Mission (Un)Popular

Margot Button is devastated when her best friend Erika's mother decides to send Erika to private school, rather than the public middle school. Without Erika to back her up, how will Margot face the popular, bullying in-crowd? Shortly after the school year starts, however, Margot befriends new girl Em, a stylish (and slightly wild) New Yorker. Em has everything -- from a famous dad who can get her exclusive pre-release copies of music, to the wittiest comebacks when the Mean Girls start teasing Margot about her clothes or hair. However, soon Em starts monopolizing Margot's time and alienating Margot's former friends in favor of girls from the popular crowd. For a while, Margot enjoys the unaccustomed popularity that comes with being Em's show more best friend -- but before long, she starts to wonder what secrets Em may be keeping from her. Worse, some of Em's escapades are not exactly legal. In the end, Margot must stand up and take responsibility for her own choices and actions, and she can't always count on Em backing her up.

At over 400 pages, the book does have a few pacing issues, but there is enough action to keep readers hooked even through the slow parts. Margot is a great, realistically flawed character, and her mother and stepfather are quirky yet involved parents. All in all, this funny yet thoughtful exploration of middle-school friendships and popularity will ring true to pre-teens struggling with similar issues. show less

Choose your friends wisely, so the birdies say, but I think this should also be said of enemies. Which is very important to a girl who wants her 7th grade experience to be full of awesome! Unfortunately the cards are stacked against Margot right from the start – with her best friend transferring to a different school, no socially-acceptable clothes to impress her peers, and vegan TV dinners for the rest of her life!

Enter the cool new girl from New York who has an air of mystery and edgy. Definitely perfect friend to have when facing off with the popular girls and impressing the boy of her dreams! So what if Em seems too good to be true – and her “edgy” has a little more crazy than Margot prefers?

Mission (un)Popular is a pretty show more easy-going book with a narrator who endears herself within the first few pages. I don’t know about you all, dear Readers, but I can relate to a girl who feels like she was born with two left feet and word vomit. I can picture Margot quite easily as she relates the woes of her life – and it reminds me of Georgia from Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. Just socially awkward – but in my book, that makes you endearingly adorable!

While Margot is enjoyable, I was disappointed with some of the conflicts in the story. Not dramatic enough, not explained as much. For instance, I thought Margot replaces her childhood best friend Erika all too easily. Sure, I can see why, but I would have expected them to fight to keep their friendship a few more times before they called it quits. Instead, they let the door slam shut and moved on. Or Em’s character – Margot puts together bits and pieces, but the resolution left me wanting a little bit more details.

If you are looking for a book with a good heart, Mission (un)Popular would be an excellent choice that will deliver a positive message on friendship with a good chuckle or two along the way! show less

Mission (Un)Popular is a really good book. It makes you laugh, it makes you cry and it even has a great message.

Margot goes through a lot throughout this book and comes out a better person for it. She learns a lot about herself, friendship and life in general.

I found this book to be well written and is very believable. As someone who was walked all over by “friends” and was always doing dumb stuff to fit in when I was a kid, I can definitely relate to Margot. I will be reading more by Anna Humphrey in the future.