How Not to Be Popular [Hardcover]

Jennifer Ziegler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 8, 2008

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Zippy and full of wit, Ziegler’s work is engaging, touching, and full of laughs." - Rob Thomas, author of Rat Saw God and creator of Veronica Mars

“Maggie and Jack’s relationship rings true, adding an irresistible sincerity to both characters that allows Maggie’s self-discovery and growth to unfold naturally. Thoughtful and fun.”—Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

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

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (January 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385734654
• ISBN-13: 978-0385734653
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 1.2 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #883,179 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, January 7, 2008

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How Not to Be Popular (Hardcover)

A lot of young adult books deal with regular teenagers trying to fit in. HOW NOT TO BE POPULAR, however, is the exact opposite.

Maggie Dempsey can't ever remember being rooted down in one place. Her mother and father are constantly moving, dragging Maggie along with them. But she's getting sick of it. She's emotionally drained from leaving her good friends over and over again.

So when she packs up and moves to Austin, she has a plan. She's going to become a social pariah. She'll throw together outrageous outfits and talk to all the wrong people. What's the point of making friends and getting hurt again if she's going to be leaving in three months anyways?

But things aren't as easy as she thought they would be.

I loved this book. I was right next to Maggie the entire time, rooting for her as she tried to find herself and feeling her pain as she realized her mistakes. I wish I had read this a few years ago; it teaches a lesson that all teenagers should learn and know. Being you is one of the most important rules to follow.

HOW NOT TO BE POPULAR is definitely one of the most interesting books I've read this year. Complete with comical situations and moral lessons, it's one I won't be forgetting anytime soon.

Reviewed by: Chelsea Swiggett

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The truth about being a loser...., March 9, 2008

By 

Jenny (Reno, Nevada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How Not to Be Popular (Hardcover)

Sugar-Mags Dempsey aka Maggie has ultraliberal parents. They wander carelessly across the U.S. settling down only for months at a time before packing up and leaving.

Except the move from Portland where Maggie's serious boyfriend, Trevor remains, is the final straw. After a week of being a way Trevor decides to break it off with Maggie and this sets in motion a most conniving plan. To be unpopular.

Whatever it is, talking about her vagina, sitting with the losers, owning a Star Trek backpack Maggie will do it just to avoid making friends, just to avoid feeling hurt when the inevitable move comes.

Despite her plans though something happens that makes Maggie sadder than ever though...

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Cute book. I liked it a lot because of the laugh out loud funny extremes Maggie takes to be unpopular. The book is dotted with eccentric, unforgettable characters and a true sense of high school.

I was kind of peeved along the way at Maggie for being so mean about the people who took her in. However, I think every feeling Maggie had was genuinely how a girl in high school would have felt about it all. This book is surprisingly deep, not all shallow and about cliques and it's also fun.

I recommend it.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fun, quick read, May 13, 2008

By 

askmonkey (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How Not to Be Popular (Hardcover)

This novel is about a teenage girl named Maggie (real name: Sugar Magnolia) whose hippie parents don't like to live in one place for very long. As a result, Maggie is moving to yet another new town and is tired of leaving and eventually losing her friends. So, she hatches up a plan to be unpopular and thus not make any friends at all, but in the end (I don't think this is a spoiler for anyone) she does.

As a disclaimer, I have to say that I am a fan of adult chick lit, but have a harder time with YA chick lit, mostly because I was not as boy crazy as most of the teenage main characters in this genre. So, in the beginning, I really disliked this book. The main character initially comes across as whiny and snobby--every parent's nightmare of what their teenager will turn into. But after the first few chapters, the humor of her situation begins to seep through. She obviously loves her flighty parents who are embarrassingly funny and begins to realize how shallow she used to be. Eventually she begins to empathize with her new dorky friends (who sound like the type of people I would have hung around in high school). The novel is obviously not intended to be great literature, but rather a fun, quick read and I think it served its purpose pretty well. While I was reading, I could definitely see this novel spinning off into a teen chick movie in the vein of "Mean Girls", starring any of the popular teen actresses of the moment.