Mission (Un)Popular [Hardcover]

Anna Humphrey (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 14, 2011 | Age Range: 10 and up | Lexile Measure: 760L (What's this?)

Margot Button has a resolution for seventh grade: Be more normal.

Easier said than done. But, if Margot can learn to control her big mouth (and hair), there is hope. The new girl, Em, from New York, needs a friend too, now that the popular girls have decided she’s “weird.” More accurately, Em is “intimidating.” She dresses like a rock star and doesn’t seem to care what anyone thinks of her—especially Sarah J., the most popular girl in the seventh grade. Em has an agenda for change at Manning Middle School and wants Margot on her side. Progress!

So, okay, Em has a flexible relationship with the truth, and her secret campaign to turn the tables on the popular girls may involve bending some laws. But after years of enduring Sarah J.’s bullying, Margot finds it hard to resist. Her approval rating is finally up—and, it really couldn’t hurt to take Sarah down a few notches...could it?

Endearingly imperfect and utterly charming, Margot Button is irresistible in this heartwarming novel about friendship, bullies and the travails of middle school.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Anna Humphrey (www.annahumphrey.com) has never shoplifted a glazed ham, although she will confess to cutting her own bangs (with disastrous results) more than once. She is also the author of Rhymes with Cupid. Anna lives in Toronto, Ontario with her husband and children.

Product Details

• Age Range: 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion Book CH (June 14, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423123018
• ISBN-13: 978-1423123019
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.2 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #791,317 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Anna Humphrey is the author of Rhymes with Cupid and Mission (un)Popular (Disney/Hyperion Books for Children, Fall 2011)--both books for young adults. She lives in Toronto, Ontario with her husband and kids.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A well written, funny look at what it takes to be popular. July 13, 2011

By J. Prather TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

I enjoyed Mission (un) Popular for it's unflinching look at popularity and the importance of being true to yourself no matter if you have the right clothes, or if you're like Margot and always say the wrong thing. The author does a fantastic job in creating a story that is just packed full of stuff that young teens will be eager to examine and re-examine. Margot is almost thirteen and starts out seventh grade with one simple desire: to be normal. Her plans are just totally shot when she learns that her best friend is going to a different school. At this point, this sounds like a pretty standard story, but when you toss in a past arrest for shoplifting, a mom who reads Tarot cards for a living, and triplet two year old step sisters, you realize that this character is going to have quite a bit more depth than those in your usual middle school novels.

The author portrays Margot as a girl who is sometimes misguided, easily misled and way too obsessed with being popular. I enjoyed her dialogue and her interactions with both her parents and her friends. It was fun to watch her blossom and figure things out on her own, making some pretty significant mistakes along the way.

My one problem with this book is that it seemed geared more towards a high school crowd than middle school. I enjoyed the story, but often forgot that Margot was just twelve. She often comes across as much older, and the many situations she finds herself in feel far more typical of a sixteen year old than a twelve year old. To concerned parents, please note that there are scenes of making out, bad language is inferred, and lots of behavior that could have used some parental supervision.... Parents are most often portrayed as ineffectual, although I did feel that Margot's relationship with her mother and how it matured throughout the story was one of the highlights. So while I would be very selective in giving this to a sixth grader, most 8th,9th graders on up will find quite a bit to enjoy. A fun read with a good message. Read more ›

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Once Upon a Twilight Reviews October 27, 2011

By Yara Santos

Format:Hardcover

I liked this book, but was surprised at some of the things the unpopular girls did to the popular girls to make themselves more popular. I've never seen the movie "Mean Girls", but imagine it was something like this book.

It has been a while since I was in 7th grade, but I could relate to Margot within the first few pages of this book. She is a very real character, with lots of emotions, just like your typical 13 year old girl. She is not popular and wants more than anything to be popular--what 13 year old wouldn't want to be popular, right? She finds out within the first few days of school that her best friend would not be joining her in 7th grade...what in the world was she going to do? Margot was heartbroken and lost, but the friends vowed to do what they could to stay best friends. That changed pretty quickly, and that's one thing I was pretty surprised about-that they didn't fight harder for their (so-called) best friendship. There was a misunderstanding when Erika came to Margot's house and her new friend, Em, slammed the door on her face. Rather than chasing after her best friend or even trying to make amends, Margot just lets her go...since she has this shiny new friend who could possibly give her everything she wants out of life, or at least out of 7th grade.

I was surprised at some of the things Em did or encouraged Margot to do in order to increase their popularity level. Some were slightly innocent, but others were life threatening and really hard to read. It was sort of nice to see the underdogs becoming more popular as the book went on, but I didn't like the way they went about it-cheating, lying and hurting others.

I really enjoyed the characters in this book.... Margot was my favorite, followed by her free-spirited, Tarot card reader mother and her husband. Em was an interesting character, as was Sarah, and in the end they weren't so different. The best part of this book was that it had a happy ending, which makes me happy. :) Read more ›

5.0 out of 5 stars Mission (UN)Popular February 28, 2013

By by Anna Humphrey

Format:Kindle Edition

I loved this book! It was about friendship and how it should last for along time. This book is the best.

5.0 out of 5 stars Kxkdk February 25, 2013

By Book worm

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I loved this book it was amazing it was boring kind of at the beginning but after that it was awesome my friend recommended the book and I am so glad she did

5.0 out of 5 stars This was a really good book. March 12, 2012

By Read for your future!

Format:Hardcover

This was a really good book.
I could really relate to some of the events that happened in this story.

Publisher-Hyperion Book CH
Reviewer Rating: 5 STARS!!
Reviewed by~Syra Chambers

2.0 out of 5 stars Mean girls August 13, 2011

By ReadingVacation

Format:Hardcover

Mission (Un)Popular is all about fitting in - tween style. While I normally love books about typical tween struggles, I was not entirely sold this time. Let me tell you why.

Things start off great with main character Margot who is facing some common tween issues. She is self-conscience about her appearance, moody, and sad that her best friend is changing schools. To top that all off, she has been the victim of bullying at the hands of Sarah and the popular kids. I like that she is pretty much an average girl.

Enter Em, the new girl from New York. Em is into acting tough, flexing the truth, and putting others down. She is the kind of girl I avoid at all costs. The thing is, Em latches onto Margot because Margot is an easy target. From there, the story becomes a mess of pranks and excessive bullying on all sides.

While I appreciate that bullying is being addressed in this book, I don't care for the way it is handled. Margot learns that being popular isn't everything, but I am not so sure what Em learns.

RATING

2 Not For Me

COVER COMMENTS

Looks like Em is passing a note to Margot. I like how (un) is in a different font. Cute cover.