How to be Popular (by Meg Cabot)

With the help of an outdated book about popularity, Steph Landry is determined to trade in her social leper status for life on the A-list.

But as she starts to climb the social ladder, she realizes that popularity isn't everything she dreamed it to be.

Readers will know from the beginning what unpopular Steph will learn as she struggles to hang out with the A-crowd. They'll even know who she'll eventually hook up with (Hint: It's not the school's hot quarterback). They may also wonder how they're supposed to feel about the old book that inspires Steph's popularity plan. Some of the guide's advice is obviously outdated -- the book suggests white kid gloves, for example. But Steph's book also encourages girls to get involved in school activities, smile, and to remember other people's names -- all of which is actually pretty good advice, and does help Steph become popular.

But, even with these holes, readers will find this an entertainting read, and be thrilled when Steph finally figures out what really matters. They may even want to re-read the section where Steph tells Lauren -- the school's queen bee -- to buzz off, because "there are a lot more Steph Landry's in the world -- people who've made fools of themselves in public, people who don't have every hair perfectly in place all the time, people who don't have rich parents who'll buy them a new car every year -- than there are stuck-up beauty queens like you."

Author: Meg Cabot
Publisher: HarperTempest
Publication date: August 29, 2006
Number of pages: 304
Hardcover price: $16.99
Read Aloud: 12
Read Alone: 12