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Overview
Do you want to be popular?
Everyone wants to be popular—or at least, Stephanie Landry does. Steph's been the least popular girl in her class since a certain cherry Super Big Gulp catastrophe five years earlier.
Does being popular matter?
It matters a lot—to Steph. That's why this year, she has a plan to get in with the It Crowd in no time flat. She's got a secret weapon: an old book called—what else?—How to Be Popular.
All Steph has to do is follow the instructions in The Book, and soon she'll be partying with the popular kids (including school quarterback Mark Finley) instead of sitting on The Hill Saturday nights, stargazing with her nerdy best pal Becca, and even nerdier Jason (now kind of hot, but still).
But don't forget the most important thing about popularity!
It's easy to become popular. What isn't so easy? Staying that way.
Synopsis
Do you want to be popular?
Everyone wants to be popular—or at least, Stephanie Landry does. Steph's been the least popular girl in her class since a certain cherry Super Big Gulp catastrophe five years earlier.
Does being popular matter?
It matters a lot—to Steph. That's why this year, she has a plan to get in with the It Crowd in no time flat. She's got a secret weapon: an old book called—what else?—How to Be Popular.
All Steph has to do is follow the instructions in The Book, and soon she'll be partying with the popular kids (including school quarterback Mark Finley) instead of sitting on The Hill Saturday nights, stargazing with her nerdy best pal Becca, and even nerdier Jason (now kind of hot, but still).
But don't forget the most important thing about popularity!
It's easy to become popular. What isn't so easy? Staying that way.
Publishers Weekly
Steph Landry is tired of being unpopular ("If anyone in school does anything remotely crack-headed or dorky, people are all, `Don't pull a Steph!' "). After she discovers an old guide to popularity, she resolves to improve her status. She buys a new wardrobe, organizes a school fundraiser and smiles a lot. The plot is entertaining, if predictable: Steph quickly rises to the top, even forming a friendship with her cute crush. But along the way she strains her relationship with her best friend and neighbor, Jason-and slowly sees that life at the pinnacle is not all it seems. Readers may have trouble believing that the heroine's sixth-grade faux pas would warrant the long-term wrath of the school's queen bee (Steph accidentally spilled her Big Red Super Big Gulp on Lauren's designer skirt in front of the whole cafeteria). But the characters and dialogue come across as genuine and funny. Readers will likely find the antiquated advice from the popularity book hilarious ("People are drawn to those who have the ability to make them feel excited whether about a car wash, a weenie roast, or a sock hop!"). Steph realizes there is some truth to it, though, even if what the book really helped her do was figure out how she feels about Jason. Ages 12-up. (Sept.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
Steph Landry is tired of being unpopular ("If anyone in school does anything remotely crack-headed or dorky, people are all, `Don't pull a Steph!' "). After she discovers an old guide to popularity, she resolves to improve her status. She buys a new wardrobe, organizes a school fundraiser and smiles a lot. The plot is entertaining, if predictable: Steph quickly rises to the top, even forming a friendship with her cute crush. But along the way she strains her relationship with her best friend and neighbor, Jason-and slowly sees that life at the pinnacle is not all it seems. Readers may have trouble believing that the heroine's sixth-grade faux pas would warrant the long-term wrath of the school's queen bee (Steph accidentally spilled her Big Red Super Big Gulp on Lauren's designer skirt in front of the whole cafeteria). But the characters and dialogue come across as genuine and funny. Readers will likely find the antiquated advice from the popularity book hilarious ("People are drawn to those who have the ability to make them feel excited whether about a car wash, a weenie roast, or a sock hop!"). Steph realizes there is some truth to it, though, even if what the book really helped her do was figure out how she feels about Jason. Ages 12-up. (Sept.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.KLIATT -
To quote the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, July 2006: Steph, funny and wholesome, is notorious at her school for once spilling a drink all over the most popular girl. Time has passed and she's fed up with being the butt of all jokes. When Steph comes across a book called How to Be Popular, she quickly sets out to change her reputation and present a new self. She makes huge strides in what she thinks is the right direction, which causes her to question what she is doing. In the process of becoming popular, she learns about herself and what she actually values, bringing the novel to a satisfying end. As with most Cabot characters (Princess Mia of the Princess Diaries series, for instance), the voice of Steph is well developed and realistic. She comes across as a smart, pleasant teenager who is simply doing what she thinks is sensible. The message about the unimportance of popularity comes across loud and clear by the end of the novel. Even though it's predictable how Steph will end up, the book is still fun and the characters keep it interesting. Reviewer: Joanna SolomonVOYA -
Steph Landry is tired of being unpopular. She has been the target of jokes since sixth grade when she spilled a red soda on Lauren Moffat's white D&G skirt. Lauren coined the phase "Don't be such a Steph Landry" to ensure she never lived it down. Steph has since been content to hang out with her best friend, Jason, but as she enters eleventh grade, she wants more out of high school. Luckily she finds an old copy of "How to be Popular." The book is full of useful tips, such as "No one likes an arrogant person who lords her supposed superiority over others." She follows the book's advice and begins the school year with flatironed hair and a new attitude. She is determined to be confident and enthusiastic about school. She sits with new people at lunch and organizes a talent auction. Steph does not anticipate Lauren being so angry about her attempt to join the popular crowd or that Jason would be so hurt that she is leaving him behind. As her popularity grows, Steph is forced to make some difficult choices about who and what is truly important to her. Cabot deserves her reputation as one of teen chick lit's most entertaining authors. This endearingly funny book looks at the pain of feeling unpopular. Steph and Jason's friendship will have readers laughing and rooting for her to see what is right in front of her. Public and high school libraries will definitely want to add it to their collection.Children's Literature
Meg Cabot, author of The Princess Diaries, knows a thing or two about how to be popular. Her books are some of the most widely read fiction for adolescent girls in this country. Her new book, How to Be Popular, will be no exception. It follows the common Cabot theme of a slightly geeky girl improving herself to good ends and does so with Cabot's characteristic charm. Steph Landry has been roundly shunned in her small town for years following an unfortunate incident in which she spilled a red slurpee on the white skirt of the town's most popular girl. In an attempt to change her image, Steph acquires a book titled, How to Be Popular. Not surprisingly, her behavior as she follows the book's advice manages to alienate her two loyal best friends. Surprisingly, they are not too alienated AND she does manage to get in and stay in with the popular crowd. How to Be Popular was funny and sweet without being trite. Steph was easy to like and the book is easy to read. How to Be Popular is sure to be a popular choice. 2006, HarperCollins, and Ages 11 to 14.—Courtney Angermeier
KLIATT
Steph, funny and wholesome, is notorious at her school for once spilling a drink all over the most popular girl. Time has passed and she's fed up with being the butt of all jokes. When Steph comes across a book called How to Be Popular, she quickly sets out to change her reputation and present a new self. She makes huge strides in what she thinks is the right direction, which causes her to question what she is doing. In the process of becoming popular, she learns about herself and what she actually values, bringing the novel to a satisfying end. As with most Cabot characters (Princess Mia of the Princess Diaries series, for instance), the voice of Steph is well developed and realistic. She comes across as a smart, pleasant teenager who is simply doing what she thinks is sensible. The message about the unimportance of popularity comes across loud and clear by the end of the novel. Even though it's predictable how Steph will end up, the book is still fun and the characters keep it interesting. KLIATT Codes: J—Recommended for junior high school students. 2006, HarperCollins, 304p., and Ages 12 to 15.—Joanna Solomon
School Library Journal
Gr 8 UpMeg Cabot's legions of fans will thoroughly enjoy her latest book (HarperTeen, 2006) focusing on the ever-important teen topic of popularity. The story centers on first-person narrator Steph Landry, so unpopular in her small Indiana town that a minor social faux pas in sixth grade has dogged her footsteps all the way to this first week of her junior year of high school. But now Steph has a secret weapon, a book on popularity she found and has used as a blueprint to design her way into the "It Crowd." At first, the reading of passages from "The Book" can be confusing by breaking into the story line, but soon listeners will realize that the excerpts focus on the coming plot events. In the last few chapters of the novel, "The Book" is replaced by intriguing quotes from famous people decrying popularity as a measure of anything. This mirrors Steph's growing awareness that popularity is really the same as having genuine friendships and the respect of others. Kate Reinders reads the sixteen-year-old point of view with a perfect combination of inflection and tone. A must for Cabot fans.
—Jane P. FennCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.