“El Paso, you’re looking good!”
I loved this book. It is tender, real, and full of courage. On a whim, a young woman gets spontaneously tossed into a world foreign to all she knows: the making of a beauty queen. Imagine two flamboyant men with a dream. Imagine a young woman, at the beginning of her adult life, reading an invitation to become Miss America, an invitation for something that might seem superficial at first, yet, through her willingness to grow and learn, capitalizes on her resilience, and sets the stage for confidence throughout her life. In The Pink Dress: A Memoir of a Reluctant Beauty Queen, Jane Little Botkin writes elegantly and respectfully of the Kings of Beauty Pageants, Richard Guy and Rex Holt. With good humor and a genuine curiosity, she writes about the varied citizens who walked the 1970s streets of the West Texas Town of El Paso, her hometown. A town known for its wild past, any combination of clandestine or public figures, hardworking businessmen and women, fugitives, riff raff, or those blessed by the stars might appear on its streets, and, consequently, in the pages of The Pink Dress.
Richard Guy and Rex Holt, Guyrex Associates, were willing to make their dream come true and bring dozens of young women along. In the midst of it all, the world went on around them. Young men were drafted. Women burned their bras. People found love and let it slip through their fingers. Jane Little Botkin brings us inside of the beauty queen story, the story of thrills, fortune, and fame. Deep inside that story is a confused and maybe bitter mom, a dear and maybe oblivious father, and a young woman’s will to survive a tortured marriage, and then survive without it.
We find Jane Little living someone else’s dreams, until finally, through her grace and courage, the dreams become her own. The first Guyrex Girl, Jane Little wore the magical pink dress and played a stunning piano piece. She increased traffic to local businesses. She helped others learn and grow and joined them in mild rebellions. She made El Paso cheer with pride. Miss El Paso, you’re looking good.
In The Pink Dress, Jane Little Botkin transports the reader to another time and place. With straight forward and beautiful prose, she tells an intriguing and heartfelt story. I cried and laughed, thinking of my own reckonings through the years. Her writing went right to my heart. It is a unique coming-of-age story in a wild world where real people lived, and she tells that story well. I highly recommend The Pink Dress. It is an act of beauty, where grit and wisdom come along for the ride.
Read more about The Pink Dress here:
Learn more about Jane Little Botkin at her website. You can find it here: https://janelittlebotkin.com/
Wonderful review!!
Thank you, Krista! I loved The Pink Dress!!
Lovely review. Thanks for sharing it with us!
Thank you, Whitney!
This review is written with the poetic style and beauty that marks your own books. You have me convinced—this book is on my list!
Thank you, Cindy! It’s a good book and she is a good writer!