How Not To Be Popular by Jennifer Ziegler

Maggie Dempsey (formally known as Sugar Magnolia Dempsey) has always been at the mercy of her New Age, hippie parents. They love to travel and never spend more than a few months in any one city, making Maggie change schools and start anew all the time. Usually she likes the adventure, but this time she's leaving best friends and a boyfriend in Portland when her family decides to move to Texas. Feeling lonely and hurt that her boyfriend broke up with her, Maggie decides that since they will probably pick up and move again soon, she shouldn't make any new friends. What starts out as a quest to remain friend-less soon turns into a quest for unpopularity. Acting strange and wearing funky outfits, Maggie is sure that she'll just be a loser for a few months, but to her surprise, she actually starts to become popular.

This book was hilarious! Maggie's thoughts and commentary are so funny, plus the outfits she wears are very crazy. For example, she wore a gray mechanics jumpsuit to school, complete with dirt and oil stains. I thought it was very bold of Maggie to try to be unpopular, since some of the things she does are extremely embarrassing. But Maggie stuck to her guns and continued to do silly things. And to her surprise and unhappiness, she actually becomes popular! Maggie gets invited to do an interview for the school newspaper, since she's a new student and all, and proceeds to shake up the social system at her high school. She's says some very true things, about how everyone should think for themselves and not follow the popular crowd in what to wear, say, do, etc. Very wise words, I must say. But this sentiment rings true with just about every student in Maggie's school and they start to copy and admire her. She even gets nominated for Homecoming Court! I thought Maggie was such an interesting person, one that everyone would want to be friends with. Her parents, odd as they were, were so sweet and cute. I could tell they loved their daughter very much, even if the feeling wasn't exactly mutual at times. How Not To Be Popular was a light-hearted and humorous book about being yourself and how you can find friends in the unlikeliest of places.

8 out of 10.