How Not to Be Popular |  | Author: Jennifer Ziegler
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
List Price: $15.99
Buy New: $8.97
as of 11/23/2009 06:49 CST details
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Seller: book-a-lot
Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 39279
Media: Hardcover
Reading Level: Young Adult
Pages: 352
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.6 x 1.4
ISBN: 0385734654
EAN: 9780385734653
ASIN: 0385734654
Publication Date: January 8, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Maggie Dempsey is tired of moving all over the country. Her parents are second-generation hippies who uproot her every year or so to move to a new city. When Maggie was younger, she thought it was fun and adventurous. Now that she’s a teenager, she hates it. When she moved after her freshman year, she left behind good friends, a great school, and a real feeling of belonging. When she moved her sophomore year, she left behind a boyfriend, too. Now that they’ve moved to Austin, she knows better. She’s not going to make friends. She’s not going to fit in. Anything to prevent her from liking this new place and them from liking her. Only . . . things don’t go exactly as planned.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 11
 Wonderful change of pace November 19, 2009
anna kelly (Manhattan, KS USA)
If there's one thing I hate, it's a YA book that exploits all the stereotypes and cliches about high school and its inhabitants. That's why I found this book so incredibly refreshing. It tells a lovely, funny, serious story about a girl who is determined not to fit in because she figures it's not worth it. The main character, the love interest, the New Age-y, all-about-love parents, the typical popular and unpopular crowds - I loved reading about them all, and there's no better compliment I can give. I like books which show where the high school stereotypes come from, and also show how they're different at the same time. Maggie's complex, layered journey to self-discovery was gripping and just plain cool. I only checked it out at the library, but I would love to own it one day. Fans of Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli will love this book, too.
 Pullled me in March 16, 2009
Rhonda V.
I thought this book was great! When I first started reading it, it pulled me in right away. I think this is a great book for teens. This book has a lot to do with teenage life. It was a little bit slow in the middle of the book, but it became better towards the last quarter. The last quarter really pulled me in, and was very interesting. The only thing that I didn't like about the book was that it had a lot of swearing in it. All in the the book was great and I can't wait to read more of her books.
One Of The Best This Year! November 13, 2008
Writer's Block Reviews (Rome, GA USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Maggie Dempsey has always lived her life as a free spirit with her parents. They move from place to place and are proud hippies. Maggie has had enough when her parents tear her away from her great boyfriend and her friends, when they leave Portland to move to Austin. Maggie decides that the only way for her to not get hurt again is to try not to fit in or make any friends. Easy? Well, not so much. Maggie goes out of her way to make bad fashion choices and say all the wrong things. Trying her hardest to make it difficult for people to like her, Maggie can hardly believe it when the popular guy at school is harassing her and she found a girl, Penny, who sits at lunch with her and makes all kinds of conversation.
Then Maggie remembers, for college, she must get a letter of recommendation from a teacher. What better way than to join a club? Penny announces to her at lunch one day that she's in Helping Hands, it's a club that does community service projects and fundraisers. That's perfect for Maggie, a club filled with do-gooders that will not pay attention to her, and she gladly joins. What she's not prepared for is the possible friendships and heartache that could be on the way.
Okay, I have to say that I LOVED THIS BOOK. No joke, and with that said on with my review. This is the funniest and most entertaining book that I've read all year. I had to put the book down a couple of times, because I was laughing so hard, that I couldn't see the pages. Maggie tries so hard not to be popular, but sometimes , because she is trying so hard, that it just draws more attention to her. But, Maggie just has her best interest at heart, or so she thinks. She doesn't want to be hurt again, and who can blame her? This is a must read for everyone so, put it on your list to buy, I can promise that you won't be disappointed!
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The Compulsive Reader's Reviews June 17, 2008
The Compulsive Reader (Big Rapids, MI, USA)
Maggie Dempsey has lived her life all over the country...a few months here and a few months there. And she is sick of it. It is during her family's latest move from Portland to Austin that she comes up with the perfect plan. At her new school, she won't make friends, she won't join any clubs...she won't invest herself in Austin, so when it comes time to leave, it won't hurt at all. At least, that's what she thinks.
Hilarious, upbeat, and full of confidence, Maggie is one knock out of a narrator. Ziegler cleverly draws the reader in at the beginning of each chapter with hints for being unpopular, such as "Only popular people join popular clubs. And...it always helps to be seen lugging around foliage." Maggie keeps the reader in excited anticipation at what she'll do next as her plan backfires and every uncool action slowly becomes a beacon for all that's cool and real in her conforming high school, giving us a whole new perspective on what popularity really consists of. Full of wry humor, outrageous clothes, crazy antics, and misunderstandings, How NOT to be Popular is the best fun you'll have all summer.
Fun and Fabulous June 10, 2008
The Book Muncher
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Maggie Dempsey is a pro at fitting in. That's because she never stays in one place for more than eight months. And that's because her parents are all about "going somewhere." They don't see it as "leaving," unlike Maggie, who's had to leave behind a best friend and a boyfriend in Portland, Oregon. Maggie is tired of being hurt, so she comes up with Operation Avoid Friends: she's going to be unpopular.
This is harder than it sounds. Maggie has to come up with ridiculous schemes in order to seem like a complete freak that no one should hang out with. But the hottest guy at the school won't leave her alone. Maggie is starting to form friendships with members of the Helping Hands club. And people start to copy her elaborate and crazy costumes that she wears to school. It's almost seems that Maggie is...popular.
I thought that How Not to be Popular was one of the best and most refreshing books I've read in a while. Maggie's character is laugh-out-loud hilarious, and so are her parents. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Maggie's story and her struggles between wanting to have the easy way out and being herself. The plot was easy to follow and fun to read, although some parts of the story were more emotional. I highly recommend this book for teens, and I hope Jennifer Ziegler writes more fabulous novels like this one.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 11
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