How to Be Popular
 | |
| Author | Meg Cabot |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Young adult novel |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
Publication date | July 2006 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 288 pp (first edition, hardback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-06-088012-0 (first edition, hardback) |
| OCLC | 63164844 |
| LC Class | PZ7.C11165 Ho 2006 |
How to Be Popular is a young adult novel written by Meg Cabot and published in July 2006.
Plot summary
Steph Landry has been the target of jokes since sixth grade when she spilled a red Super Big Gulp on Lauren Moffat's white D&G skirt. In response, Lauren coined the phase "Don't be such a Steph Landry" to ensure she never lives it down. Steph has since been content to hang out with her best friends Jason and Becca, also social outcasts, but as she enters eleventh grade, she wants more out of high school. Luckily, she finds a copy of an old book titled none other than How to be Popular while cleaning out Jason's grandmother's attic.
The book is full of useful tips. She follows the book's advice and begins the school year with flat ironed hair and a new attitude. Steph is determined to be confident and enthusiastic about school. She sits with new people at lunch and organizes a talent auction. Steph does not anticipate Lauren's anger at her sudden rise in popularity, or Jason's confusion and shock at her behaviour . As her popularity grows, Steph is forced to make difficult choices about who and what is truly important to her. A minor plot arch of the impending wedding of Jason's grandmother and Steph's grandfather and Steph's mother's sixth pregnancy also plays out.
Reception
"Cabot deserves her reputation as one of teen chick lit's most entertaining authors. This endearingly funny book looks at the pain of feeling unpopular. Steph and Jason's friendship will have readers (books too) laughing and rooting for her to see what is right in front of her. Public and high school libraries will definitely want to add it to their collection."- Voya[1]
"A heartwarming, funny tale"- The Daily Telegraph[2]
New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age Award [3]