Review: How Not To Be Popular by Jennifer Ziegler

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How Not to be Popular by Jennifer Ziegler
Hardback, First U.S. Edition
Release Date: January 8, 2008 from Random House, Inc.
Pages: 352
Best Enjoyed by: Female, Ages 13 +
Rating: B

Maggie Dempsey has made a promise with herself not to be popular. Moving around all her life has meant her leaving behind all the new friends she’s made. But it’s the move from Portland to Austin that really makes her miserable, as she has to leave her beloved boyfriend, Trevor. No longer wanting to deal with the pain of loss, she decides that by dressing weirdly and becoming a total loser, she won’t have to worry about making friends and therefore the unhappiness when she moves again.
But what happens when her plan backfires?

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I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed How Not to be Popular, having thought the whole thing would be too predictable. But while the plot wasn’t anything amazing, Ziegler made up for that by making the book really funny. It was hilarious to read about Maggie’s outfits and other mortifying situations. I also liked that her thinking was the reverse of most new girls, who are so worried about fitting in at a new school. Not that Maggie was exactly true to herself by acting like a complete loser, but she was able be herself eventually.

I liked the supporting characters too. They were actually important to the story and were done quite well. It was nice to see that they weren’t completely scared of the popular kids and didn’t turn into superficial barbies just to fit in. I liked that a lot.

All in all, How Not to be Popular was a quick, fun read. There’s romance, comedy, and a great cast of characters. Recommended to those who enjoy humorous contemporary reads.

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1 comments:

Jazz said...

Sounds pretty cool since it avoids cliche characters. Those can be hard to find.

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