How Not to Be Popular »

Jennifer Ziegler is the author of Alpha Dog. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her family.

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.

VOYA

AGERANGE: Ages 12 to 18.

The nomadic lifestyle of her free-spirit parents has moved Sugar Magnolia "Maggie" Dempsey so often that it seems just as she gets her bearings in one place, she is on to the next. After leaving her latest BFF and boyfriend behind, Maggie embarks on Operation Avoid Friends (OAF) upon arriving in Austin, Texas. Instead of trying to fit in, Maggie does the absolute opposite, taking great pains to be an oddball and not connecting with anyone. She believes it is a foolproof plan to avoid getting hurt when her parents inevitably decide to move on. Each chapter begins with a tip about how not to be popular and proceeds to detail Maggies attempt to implement that tip. Try as she might, Maggie can not seem to turn off other people and be totally ostracized. Her personality somehow shines through her many disguises. This book could have easily been a predictable, trite read. Several plot elements have been fodder for teen movies; however, the characters are engaging and the references to literature and culture are smart. The insightful voice of the narrator rings true, infused with a great sense of humor as Maggie details the high school landscape replete with its cliques, pressures, and possible romance. Maggie has flaws and makes mistakes in judgment, but she clearly grows and learns valuable lessons during her time in Austin. It is an enjoyable, satisfying read that will be instantly popular with girl readers. Reviewer: Erin Wyatt
April 2008 (Vol. 31, No. 1)