After being voted the ugliest girls in school, Mireille, Astrid, and Hakima befriend one another and do the unexpected: ride their bikes to Paris, sell delicious sausages, and find fame and happiness along the way. With the entire nation of France rooting for them, the girls grow to love themselves and one another for who they are. This young adult novel pushes against bullying and embraces confidence and friendship through humor and heartfelt encouragement for its characters and the reader.

2019 GLLI Translated YA Book Prize Honor.

Author lives in the United Kingdom.

France. Originally published in French as Les Petites Reines by Éditions Sarbacane in 2014. English translation by Clémentine Beauvais published in the United States by Pushkin Press (London) in 2017.

Winner of France's biggest prize for teen and young adult fiction: A wickedly funny and life-affirming coming-of-age road trip story

Awarded the Gold, Silver and Bronze trotters after a vote by their classmates on Facebook, Mireille, Astrid and Hakima are officially the three ugliest girls in their school, but does that mean they're going to sit around crying about it?

Well . . . yes, a bit, but not for long! Climbing aboard their bikes, the trio set off on a summer road trip to Paris, their goal: a garden party with the French president. As news of their trip spreads they become stars of social media and television. With the eyes of the nation upon them the girls find fame, friendship and happiness, and still have time to consume an enormous amount of food along the way.
 
“One of the loveliest reading experiences I’ve had in years.” —Jennifer Niven, New York Times­-bestselling author of All the Bright Places and Holding up the Universe