It's not an unfamiliar story: a girl on the lower end of the popularity scale decides to reinvent herself. But Maya Van Wagenen, tired of being a "social outcast" at her Texas middle school, is far from fictional. The then-eighth-grader unearthed a 1950s guide to popularity and underwent an experiment: to follow all the instructions in the book, no matter how outdated, and document the results for a year. So, dressed in pearls and girdles, Maya begins. It's a touching and touchingly honest memoir, as Maya navigates the pitfalls of the eighth grade and her experiment. Though she receives a fair amount of teasing, she does ultimately become more popular as she grows out of her comfort zone, takes an interest in other people, and learns that simple kindnesses are the most effective way to reach others. Maya's voice is fresh and frank, and her experiences at a middle school near the Mexican border provide an often overlooked perspective. Fans of Meg Cabot's How to Be Popular (2006) will be interested to see how this conceit plays out in real life.

The year is 2012. Thirteen-year-old eighth grader Maya has some problems: a round middle with no distinct curves, acne breakouts, greasy hair, poor posture, and unkempt clothes. Worst of all, Maya is painfully shy; her only friend is crazy Kenzie, an outcast like herself. Life changes when Maya discovers torn and faded Betty Cornell's Teen-age Popularity Guide, published in 1951, hidden in a box in her father's office. Her mom suggests following the book's advice during Maya's eighth grade year and keeping a diary of what happens. Since Maya likes to write and has nothing to lose, she undertakes the challenge. What follows is a hilarious, heart-rending, teenage transformation as Maya carefully tackles one chapter a month. Beginning with figure problems and dieting, she moves on to grooming, hair, makeup, posture, money, andhardest of allconquering shyness and becoming a personality. Vaseline eye enhancement, girdles, one-strand pearls, white gloves, and a little hat invoke stares and insults from classmates and compliments from older women. Maya forces herself to sit with higher social levels in the lunchroom and treat everyone with equal friendliness, ignoring cruel (but funny) middle-school remarks. Along the way, the reader becomes acquainted with Maya's loveable family, as well as her teachers and fellow students in an impoverished Texas border town.Interspersed with Maya's writing are excerpts from Betty Cornell's book, highlighting the differences sixty years can make. Best of all, Maya, who is now fifteen and living in Georgia, finds Betty and persuades her to write a wonderful introduction. While completely appropriate for middle school readers, Popular is even more entertaining for adults. Van Wagenen is a uniquely gifted talent with a gem of a first novel.Laura Woodruff.

Gr 7 Up-The bright and perceptive Van Wagenen wanted to boost her popularity in middle school. As a self-defined "Social Outcast, the lowest level of people at school who weren't paid to be there," the eighth-grader had quite a climb ahead of her. Her modus operandi was intriguing: she used a 1950s teen etiquette book that her father found at a thrift store as a guide to climb the social ladder. The clash of eras and cultures is funnythe author wears a girdle, hat, and pearls to class; learns how to apply makeup; improves her posture and poise; and tries a diet. But the best lessons she learns from Fifties teen model Betty Cornell's Teen-Age Popularity Guide are about how to talk to and understand the people around her. Bravely visiting all the various cliques in the lunchroom and making conversation with her secret Sunday school crush, she becomes even more sensitive and awareand yes, more popular. Van Wagenen's tone is personable and polished. Even though she has many typical tween obsessions and concerns, her writing is surprisingly mature. While overall this light memoir provides plenty of fun, it has a grittier backdrop than the cover and description might suggest. Van Wagenen's school, in Brownsville, TX, near the Mexican border, commonly experiences lockdown drills and warnings against gangs, and she casually mentions that smoke from a drug war in Matamoros, Mexico, is visible from her house. The part-Hispanic teen also occasionally sprinkles in Spanish words. With a DreamWorks movie option in the works, this entertaining title should be in demand.— Liz French , Library Journal

Armed with Betty Cornell's Teen-Age Popularity Guide, self-described "Social Outcast" Van Wagenen chronicles her quest for popularity in this diary-format autobiography. In the midst of school lockdowns, Maya faithfully follows Cornell's 1950s-era advice (including excessive hair brushing, posture practice, etc.) during her journey of self-discovery. Playful tips and photographs add appeal to the unsurprising know-yourself/get-along-with-others messages.

An interesting and earnest memoir of a social experiment conducted by a contemporary eighth-grader who follows the advice in a popularity guide written for 1950s-era teens and blogged the experience for one school year. Van Wagenen is the oldest child in her loving, quirky family. A talented writer, she's funny, thoughtful and self-effacing. She is also, as she describes it, part of the "Social Outcast group, the lowest level of people at school who aren't paid to be there." Over the year, she discovers a great deal, most notably that despite its sounding a bit pat, popularity is "about who you are, and how you treat others." Teens will readily identify with her candid descriptions of social dynamics at her middle school. Many of the scenarios that arise from her adherence to the suggestions in Betty Cornell's Teen-Age Popularity Guide are effectively played to comic effect, such as wearing a girdle or pearls and white gloves. Vignettes about her life, including her grief over the death of a beloved teacher, her horror at hearing the news of a boy killed at a nearby school after he brings in a pellet gun and her excitement over speaking to Betty Cornell by telephone, provide balance. A fascinating and unusual slice-of-life work whose humor will best be appreciated by younger teens. (Memoir. 12-16)