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43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
...a diamond in the rough, laced with witty commentary, and a lovable character who will win a place in everyone's heart, August 9, 2006
This review is from: How to Be Popular (Hardcover)
Stephanie "Steph" Landry has strived to be popular ever since the cherry Super Big Gulp catastrophe that happened when she was a lowly sixth grader. The incident that rendered her untouchable by the In Crowd, and anyone vying for a spot therein. The incident that launched the catchphrase "Way To Pull A Steph Landry," which has since been picked up by everyone in Bloomfield, Indiana. But now, as Steph begins her Junior year, she knows that it is time to finally make a name for herself. One that doesn't make her want to hide her face under a paper bag for the next two years of high school. A name that makes her stand tall, and remember her high school years with fondness, not hatred. However, the only way to accomplish a feat as humongous as this is to make herself...popular. Sure, it seems like a tough task, but Steph is prepared. Mainly because she has discovered a tiny treasure - a book from years ago titled "How To Be Popular." Yes, it's a little dated, but the secrets it contains are enough to give Steph the boost in popularity she needs, and to snag the guy of her dreams - quarterback Mark Finley. However, within a short time, Steph realizes that being popular isn't all it's cracked up to be. Sitting with the young and beautiful is fun, but there are demands being made. Demands that could send Steph up the river without a paddle. Not to mention the fact that her two best friends, Jason and Becca, have begun moving on - away from her, and towards each other. Now Steph must make the ultimate decision, run back to her old friends, or risk humiliation and trouble as the new, improved, more popular Steph Landry.
I have said it before, and I will say it again - Meg Cabot is incapable of writing anything less than perfection. HOW TO BE POPULAR is no exception. Steph Landry is a character very different from Cabot's Mia Thermopolis (of PRINCESS DIARIES fame). Sure, they share the same insecurities, and both strive to be in with the In Crowd, but there is one very big difference between the two - Mia is big-city chic, while Steph is small-town sweetie. Steph is a humble, down-to-earth character, whose love of books, chocolate, and driving up and down Main Street on Saturday nights is relatable for anyone who has ever lived in "small town" territory. Her intentions are good, and while she does manage to get into quite a few scrapes, she always comes out smiling...eventually. The contrasting personalities between her and her very well described pals - Becca and Jason - play off one another, and really bring a unique spin to the whole "Three Musketeers"-esque vibe; while her interactions with the popular group paint a very clear picture of manipulation, and the struggle to be accepted. HOW TO BE POPULAR is a diamond in the rough, laced with witty commentary, and a lovable character who will win a place in everyone's heart.
Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pure and enjoyable fantasy fulfillment, September 21, 2006
This review is from: How to Be Popular (Hardcover)
Meg Cabot's How to Be Popular is the story of Steph Landry. Steph is about to start 11th grade. She has been something of an outcast in her small town ever since the legendary red Super Big Gulp incident five years earlier, in which she spilled a big gulp onto the white skirt of popular, and unforgiving, Lauren Moffat. This incident led to the phrase "way to pull a Steph Landry", now ubiquitous in Bloomfield, Indiana as a way of accusing someone of doing something really, really stupid.
Fortunately, Steph has two loyal, if quirky, friends. Becca is a somewhat ditsy former farm-girl who enjoys scrap-booking, and has a history of falling asleep in class. Jason is Steph's long-time best friend and neighbor, who she has recently, and disturbingly, discovered to be attractive. But Steph's unrequited heart belongs to school quarterback and dreamboat Mark Finley. Mark, sadly, is dating Lauren, and apparently doesn't even know that Steph exists.
As the school year begins, Steph has a bold plan for becoming popular. She's discovered an old book on the subject, which she takes as her bible. She changes her hair and makeup, buys new clothes, and even (gasp!) participates in school activities. And she discovers that it is possible to edge her way into the "A Crowd". But will it last? Will her efforts capture Mark's attention? Will she alienate her existing friends? Will she be able to overcome Lauren's enmity?
All of this is set against a backdrop of Steph's family chaos, her four (soon-to-be-five) siblings, her mother's feud with her beloved grandfather, her grandfather's upcoming wedding, and the fear caused by declining revenues at the family bookstore. You have to love a book in which the family owns a bookstore, don't you?
I did find this book predictable, for the most part, but I enjoyed it anyway. I listened to it on MP3, and found myself sneaking listens even when I didn't really have time for it. Steph is a realistically flawed, likable character, as are her friends and family members. Even when you know that Steph is making a mistake, and setting herself up for trouble, you still like her, and can relate to where she's coming from.
I think that the real power of How to Be Popular, as with most of Cabot's other books, is that it's pure fantasy fulfillment. I would guess that most kids who aren't in the in crowd fantasize at least occasionally that if they could just fix their hair, and get better clothes, and get a break somehow, they could crack the code of popularity. I know that I did.
Here's what I think is interesting about this book - it actually comes down on both sides of the popularity question. Steph's popularity plan requires a certain amount of hypocrisy, shallow behavior, and letting down of her friends and family. There are some negative quotations late in the book from famous people about the ephemeral nature of popularity. However, some of the advice from Steph's popularity manual is actually quite useful and lasting. For instance, don't make catty remarks about other people. Be dependable so that your friends can rely on you. Have your own interests, and don't be a afraid to let people see that you enjoy them.
Ultimately, How to Be Popular is about being true to yourself, and what you stand to gain from that in terms of friendship and popularity. No, the details of the story aren't particularly plausible. Would a whole town really continue to torment a girl for a single, minor mistake that happened five years earlier? No. Can one really achieve popularity instantly, by following the right instructions? No. But it's fun anyway. And Steph speaks to that unappreciated teen who lives inside many of us. I think that it will make an excellent teen movie, and will be a sure hit with current and former teenage girls.
This book review was originally published on my blog, Jen Robinson's Book Page, on September 21st, 2006.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another fabulous read by Meg Cabot, August 1, 2006
This review is from: How to Be Popular (Hardcover)
HOW TO BE POPULAR is thoroughly charming, wise and funny. Steph Landry is the laughingstock of her small Indiana hometown. Years ago, she accidentally spilled a Big Red Super Big Gulp on a Dolce & Gabbana white skirt worn by Lauren, the class princess. Ever since then, Lauren has gone out of her way to make Steph suffer, going so far as to coin "Way to pull a Steph Landry" as a catchphrase for any stupid action - and the phrase has spread far and fast.
But at the start of her junior year in high school, Steph has a plan to throw off her outcast status and join the "It" crowd. Thanks to a decades-old book entitled "How to be Popular," Steph has cracked the secrets of social success. Soon, she finds herself sitting with the cool kids at lunch and even attracting the attention of Mark Finley, football quarterback (and Lauren's boyfriend). However, her new status has a price. Her best friends, Becca and Jason, appear to be moving on without her - and maybe even moving towards each other. This discomfits Steph, who has noticed that Jason has filled out in a hunk-like manner lately. And her new friends are not above making demands of Steph that are potentially costly, in more ways than one. Soon, Steph must make a decision: remain popular, or pull the biggest "Steph Landry" ever.
While HOW TO BE POPULAR is billed as YA fare, it's sure to appeal to readers of all ages. Cabot skillfully creates a relatable and likeable protagonist in Steph, who is a fully three-dimensional character with heroic - and not so heroic - tendencies. Steph's relationships, especially with her family, are realistic yet feel fresh and original. I love her bonding with her grandfather over interest rates and other financial matters. Her best friends Jason and Becca are also sharply drawn, and while the reader guesses long before Steph the state of her real feelings towards her friends, the journey to those realizations is fun, humorous, and heartfelt.
HOW TO BE POPULAR, in the sections supposedly taken from Steph's how-to manual, also dispenses some commonsense advice about popularity and social skills that I wish I had seen written down when I was sixteen - and the advice is still highly applicable to adults. Overall, the book sparkles with Cabot's trademark wit, and readers who have taken Mia Thermopolis to their hearts will equally love Steph Landry.
Highly recommended.
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