How Not To Be Popular

Ziegler, Jennifer. 2008. How Not To Be Popular.

Oh crap. What did I just do?

How Not To Be Popular begs the question how far would you go to not be popular. Maggie Dempsey hates her life, hates her parents. Okay, maybe hate is too strong a word. She hates the fact that just when she's getting settled down, making friends, having a love life, her parents decide it's time to move. Again. And again. And again. This time, Maggie has had it. She's definitely HAD IT. No more settling down. No more making friends. And no more trying to have a love life, hooking a boyfriend only to have to say goodbye.

So Maggie settles on a plan. A plan to make her the most UNpopular girl in Austin, Texas. She'll do the exact opposite of what comes naturally to her. She'll ignore the cute guys that flirt with her. No matter how cute. No matter how persistent. She won't make herself likable to the popular girls. Won't play into their games. Won't worship the ground they walk on. Won't hang on every word or friendly smile. But it's not enough--she soon realizes--to just be neutral. Soon she'll be seeking out the ugliest clothes and shoes to wear, joining the geekiest clubs, and hanging out with all the wrong people. Will it be enough then?

Maggie takes on the persona of the geekiest of the geeks, the weirdest of the weird. Doing cartwheels--in a dress at the movie theatre, flashing panties weird. Carrying a potted plant of rosemary to school to sniff because she has a headache weird. No matter what she does, Maggie finds herself liked and admired and the center of attention.

What does a girl have to do to make no one like her? Will telling the truth do it?

Read and see in How Not To Be Popular.

How Not To Be Popular is as silly as can be. Stretching credibility to the max. Would any teenage girl go to such extremes? Sacrificing dignity every single day of the school year? Not caring what ANY one thought of her? This isn't a novel of a girl being herself, finding herself, learning to love herself as she is. This is a story of a girl living a lie, being a lie. Though I suppose one could definitely argue that Maggie doesn't know herself well enough to distinguish what being real, being authentic, being genuine is...what it means. She could just as easily be living a lie when she's wearing the popular persona as well. Trading one lie for another. Who is she really? Will she ever know? Will we?

I liked elements of How Not To Be Popular. I did. But there were parts of me that hated Maggie as well. Hated her for her hypocrisy. Hated her for how easy it was for her. How easy everyone just "loved" and "adored" her.


© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

I Am The Messenger

Zusak, Markus. 2005. I Am The Messenger.

Set in Australia, I AM THE MESSENGER is a charmingly odd story of how one man learns some important life lessons over the course of a year. Nineteen or twenty years old and a cab driver, our hero, Ed Kennedy is not on the fast-track for success. In fact, most of his friends would nominate him as one of the laziest men ever. But things begin to change when Ed begins receiving some strange mail. Messages on aces. But perhaps I’m jumping ahead, Ed and his friend witness a bank robbery. During this robbery, Ed inadvertantly plays hero and ends up with the gun while the robber makes a very botched escape. After the robbery, things really begin to change. He’s the headliner in this small town. A real hero, at least for a week or so while everyone’s talking. But then he begins receiving strange, cryptic messages on playing cards. What could the messages mean? And is his life in danger if he ignores them? Who is behind this elaborate scheme? As he ‘delivers’ each message--each unique message--Ed begins to realize certain things about himself, his family, his friends, his life. I AM THE MESSENGER is an odd but enjoyable mystery.

http://www.randomhouse.com/features/markuszusak/author.html

At the age of 30, Zusak has already asserted himself as one of today’s most innovative and poetic novelists. With the publication of The Book Thief, he is now being dubbed a ‘literary phenomenon’ by Australian and U.S. critics. Zusak is the award-winning author of four previous books for young adults: The Underdog, Fighting Ruben Wolfe, Getting the Girl, and I Am the Messenger, recipient of a 2006 Printz Honor for excellence in young adult literature. He lives in Sydney.

Book Thief

Zusak, Markus. 2006. The Book Thief.

Markus Zusak’s novel, The Book Thief has already been recognized as one of the best young adult books of 2006. It was nominated for the 2006 Quill Awards in the Young Adult category (along with Dairy Queen, Elsewhere, King Dork, and Eldest) although it didn’t win that particlar prize. It has won the Kathleen Mitchell award--an award given for literary merit by a writer aged thirty or under at the time of publication. Also Zusak was chosen as one of the Sydney Morning Herald's Young Writers of the year for The Book Thief. (In case you didn’t know, he is Australian.)

What is it about?

In the author’s own words “It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery.” Narrated by Death--yes, the grim reaper finally gets a voice--it tells the story of a young girl, Leisel Meminger, growing up in Munich, Germany, in the late thirties and early forties. Practically abandoned by her mother, she is sent into a foster home where she meets a harsh but loving mother and a friendly accordian-playing father who teach her a lot of important life-lessons."

Although it is quite a long book--or perhaps just its subject matter makes it seem so long--I do recommend it to others. Particularly those interested in this time period.

These are the honors that I am aware of for The Book Thief

• Librarians’ Choices 2006,
• BCCB 2006 Blue Ribbons,
• SLJ Best Books of 2006,
• Kirkus Reviews Best Books 2006,
• Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year,
• Horn Book Fanfare 2006,
• Amazon’s Best Books of 2006,
• 2006 Quill Book Awards Finalist,
• Cybils Finalist in YA Fiction,
• Booklist Editors’ Choice 2006,
• Michael L. Printz Honor Book 2007,
• BBYA Top Ten,
• BBYA 2007,
• the Association of Jewish Libraries inaugural Teen Book Award
• Jewish National Book Award (in the Young Adult \ Childrens’ division)
• Tayshas Reading List 2007-2008

His first novel, I Am The Messenger has won several awards including:
WINNER 2006 - Michael L. Printz Honor
WINNER 2006 - Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book
WINNER 2005 - Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year - Children
Winner 2003 - Children’s Book Council Book of the Year Award in Australia

http://www.randomhouse.com/features/markuszusak/author.html

Since reading this book in November 2006, I have since had the wonderful pleasure of listening to THE BOOK THIEF on audio book. It is read by Allan Corduner and produced by Listening Library. I have only this to say: Death has never sounded so good. Everything seemed to work better for me. My interest was more focused than when I was reading it--which is extremely unusual for me when it comes to audio books. It seemed more beautiful, more haunting. And I loved the occasional accordion. Overall, I thought it was beautifully done. One of the best books I've ever listened to quite honestly.

And further searching reveals he also narrates the KEYS TO THE KINGDOM series by Garth Nix and the SEPTIMUS HEAP series by Angie Sage.