Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.
Loading... Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek (2014)by Maya Van Wagenen
None Loading...
Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. This is an incredibly sweet, upbeat story of a young girl who decides to change her life. She is eloquent, funny, and has managed to tell an amusing story of life in the eighth grade while also shining a little light on the somewhat tragic state of violence in poor communities, and drugs in school. She is certainly an author worth watching. ( ) So, I was billed that a "teenager" found an old "How to Be Popular" book and decided to implement it for a year and see what happens. I think only middle schoolers consider 13 year olds to be teenagers. I think this book would have felt quite different if written even by a 14 year old, but the maturity gap between middle school and high school looms large, and I found this too juvenile to appeal to an adult audience. In addition, I found myself really judging the amount of makeup, attempted dating and dieting that occurred. To be fair, I judge the relationship of adult women and makeup, dieting and weird interactions with men, but I simply don't think middle school is the right age for these things. I also felt really disheartened by the throw-away comment at the end that in her pursuit of popularity, Maya found herself distanced from her actual close friends. She seems overjoyed that she now has lots of friendly acquaintances, but I felt really sad for her. As someone who's been on both sides: a few really close friends, and a lot of friendly acquaintances (the key to being popular in my current life is having an adorable small child, and I succeeded!), it's the few close friends that are worth the long time investment. So, juvenile book or old-fashioned fuddy-duddy reader? You decide. no reviews | add a review
AwardsDistinctionsNotable Lists
" A touchingly honest, candidly hysterical memoir from breakout teen author Maya Van Wagenen Stuck at the bottom of the social ladder at "pretty much the lowest level of people at school who aren't paid to be here," Maya Van Wagenen decided to begin a unique social experiment: spend the school year following a 1950s popularity guide, written by former teen model Betty Cornell. Can curlers, girdles, Vaseline, and a strand of pearls help Maya on her quest to be popular? The real-life results are painful, funny, and include a wonderful and unexpected surprise-meeting and befriending Betty Cornell herself. Told with humor and grace, Maya's journey offers readers of all ages a thoroughly contemporary example of kindness and self-confidence. "-- No library descriptions found. |
Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)155.5Philosophy and Psychology Psychology Developmental And Differential Psychology AdolescenceLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
Is this you?Become a LibraryThing Author. |