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Betty Cornell's Teen-Age Popularity Guide by Betty Cornell - YA readers can explore the work that started it all!

Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence by Rosalind Wiseman - This nonfiction work could offer readers an updated look inside the world of teens and what it means to be popular; this could make for a very interesting comparison with Betty Cornell's book.

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank - A classic by another 13-year-old author that shows that as much as teens have changed over the years, their essential interests have stayed the same.

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Overall, the reaction has been positive...

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Overall, the reaction has been positive...

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4.05 out of 5 stars on GoodReads (9,376 ratings)

4.6 out of 5 stars on Amazon (199 reviews) (Note: The paperback edition was re-titled for re-release in 2015.)

PolandBananasBooks posts on YouTube regularly gets tens of thousands of views; the one for Popular received 160,000. While only about 2.5 of the 14+ minutes of the video are specifically about the book (the first 1:30, and the last 1), they are extremely positive minutes!

There are several YouTube reviews, each of which has over 1,000 views, and others with smaller view counts, that really enjoyed the book.

Time Magazine named Maya one of the 16 Most Influential Teens of 2013, along with Lorde, Malala Yousafzai, two Jenners, Justin Beiber, and Chloe Grace Moretz!

A review by Judd Apatow's teenaged daughter, Maude, that was published in the New York Times ends by suggesting Popular could help middle schoolers avoid "a world of hurt, or at least put that world in perspective."

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Because Popular is a memoir, anyone who has read the book is already familiar with Maya's basic background. She wrote this book while she was an 8th grader, and it was published two years later through Penguin books.

At this time, Maya has only one authorial credit, for Popular. However, before her book was even officially published, she had signed a movie deal with Steven Speilberg's DreamWorks Studio to adapt the book, making her, at 15, "the youngest non-actor to ever make a feature deal at DreamWorks" (Rotham "The Old-Fashioned Self-Help Book That Got a Teen A Movie Deal").

Maya's website can be found at: http://mayavanwagenen.com/

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A few titles suggested by by GoodReads via "Books Like Popular: Vintage Wisdom for the Modern Geek" that seemed particularly apt:

Laughing At My Nightmare by Shane Burcaw - A memoir from a 21-year-old with spinal muscular atrophy; Burcaw brings a positive mental attitude to a difficult situation as he talk about "everyday issues that are relatable to teens" while also offering "an eye-opening perspective on what it is like to have a life threatening disease" (GoodReads.com); this seems like it could offer an interesting perspective as well as an enjoyable read, all while helping YA readers appreciate the view from someone else's eyes.

Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the Selma Voting Rights March by Lynda Blackmon Lowery, as told to Elspeth Leacock  and Susan Buckley, with illustrations by P.J. Loughran - This memoir could serve as a more serious complement to Maya's story, and an interesting juxtaposition to Betty Cornell's view of the time period.

Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir by Margarita Engle, illustrated by Edel Rodriguez - An illustrated "poetic memoir" that tells Engle's tale of being a young girl "growing up as a child of two cultures during the Cold War" (GoodReads.com); this could provide additional insight into the time period that produced Betty Cornell's work.

Rapture Practice: A True Story About Growing Up Gay in an Evangelical Family by Aaron Hartzler - Another memoir about being a teen relayed with a positive perspective; this could provide YA readers with another view of life that is in some ways very similar to their own.

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One of the main critiques that surfaced in reviews (and as far as I could tell, these were only in "non-professional" reviews, particularly on 3 star-or-less reviews on GoodReads) was that Maya begins her self-renovation project by focusing on dieting and her weight; and more than half the book is generally focused on appearance. Without a doubt, body image is a major issue for many YAs, particularly (but not exclusively) for girls. In light of these truths, how concerned should parents, teachers, and librarians be with suggesting this memoir to a YA audience?

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Maya's writing is very crispy, witty, and elevated (particularly for a middle school student). She comes across as calm and poised, even in her moments of despair. So I found myself constantly surprised by the intrusions of violence into her world. To her, they barely rate mentioning - she explains them so the reader understand what she is talking about, but she barely remarks on them otherwise. She attends a middle school that requires mesh backpacks to help prevent weapons being snuck into the school. She discusses the death caused by cartel violence. Even when a student her age is gunned down by police, it is almost a footnote, barely rating a mention within her experiment.

Does this memoir take such violence for granted? Is this a comment on the state of violence in the lives of children today?

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There are going to be readers who feel Popular is too saccharine and not real enough. Some reviewers complained that the book had been overly-sanitized in the editing process. Is Maya too unbelievable as an average teenager? Would the book read better with a few "warts"?

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I have no doubt that YA boys will have an initial impression similar to mine: "This is a girl book! I don't wanna read this!" Once I overcame my initial misgivings, I found myself really enjoying this book. Do you think that the issues and experiences underpinning this memoir are universal enough to be of value to boys? And do you think that the writing style is accessible enough to help boys overcome any concerns they might have about "cooties"?

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Current Events: Maya repeatedly introduces ideas, information, and issues related to immigration, particularly in how it relates to life in a border town. Readers could be encouraged to consider how Maya's discussions of these issues are similar to or different than immigration issues as reported by various media outlets, and whether or not these issues reflect the reality of the readers' experiences with immigration, either on a personal level, or in its impact on their community.
Discussion: Themes: Popular would make a great novel for discussions with middle school-aged students. The themes that are raised, and the situations through which Maya navigates, are pretty universal. It could be illuminating for students to discuss how they would (or have) navigated these same waters, and what they thought of Maya's approach.
Text Pairing: I found it difficult to not draw comparisons between Popular and Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl. Both are nonfiction memoirs by thirteen year old authors; and while their circumstances are quite different, their attitudes towards how they deal with the difficulties they see in their lives are remarkably similar. Their writing styles, too, have some commonalities. And there are many more pairings that could be interesting. Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman, the 2002 self-help book for teen girls which formed the basis for the movie Mean Girls, could make for an interesting comparison. Thematically, it might be interesting to have students consider how Popular bears some similarities to Robert Lewis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - students could discuss how Maya's story might have seemed to outsiders to whom she had not explained her experiment in transformation.
Pairing 2: Book & A Movie: It could be very entertaining for students to pair Popular with a movie about being a student or someone trying to fit in, and compare and contrast the actions and motivations of the protagonists and the lessons they learn. Some possible titles for consideration: Mean Girls, What a Girl Wants, Big, Legally Blonde, Sixteen Candles (Yes, some of these are throwbacks - I'm old!)
Another pairing: Betty's Book: Since the publication of Popular, Betty Cornell's Teen Age Popularity Guide has been re-released. The advice it provides was carefully cherry-picked by Maya. Readers could review the original to discuss whether they think Maya chose the most relevant portions, as well as what the original text reveals about attitudes and expectations from that time period.
Inquiry Learning: Not Betty's Book: Another project possibility could be to encourage readers to create a list of issues they feel are relevant to their own lives, then explore books from the past that focus on those issues to see what kinds of materials can be found. If they are able to locate topic-relevant materials, they could discuss what elements of those original texts are no longer applicable, what those texts can teach us about that period of the past, and which might still be useful to the modern reader.
Research: Scattered throughout Popular are facts and statistics about Maya's location and background. Students could embark on their own research journeys to find out interesting and important facts about their towns, schools, and families, and report back on those findings and what they might mean to them as individuals, as well as in the broader context of the community.
Diary/Journal: As Maya's book is essential a diary of a year of her life, students could be encouraged to keep their own journals for several months. At the end of that time, they could review their entries, looking for repetitious elements or themes that they could use to organize their thinking about issues within their own lives.
Action Research Project: A very exciting possibility could be a challenge to students: Identify something about yourself that it is within your power to improve, create a plan for how you will attempt the improvement, and attempt to put that plan into action. Participants would be encouraged to record their efforts, and reflect on what they learn throughout the process.  After a suitable amount of time has passed, they could report back on results.

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Although it would seem like a book titled “Popular” and written by a middle school student would focus mostly on popularity, that’s actually more of a background issue throughout the book. While Maya is hoping to find popularity, it’s her journey, and her stops along the way, that provide the most important and interesting insights.

Identity: Popular frequently circles back to ideas of identity, particularly race, gender, cliques and stereotypes, and multiculturalism & mixed heritage. There are also glancing references to deeper questions about what makes someone who they are.

Immigration: Maya's family lives in a Texas-Mexico border town; issues around immigration come up repeatedly throughout the book, particularly in the portions where Maya's family visits the local outdoor flea markets.

Family: This issue mostly serves as a background to the other events in the book, but family is clearly important to Maya. Her reflections on her family are at times humorous, at times heart-breaking, but are always relatable.

Mortality: For a memoir from a middle school student, death makes a disturbing number of appearances. Maya discusses the loss of her younger sister, the passing of a beloved teacher, the death of a student via a police shooting, and the general violence of living in a border town where drug cartel violence is part of every day - to the point that students must use mesh backpacks to prevent weapons from entering the middle school.

Positive Outlook: The most important lesson that Maya learns, hopefully along with her readers, is that it doesn’t really matter what you look like, how you dress, or what you think everyone else thinks. If you just roll with the punches and keep your head up and a smile on your face, things seem to (eventually) turn out pretty well.

Popularity: Ultimately, Maya uncovers the dirty little secret of popularity - no one thinks they are as popular as others see them; everyone is insecure. Being popular comes down to being genuine and pleasant with others, so they’ll want to be genuine and pleasant back to you.

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Teen finds confidence with 1950s book advice

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A teenager who followed the advice from a 1950s guide on how to be popular has now written her own book, "Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek," and tells TODAY that some tips from the past remain relevant today.

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The 16 most influential teens of 2013 - full list. (2013). Retrieved from http://time100.time.com/2013/11/12/the-16-most-influential-teens-of-2013/slide/all/

The 16 most influential teens of 213 - maya van wagenen, 15. (2013). Retrieved from http://time100.time.com/2013/11/12/the-16-most-influential-teens-of-2013/slide/maya-van-wagenen/

Apatow, M. (2014). Grand experiment: Maya van wagenen’s ‘Popular’. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/11/books/review/maya-van-wagenens-popular.html

Books like popular: Vintage wisdom for a modern geek. Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22504709-turning-15-on-the-road-to-freedom

Deahl, R. (2014). Teenage memoir gives new life to its 1950s inspiration. Retrieved from https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/60890-teenage-memoir-gives-new-life-to-its-1950s-inspiration.html

H., K. (2016). Book review for "popular: Vintage wisdom for a modern geek" {by maya van wagenen}. Retrieved from http://www.deliciousreads.com/2016/06/book-review-for-popular-vintage-wisdom.html

Kate. (2014). Kate's reviews - popular: Vintage wisdom for a modern geek (2 out of 5 stars). Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/929204700?book_show_action=true&from_review_page=1

katherinethe19th. (2014). Popular by maya van wagenen - review. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kex9OUzClwg

Laughing at my nightmare by shane burcaw. Retrieved from https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J6U7JUY/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Learning 4 A Cause. (2016). POPULAR by maya van wagenen BOOK REVIEW!!!! Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd0hzKVeUTE

Mean girls. Retrieved from https://www.sky.com/watch/title/programme/42a5da72-8150-436b-b8a3-4363cf96c14b

O'Keeffe, K. (2015). POPULAR week: Interview with maya van wagenen! Retrieved from http://yakobooks.blogspot.com/2015/05/MayaVanWagenenInterview.html

Olivier, M. (2015). How to be POPULAR! Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eby2oVYc4UQ

PolandBananasBooks. (2014). Popularity. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBbyueepnyc

Popular: A memoir by maya van wagenen. Retrieved from https://www.emaze.com/@AQORFTC/popular

Popular: How a geek in pearls discovered the secret to confidence. Retrieved from https://www.amazon.com/Popular-Pearls-Discovered-Secret-Confidence/dp/0147512549/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Popular: Vintage wisdom for a modern geek. Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18667753-popular

Popular: Vintage wisdom for a modern geek: A memoir. (2014). Retrieved from https://www.amazon.com/Popular-Vintage-Wisdom-Modern-Memoir/dp/0141353252

Pucksandpaperbacks. (2015). Popular by maya van wagenen | spoiler free review. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jhz_z4eFyhU

RETRO MINT matte finish (wilsonart Y0236-60). Retrieved from http://www.newretrodining.com/images/retro_mint_large.jpg

Ritchie, M. (2014). How to be popular? take a trip back to the 1950s. Retrieved from https://www.channel4.com/news/teen-maya-van-wagenen-1950s-book-film

Rothman, L. (2013). The old-fashioned self-help book that got a teen a movie deal. Retrieved from http://entertainment.time.com/2013/10/31/the-old-fashioned-self-help-book-that-got-a-teen-a-movie-deal/

SableCaught. (2014). Popular - maya van wagenen. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5ZlKNxFWfU

TheBookBasement.Book review: Popular by maya van wagenen. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBKPh-g1KSU

TopTellyFan. (2014). Maya van wagenen talks about how to be a popular teenager (C4 news, 15.5.14). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkMrCYIivXg

Van Wagenen, M.Popular: A memoir. Retrieved from mayavanwagenen.com

Veronica. (2014). Maya van wagenen's popular: Vintage wisdom for A modern geek. Retrieved from https://www.sweetyhigh.com/read/maya-van-wagenen-popular

Viola. (2014). Viola's reviews - popular: Vintage wisdom for a modern geek (3 out of 5 stars). Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1001037639?book_show_action=true&from_review_page=1

WhittyNovels. (2015). REVIEW: Popular by maya van wagenen! Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqLmS-Gvxhc

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Michael Van Wagenen

The 15-year-old author rose to fame for keeping a diary in her quest to become popular, following antiquated tips from the 1950s self-help book, Betty Cornell's Glamour Guide for Teens. Her musings about applying lessons such as always wearing white gloves and pearls as she navigated the social scene of a small Texas town landed her a six-figure Penguin book deal for, Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek. As if that wasn't impressive enough, last month DreamWorks optioned the rights for the novel, making the budding author the "youngest non-actor to ever make a deal" at the film studio.

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The 15-year-old author rose to fame for keeping a diary in her quest to become popular, following antiquated tips from the 1950s self-help book, Betty Cornell's Glamour Guide for Teens. Her musings about applying lessons such as always wearing white gloves and pearls as she navigated the social scene of a small Texas town landed her a six-figure Penguin book deal for, Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek.

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Despite the fact that this host is rather pushy and doesn't mind interrupting people, Maya shows her to be a very composed and poised individual. (Video below shows interview; further clips & text from this interview can be found here.)

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Maya Van Wagenen talks about how to be a popular teenager (C4 News, 15.5.14)

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In both some video reviews and in reviews from GoodReads, some reviewers felt there were problems with Popular. A few of the issues that came up across multiple reviews included:

Maya seemed "too nice" to be real

There was too much focus on outer appearance (the first half of the book) and not enough on the importance of changing one's inner attitude (the last quarter of the book).

The writing is "too clean" for a middle school student; it feels superficial and must have been heavily edited.

While everyone is entitled to their own opinions, these people are not.

On a more serious level, it's hard to disagree that having a middle school girl's book focused heavily on appearance and dieting from the beginning is problematic (see "Discussion Questions" for more on this point). But for people to object to the writing or the author being too good and too clean and too nice seems a bit petty.

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Hey friends :) Here's a quick book review of Maya Van Wagenen's Popular. Enjoy! - READ MORE - SUMMARY In which Katie talks about the book, Popular and her feelings about it. MORE VIDEOS Being Mennonite 101: http://youtu.be/2mZEJSvWmsE Mennonite Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMdIc9qS5vpbmhir0NC5kZqEBDnSy-Oda LINKS http://www.thoughtcouture.blogspot.com http://www.twitter.com/#!/katiesteckly OTHER CHANNEL https://www.youtube.com/user/rexerie

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When I was assigned this book, I felt a stone of dread settle into my stomach. “Ugh,” I thought, “a book about being popular from a teenaged girl? This is going to be painful.” And it was…

...Painfully funny! And touching, and uplifting, and all-around incredible!

Every time I have run into an English colleague in the halls, I have gone on and on about how amazing this book is.

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My borrowed library copy, plus the two I bought for my school

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My borrowed library copy, plus the two I bought for my school

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My principal decided this year to institute an “All Read” where everyone in the school will get a copy of a book, teachers and students alike, and we’ll all read and discuss the book. As soon as I finished Popular, I bought two copies and brought one to his office to let him know what next year’s book should be.

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What does this book have to offer YA readers?

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What does this book have to offer YA readers?

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Let’s start with the fact that it was written by an eighth grade student. Like, an actual eighth grader! And then she got it published before graduating high school. And not a self-published boutique printing, either - Maya Van Wagenen went the full-on, real-deal, found-in-bookstores route. So this book offers YA readers a mirror that shows them that they are capable of writing "for real", and that there is an audience for their thoughts and experiences - in short, it shows every teen reader that she matters.

As Dr. A points out in Sutton, at some point, "nonfiction became the province of schoolwork" (2010: 187), becoming dry and unappealing and assigned. Popular can help to counteract that trend by pulling YA readers in to a fun and yet functional memoir that may open their minds up to the possibility that they can learn something interesting from biography while being engaged by good writing.

Popular also straddles the line between YA fiction and nonfiction. As Freedman puts it, "A kid reading a novel might want a protagonist his own age or a little older, but a youngster reading a biography has a different motivation, I think. That reader wants to see how the subject of the biography got along in life" (Sutton 2010: 207). Van Wagenen offers both of these qualities in a single tome that is as engaging and accessible as fiction while offering real-life experiences for example and analysis.

And although this book was written by a young woman, this is not a book “for girls”. This book shows that we’re all pretty similar once you get inside our heads. Maya’s personal experiences may not be universal, but her reactions to them are.