Twenty Pageants Later — Caroline B. Cooney

As the younger and plainer sister of a frequent beauty-contest winner, fourteen-year-old Scottie Anne has always had mixed feelings about such competitions, especially when she finds herself a reluctant contestant.

Scottie-Anne's older sister is a 'professional' participant in beauty contests, and after watching so many of them, Scottie-Anne's conclusion is that brains don't count much. she wants nothing to do with what she considers the shallow, egotistical world of pageants-until her school holds one. Scottie-Anne is shocked to realize that she wants to win! After all, no one wants to be a runner -up.