Thank you to Netgalley for providing this e-arc.

Miss World 1970: The Craziest Pageant in History and the Rest of My Life is somewhat of an autobiography of the author as she tells he story, mostly revolving around her experience winning Miss World. The start was strong. We get introduced to her beautiful country and some of her experiences from childhood. Then transitions to the part where she talks about the pageant. It was done well for a book about a first person perspective. Then came what supposed to be the " controversial" part of the book. It felt lackluster. And the title seems a bit clickbait-ish. Being a distant watcher of pageants myself i have definitely seen pageants with more dramatic happenings. Then came the after, which some of it appreciated. As she showed both her joy and struggle as she travels and works worldwide. Then the rest was a blur. It felt like a 50 page Linked In profile. But then again, i'm not one bit of a fan of politics.

'Jennifer Hosten went to the 1970 Miss World pageant on a lark, representing the tiny Caribbean island of Grenada, and came home with the crown and a place in history. What was supposed to be a light-hearted affair, with a parade of the world's most beautiful women vying for the attention of the judges and comedian/host Bob Hope, turned out to be the most controversial, politically-charged, and consequential pageant ever.'

I did enjoy the book and really loved the insight into the life of Miss World, and the challenges Jennifer faced in her life. However, I hoped the book would go into more detail about the pageant itself but it didn't spend much time on it. It focused more on her career afterwards as the Ambassador for Grenada. I was hoping to hear more stories from her time in the pageant and learn about the women. The writing style wasn't very enticing and I didn't find myself drawn to the story. Overall, it was a really nice read and I found it interesting to hear about the amazing achievements Jennifer Hosten achieved.

"Miss World 1970" was a really interesting read. I saw the trailer for the upcoming movie and figured that this autobiography would also just focus on the events of the Miss World 1970 election, but it actually gave an overview over the winner's whole life.

It was really interesting to see how much Ms. Hosten managed to do during her life, how many interesting jobs she held and how her pageant win actually figured into it. I'm not really sure that I still see a place for pageants in today's society, but after reading this book I can definitely see what advantages these pageants might offer to the participants and the winners especially.

I had never heard of this controversy I found this book really entertaining .Well written very interesting glad the author won the pageant.A really god read.#netgalley#sutherlabdhouse

Miss World 1970 by author Jennifer Hosten is a comical novel with a lot of great characters. Easy and fast read, wasn’t the deepest book but wasn’t disappointed!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It was upon learning that a film based on this book is due to be released this year, that prompted me to read Miss World 1970. I was eager to learn of Jennifer Hosten’s experiences of being the first woman of colour to win Miss World. Unfortunately, the narrative didn’t succeed in pulling me in.

The writing was quite dry at times meaning reading it felt like a chore. The author provided a lot of information of her life after the pageant, and it was fascinating to learn of what she achieved that included becoming Grenada’s ambassador to Canada in the late seventies.

However, the time spent on the actual pageant itself was quite brief. In fact, when she describes the final elimination rounds it only takes up a couple of pages. I suppose what I was expecting was at least for half the book to focus on the lead-up to the pageant as well as the pageant itself, so that we get to know the other contestants in addition to the sexual and racial dynamics at play. Especially as during the Miss World 1970 pageant apartheid South Africa had been shamed into putting forward another candidate who was black and was given the title of Miss Africa South, while her white counterpart was called Miss South Africa.

Jennifer Hosten mentions that entering Miss World gives women access to opportunities that they may not have had before, one of the primary reasons why she chose to apply. But having come from a privileged family background it would have been nice for her to focus on contestants who were not as privileged, and who for winning the competition could potentially have been life-changing. I’d love to have known what happened to the other contestants.

I also felt that she dismissed the protestors from Women’s liberation far too easily. They came across as those radical unhinged feminists that no woman wishes to associate themselves with. I do feel pageants offer an easy way for women to become exploited, especially if they’re poor and the message they’re being given is that the only way they’ll become successful is by being beautiful. But what happens if you don’t conform to society’s standard of what beautiful is?

Based on the book, I don’t think I’ll be in a rush to watch the movie. Miss World 1970 offers up a few interesting facts but ultimately fails to make an impression.

I thought this book was fantastic. I had never even heard of this controversy but in all fairness, I'm not a huge fan of beauty pageants. This book kept me engaged from start to finish, I loved how there was a little backstory but most everything starting off with the pageant and the protesters and then the backlash when she won. Everything was informative and enjoyable. Many thanks for letting me read this one, so good.