Author : Meg Cabot
Publisher : HarperCollins
Do you want to be popular? Everyone wants to be popular or at least, Stephanie Landry does. Steph's been the least popular girl in her class since a certain cherry Super Big Gulp catastrophe five years earlier. Does being popular matter? It matters very much to Steph. That's why this year, she has a plan to get in with the It Crowd in no time flat. She's got a secret weapon: an old book called what else? How to Be Popular. What does it take to be popular? All Steph has to do is follow the instructions in The Book, and soon she'll be partying with the It Crowd (including school quarterback Mark Finley) instead of sitting on The Hill Saturday nights, stargazing with her nerdy best pal Becca, and even nerdier Jason (now kind of hot, but still), whose passion for astronomy Steph once shared. Who needs red dwarves when you're invited to the hottest parties in town? But don't forget the most important thing about popularity! It's easy to become popular. What isn't so easy? Staying that way.
How To Be Popular actually is an old book which Stephanie Landry found in her friend’s grandma’s box. It’s a guide on how to become a popular person and is exactly what Steph needs. She’s been in the unpopular group since she spilled Big Red Super Big Gulp on Lauren Moffat’s skirt five years ago. So the book is like the answer of Steph’s problem. She then follows The Book and climb her way up in the social ladder of Bloomsville High. What she didn’t know is that this whole plan might cause her losing her old friends.
This book reminds me a lot of Mean Girls. Yes, that teen comedy movie where Lindsay Lohan tries to take down the plastics off the social hierarchy of high school but then becomes one instead. Except that, in this book Steph Landry is actually trying to be popular. Well, maybe part of her want to take down Lauren Moffat but mostly she’s just trying to be liked by other people. Lauren Moffat almost like a copycat of Regina George. Though she doesn’t appear much in the book. Then we have Darlene Staggs who reminds me of Karen Smith and Alyssa Krueger who reminds me of Gretchen Wieners.
On the other hand, this book is different from Mean Girls. The conflict in How To Be Popular mostly revolves around Steph’s effort on becoming a popular girl. Also, this book is not as dark as Mean Girls. The advice that’s given in The Book is genuinely helpful. Meg Cabot includes snippets of The Book in the end of most chapters. Probably it would help the readers too. For instance, this list of what popular girls do.
Popular girls:
- Are respectful and polite to everyone.
- Put themselves in others’ shoes and think of the feelings of others first.
- Are generous with their time and talents.
- Are cheerful and outgoing.
This book has puppy love confusion. Steph has a big crush on Mark Finley, the most popular boy in school. But Mark is not available since his status is boyfriend of the queen bee aka Lauren Moffat. While Becca, Steph’s best friend, is having a crush on Jason, Steph’s another best friend. Becca even thinks that Jason is her One, which is silly considering they are all only sixteen years old. After all, that’s what this book is. A fun teen book. At least in my opinion, How to Be Popular supposed to be a fun teen book. Well it is funny and didn’t take me too long to read. So I gave it a three out of five.
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