Missouri uggabug Becky Randle is given the chance to become the Most Beautiful Woman In the World, but at what cost? Becky was perfectly happy hiding herself away in her mother's Missouri trailer, until her mother's untimely death. After the funeral, Becky comes across a slip of paper bearing a phone number; since she and her mother lived alone, she knew it was meant for her to find, and she calls it. On the other end is Tom Kelly, a man whose fashion empire spans the entire globe, and whose initials are on anything that's worth owning---and he's offering Becky the chance to be one of his models. After a reality-check from her feisty best friend Rocher, Becky gets on a complimentary flight to New York, where she's spirited off to Tom Kelly's compound. Tom tells her that he has the power to make her the Most Beautiful Woman In the World (in capital letters because there will be no one on earth who is prettier, once he's done), and all Becky has to do is wear three dresses he designs especially for her. With only her minimum-wage Missouri job to lose, Becky agrees. Tom and a team of highly trained specialists create a red dress that is fit for the runway, but when Becky looks in the mirror, the only thing she sees is a trailer-park princess in a gaudy gown. That is, however, until Tom takes Becky to the Opera. When she's out in public, a miracle occurs: the world sees Rebecca Randle, who is, by all accounts, the most beautiful woman to walk the earth. She still sounds like Becky, but that's where the similarities stop. Becky instantly realizes all of the doors that Rebecca's beauty can open, and Tom promises that those doors will stay open forever if Becky can fall in love and get married within a year. This order doesn't seem any taller than Rebecca's custom made stilettos, and she agrees. She's then whisked off to a movie set where she meets the love of her childhood life, Jate Mallow. Jate is a cross between David Cassidy and Leo DiCaprio, and every woman in the country wants him, but he and Rebecca share a special bond. It's through Jate that Rebecca meets Prince Gregory of England, and Becky decides that she wants to marry the prince because of all the good he could do for the world. But then she goes and falls in love with him. And while "falling in love" was part of Tom Kelly's deal, Becky knows that the prince loves the impossibly perfect Rebecca, not her. Since Becky has no clue what magic allows her to be Rebecca, she's afraid that it will disappear at any moment, leaving her looking like the Missouri girl the prince has never met, and could never love. Becky decides to call off the wedding, and she flees to the States with Rocher in tow, they find jobs as New York cashier girls and spend months living on the dying pull-out couch of two aspiring actresses. Becky eventually gets another job as a concierge at a swanky hotel, where she ends up dealing with guests who knew Rebecca. No one recognizes her as Becky, at least, not until the jilted Prince Gregory shows up. Becky decides to flee again, but when she gets a call that Rocher is in jail, Becky runs over to Tom Kelly (whom she hasn't seen since she called off her wedding). He bails Rocher out and tells Becky to stay in New York; he's still got one dress left to design for her. Becky wears the dress, and finds that---miracle of all miracles--the prince wants to date her, as plain old Becky.
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Best part of story, including ending:
I loved the satire in the narration, it made it so you couldn't make it through a paragraph without smiling.
Best scene in story:
There's a scene where Rebecca lets Rocher meet Jate, on whom both girls had SERIOUS crushes growing up, and Rocher tries to show him the tattoo of him she has on her butt. It's just a spot-on caricature of a teenage super-fan, and it's brilliant.
Opinion about the main character:
I loved Becky sense of humor. Even when the worst crap happened to her, she found a way to be funny about it, even if I was the only one laughing.
