Reading this book was like comfort food for me, if just for the pop culture content alone. I listened to L7. I wanted to go to Lollapalooza. I wished I was older than I was at the time so I could hang out with people that would ‘get’ me. I felt alien as an Aspie in my GATE classes with the highly gifted, so I pissed off the teachers and my mother got quite a few phone calls from the school.

But luckily, my mom was loving. We had some had times, but she was nothing like Kim’s mom here. I guess you could call Kim’s mom a traditional “Tiger Mother”, the term coined by Amy Chua in her book about Tiger Mothers published earlier this year. The line between wanting the best for your child and abusing your child through that wish is razor thin, and Black really emphasizes this. It makes me wonder how much of this book is autobiographical in content.

Black writes of the Northridge Earthquake as “being a sign”. It felt that way to me too, as if the world was telling everyone to shut the fuck up and sit the fuck down and behave. No more race riots, no more wildfires, no more AIDS patient/LGBTQ bashing. Just shut up and get along with each other. Through Kim’s voice, speaking of the quake really rattled something in me, and in a good way. It’s hard to get that deep with an author of any genre, yet Black cut to the quick of me just with the mention of the quake alone. (Possibly because I still have nightmares about that late night/early morning in Brentwood where we had to flee the building after a gas leak/possible explosion.)

I have to say – I LOVED Joey. I had quite a few imaginary friends myself (and a lot of stuffed animals), but no one as awesome as him. If I could, I’d still love to have an imaginary friend like him, angel food farts and all. He was Kim’s rage, her inability to effectively express that rage and ultimately, the method in which she led herself to becoming whole (or somewhat whole) after the Kevin Incident. (Incidentally, the bit about the ads in the back of Spin and other magazines – I remember looking over those and giggling and wondering what they were on about. Up until I prank called some of the numbers in there one summer.) Just like today’s predators use the internet, back then they used magazine ads and whatnot to catch their prey. Kim, so desperate in her need for validation of a self separate from her parents and to be loved, used those ads until it all bit her in the ass. The moment she accepted what happened to her (even if it didn’t stop the flashbacks), started standing up to Tiger Mom, the need for Joey ceased. The moment she started to love herself, he exploded back into her subconscious.

Ultimately, this book is about Kim’s need to feel a sense of self outside of being a girl, outside of her Tiger Mother, outside of school and friends and what Kevin did to her. And through 1990s American pop culture, her imaginary friend, and her love for music, she gets through to the other side. The music, especially, is important. Those born during the 1990s won’t understand this, but Nirvana and Hole were a force of nature. They healed all of the broken Gen X (and early Gen Y) kids, told them they weren’t alone, that the world wasn’t as fucked up as it seemed. If you listen, even now, that message still echoes across radiowaves from nearly twenty years ago. No one from the 2000s onward has achieved what Nirvana and Hole, L7 and Nick Cave and the rest of the alt-rock movement did. At least, not yet. Kim couldn’t scream, but Courtney Love screamed for her. That’s Gen X – they couldn’t shriek, but their music could and did for them. And that very element of healing through music will always cross the generational divide.

Black, through Kim’s misadventures, tells us that it’s okay to be messed up on the outside, that it’s okay to be imperfect. And as I constantly have self-esteem issues (especially body image issues), this, for me, was a very special/important read. Many authors have tried before and failed to get to me, but Black did it easily. I’m still trying to parse out why, but perhaps it’s because Kim is “unpretty”, yet she’s smart, she’s courageous, and she doesn’t give a damn about what you think about her.

For those of you out there that have your noses up in the air because this is from an indie press that does have small copy edit mistakes involved: swallow your pride and read this book. I hope that some major publisher takes note and makes this more readily available to everyone in bookstores, though it does have free reign over the net (thank god for e-books). If you’re Gen X or Gen Y, this book will bring back memories and immediately put you in a comfort zone that no longer exists. If you were born later, this will all seem very foreign and strange to you. But disregard all of that and read it. This is what the contemporary young adult novel should be. It’s blunt, it’s graphic in parts, but it’s all truth. We need a little less Sarah Dessen (no offense to Dessen fans out there, but…) and more Randi Black in our YA lit. This is what reality looks like, and it’s not always pretty on the outside – but radiant on the inside.

(posted to goodreads, librarything, shelfari, and witchoftheatregoing.wordpress.com) ( )
  usagijihen | Jun 26, 2011 |
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It's 1993. Kimmy Ho's never really been happy (and thinks her life sucks). She's not really good at anything - or at least, that's what her mother says. But music makes her feel better, and gives her something to live for. Then, she gets raped on the day Kurt Cobain's found dead. And her life begins to suck even more. From his death comes her cross-dressing imaginary friend Joey, and her budding romance with Walter, the skinny kid from special-ed. Walter shows her love and the ability to feel pleasure again, but even he can't make everything better. Not when he also awakens a lust for violence and revenge that she never knew she had inside her.

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