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Wagenen, Maya Van. Popular: A Memoir. Speak an Imprint of Penguin Group (USA), 2015. 

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Introduction (How this whole thing came to be)

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Introduction (How this whole thing came to be)

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The book starts off with our main character Maya who is just about to start her 8th grade year. She stumbles upon a book by Betty Cornell in a cardboard box in her Dad's office that teaches whoever reads it, how to get popular, she initially doesn't pay mind to it because she has never been that popular her entire life and she didn't really see it as much of a problem until her mother gave her an idea. Her mother's idea was for her to follow along with one of many Betty Cornell's topics in the book for every month in the school year until the end of her 8th grade year, this motivates Maya and sparks the first chapter of this book.

"You are categorized by where you spend your time and wit and whom you do, and do not, associate. I fall into the Social Outcast group, the lowest level of people at school who aren't paid to be there." - Maya (8)

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On this day, Maya starts her diet from Betty Cornel's book and she is thinking about the vastly different and tasty foods that are in Brownsville, Texas but wonders why her school still does not serve appetizing food as well. She is fine with this as she is on a diet anyways until her friend Kenzie walks in with her favorite snack cookies. She is heavily tempted by it but decides to not eat any because quitting on the first day is the same thing as not even starting at all.

"If the prospect of lunch without a sweet dessert is too gruesome for you to imagine, there's no hope for you, You have allowed your sweet tooth to overrule your wisdom tooth.... As for taunts from your friends - and they will taunt you - keep your chin up and your weight down." -Betty Cornell (25)

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Starting in September, this is where her popularity journey begins as she slowly gets accustomed to her new diet from Betty's book. She starts off shaky and almost relapses at times but perseveres and sticks with the plan for the whole month and has even started exercising. As she reached her goal, she lost a few pounds off of her panza (stomach) and her clothes fit her much better than before. She also becomes an assistant in the library along with her friend Kenzie and finds a peculiar boy named Ethan that she falls in love with.

"But in spite of the ridicule, I have lost weight. My clothes fit me better, and all in all, I feel good about what I've accomplished. Still there's so much left to do. I know, Betty, chin up, weight down." -Maya (42)

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Maya wakes up early today and she takes out the curlers from her hair. She then thinks that she looks like a brown-ish Shirley temple which makes her think that she should definitely not go to school today. Kenzie isn't here today so on her way to class someone asks her "So, Maya, what's up with your hair? Its super cute. What's the special occasion? boyfriend?" hearing this, that person's friend exclaims "Maya, with a boyfriend? Don't be stupid," She thinks of her beloved crush Ethan who hardly notices her even with her outrageous hairstyles and thinks that that girl's friend is right.

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In October, Maya describes her initial struggles with her hair, feeling insecure about its unruly nature and her lack of knowledge on how to style it. She experiments with different hairstyles and hair products (rag curlers, bangs, long hair, etc.) , seeking advice from her mom and Kenzie and despite facing challenges and setbacks, Maya remains determined to transform her hair and, by extension, her self-confidence and social standing. Throughout the month, Maya reflects on the significance of hair in shaping one's identity and perception by others. Ultimately, Maya's journey with her hair serves as a metaphor for her larger goal for acceptance and belonging. As she learns to embrace her natural hair and experiment with different styles, she gets happier with herself and her progress and continues to love Betty more and more.

"One of the most important things for any teen to realize is that she is always on display" - Betty Cornell (67)

"If I keep following in her footsteps, maybe someday I'll become so popular that everyone, sober or not, will have to stop and state. but for now, I'm moving on to bigger and Betty-er things!" - Maya (67)

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In November, she first learned all about her posture and how to improve on it. Next she needed to learn how to walk better. Kenzie notices Maya's new actions, way of walking, way of speaking, etc., and Maya wanted to tell her badly, but she didn't because she promised herself that she will tell no one what she is doing until the very end where she has finished her journey in improving herself.

"You never see a model slouch, you never see a model with her canny poked out of her chin resting her breastbone. A model knows that good posture is basic to a good figure, and that a good carriage goes hand in hand with good posture." -Betty Cornell (70)

"To walk gracefully one must move the leg in one piece... In that way, the leg moves forward in one sweeping movement, instead of propelling itself by a series of awkward disjointed jerks." - Betty Cornell (71)

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In December, Maya came along the problem of skin problems and using makeup. Maya became nervous and uncomfortable wearing makeup because she had never worn it before in her life. Betty says you need powder, face lotion, lipstick, lipstick brush, and skin cleanser for your face. On the first day that she wore it to school, Kenzie and a couple other people at her school noticed her lipstick. Maya was very uncertain what to say about her new look so she just said made an excuse up that it was just for fun. Now that the makeup is out of the way, her new issue concerns her bad case of zits. Maya tries one of Betty's methods in her book and it surprisingly produced results. Overall, Maya believes that this month was a success and that although she didn't like makeup that much, it definitely improved other people's impressions on her and made her realize that it could be a useful tool for her journey.

"Betty Cornell says that I should wash my face with hot water to open my pores and then scrub it with soap, applying it in upward strokes... Then, I rinse with cold water. Twice a week I'm supposed to use ice cubes to fully close my pores." - Maya (95)

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In January, Maya decided to challenge what she wears and maybe get the attention of others while doing so. For school Betty suggested a lot of stuff for her to wear so Maya decided to go with her mother to shop for some clothes on Sunday, January 1st. Transitioning onto the following Monday at school, Some people came up to her, one of which was her friend named Dante. They start questioning if she was dressing up for an occasion, but she clearly wasn't and felt very embarrassed from that interaction which she shakes off after a little bit. Later that month a former Volleyball player comes up to Maya and Kenzie which felt completely odd to both of them because popular people usually don't go up to them (people at the bottom of the social food chain). They had a normal conversation and Maya didn't know if it was because of what she was wearing or another reason. Maya sees this as progress and feels as if she is ever so close to her goal of becoming popular.

"Several basic skirts in neutral shades. Long and short sleeved sweaters in classic colors. 1 or 2 jumpers-a good dress-up-dress-down item. 2 or 3 pairs of nylon stockings. 2 pairs of white cotton gloves-for dress-up. 1 simple string of small pearls." -Betty Cornell (113-114)

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February (Good Grooming & Away From Home)

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February (Good Grooming & Away From Home)

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In February, Maya focuses on good grooming and being away from home as the title of the chapter says. The chapter begins with Maya being uncomfortable to get a girdle, but needed to get it to follow all of Bettys tips. Her mother was also uncomfortable to go buy one for Maya, but ended up going and having a good time. Maya also went on a choir trip and had to stay at a hotel room with the other girls in choir. She had to wake up early just to put on her girdle and cleanse her face. Unfortunately, Maya did like the girdle because it makes her bum look like four pieces. During that choir trip she made a new friend, Isabelle because Maya helped her when she fell during use skating.

"I am firmly of the opinion that every teen needs a girdle-not a whalebone ironclad trap, but some sort of lightweight affair to control the curves... Don't turn up your nose at the idea of wearing these modern aids to figure beauty" -Betty Cornell (141)

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March (Money [How to Earn Extra] & On the Job)

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March (Money [How to Earn Extra] & On the Job)

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During March, Maya's primary focus revolved around finding ways to earn money and securing a job. At the start of the month, she set a personal goal of making $50. With this target in mind, she decides to explore babysitting as a potential job, and despite Betty's caution that it can be unpredictable. Feeling somewhat limited in her options, Maya proceeds with creating posters advertising her babysitting services, which she places at her church and local park. Despite initially receiving no response, she eventually gets a call about a week later from a family of two mothers and three children. They asked Maya for help in babysitting two of their children—a girl and a boy—on the thirteenth of March. Maya completes her job and earns $20 for her work over a slow and tiring night, and to reach her $50 goal, Maya dedicates the remainder of the month to helping out with chores at their home, making this month a success for her.

"Babysitting can be a steady job or a hit-and-miss affair, depending on the way you want to go about it. If you want to work at it regularly there is nothing to prevent you from making up a list of clients and keeping constant touch with them." - Betty Cornell (154)

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On this day, Maya wears regular clothes and puts on her pearls and makeup as usual but she's wearing pants again. She meets two seventh graders in the library before school on this day called Morgan and Noah and she waves to them on her way to lunch. During lunch itself, she sits with her usual Social Outcast group and listens politely to yet another story about how Kenzie's mother is stressing her out. Maya builds up the courage to mention how she is going to move next year to Georgia and that she wants to make new friends before she has to go, as a result of this, she says that she is going to sit at different tables and say hi to everyone. This makes Kenzie question whether Maya wants to break the Social Ladder or something, Maya responds with no but says that she has nothing to lose and offers Kenzie to come with her. Kenzie calmly responds with "HELL NO!" which leads to "the hero having to face the dragon on her own."

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April (Popular Attitude: Look Pretty-Be Pretty, Are You Shy? & Personality)

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April (Popular Attitude: Look Pretty-Be Pretty, Are You Shy? & Personality)

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In April, Maya had a new approach, she tried to have a popular attitude. Maya finally came out of her shell by sitting at different lunch tables during lunch. She usually sits with her friends (which who identify themselves as the social outcasts), but she decides to break the news that she will not be sitting with them for the next couple weeks. They get slightly angry with her, but they try not to show it. The very next day, she sits with the Spanish club which was extremely awkward because they only spoke Spanish in which Maya knew none of. The next day, she sat with the choir geeks which she had a great time because they just talked about there choir trip and nothing else. Next week, she sat with some random kids that have no where to sit, she sat with the popular girls, the football jocks and the volleyball girls. She got very nervous because they are the most popular people in the school but this massive step in her journey really made her believe that she set foot in what was "popular". When she sat with the various groups of people that week, she said that she was moving and this led to everyone arguing over who wanted to sit next to her first. This marks the end of April and making the month a huge success for her and her journey in becoming popular.

"If you want to be a human being, and a popular human being, then you have to stop being an oyster and come out of your shell." -Betty Cornell (174)

"You see, good looks are not enough, In order to be a success in the world, you have to be pretty as well as look pretty. How do you get to be pretty? By having a pleasant personality. Sounds simple, but it isn't. For a pleasant personality means that you must be affable, considerate, generous, open hearted and polite, adjectives, that add up to good manners." -Betty Cornell (175-176)

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Thursday, May 24th (The Bowling Alley Field Trip)

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Thursday, May 24th (The Bowling Alley Field Trip)

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Maya goes to school as usual and during algebra she opens her notebook and sees a page titled "meanings of popularity" she remembers her original goal of becoming popular after forgetting it through the recent drama in her life and then remembers that she has a Bowling Alley Field Trip today. Before they are dismissed to their buses, Maya continues her survey and asks various people questions concerning what they thought the definition of being popular was. She then asks them a new question, "Do you think anyone can be popular?" this replies to this question surprise her as no one actually believed that it was completely impossible. She followed up with one final question, "Do you consider yourself to be popular?" Everyone replies with no which she says thanks for and leaves. When they arrive at the bowling alley, she continues asking people about their perspectives on popularity and she starts with the "unpopular" crowd. After about an hour she looks around and realizes that she has spoken to everyone but the popular people who "perch at the top of the social ladder". She asks a few of them (a guy named Pablo and 6 others) all of her questions and they burst out in laughter, they say that anyone can become popular and this finally cements the thought that she can finally become popular inside her head.

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In may, Maya had the idea to become a hostess for a party. Maya's first idea was to host a going away party. She started by making all the invites and the next day she gave them to the people. The first person she gave an invite to was Catalina and she said Allison had a party the same night, Maya wanted to cry because Allison invited everyone she invited which she knows would override her own party. The next idea was a semi-prom, it was prom for people who had no dates. Maya got Kenzie into this idea and they invited a lot of people. When the day came Maya dressed up like Betty said so. She was very nervous, but everybody had a good time dancing and talking. This month was yet another success for Maya's plan and she feels like she has finally achieved her goal of becoming popular.

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The end of the book is set on her first day of school in Georgia, Wednesday, August 1st. She makes a new friend during lunch called Esme and while they are talking about what they are eating, Maya reminisces about what her diet was like almost a year ago which was a cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread with a bag of grapes which she believes to be appropriate. Maya sits up straight as her and Esme talk about themselves and their school lives, this leads to her thinking to herself about how hard it was to maintain a good posture compared to now which feels completely different to her although only being a short time frame. She then talks about how she finished her makeup that she bought all the way at the beginning of December with her mom and how she wears skirts instead of school uniforms now. Overrall Maya feels very happy about herself and feels like the only thing that she knows at that moment when she walked up to Esme sitting alone in the cafeteria is what Betty told her to say a whole year ago : "Hi, I'm Maya."

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This is a interview by Channel 4 News that highlights Maya's 8th grade experiment and shows how that changed her life for the better.

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Maya Van Wagenen: Living like a girl in the 50's

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This is another interview now by Justine Magazine that showcases how Maya changed the whole meaning behind being "popular" from just being good looking to being a good person.

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Justine Magazine: Maya Van Wagenen on "Popular" - What it Means to be Popular & Tips for School!

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Why I Picked It Up: As this year's Battle of the Books gets closer (next week!!!), I decided to start looking ahead to the 2015 Lone Star List and the 2016 Battle of the Books. As I scrolled down the list, this one stood out to me: Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek. It sounded so good! I love all things vintage and I especially loved the idea of vintage and modern paired together. After locating it in the ebook collection of our library, I got started.

Let me pause for just a second. I love having access to an ebook library. It allows me to actually find books instead of having to find my toddler running around the library. It allows me to avoid late fees because, when time is up, the book takes itself back to the library, allowing me to avoid having to choose between returning library books and taking a toddler home for a nap. I used to have a lot of late fees. However, ebooks lead me to situations like I found myself with this book.

Why I Finished It: I had no idea it was a memoir until I started reading it. It read just like a chick-lit book and I loved it! I started seeing actual photographs in the book though, and I got curious. Not curious enough, so I kept reading, thoroughly enjoying Maya's description of the popularity scale at her school. Maya references a book by Betty Cornell published in the 1950s. I wondered if it was real and started doing my research. One thing led to another, and I discovered what most of the world probably already knew about this book just by looking at the back cover (lamentably not included with my ebook version) - it was a true story written by a 15-year-old girl. I already loved it, but this made me love it even more!

This is not a modern Cinderella story. I kept wondering if it would end with Maya becoming popular and living happily ever after. Instead, this book chronicles a year-long social experiment to see if vintage advice on popularity can make a difference in a modern high school. I so admire this young woman with the guts to wear "pilgrim shoes" and pearls to school. I see the true meaning of popularity woven among the entries as Maya tackles a new topic from Betty's book each month, carrying over a few things each month as she finds something she likes. I love Maya's voice as well. She is witty, well-spoken and honest, and I feel like I'm becoming one of her friends as I read about her 8th grade year.

Who I Would Give It To: Anyone who has ever had a crazy idea and run with it just to see what happens, anyone who might not be happy with where they fall on their school's popularity scale, and definitely anyone who wants to write. There is inspiration galore in this book! (Also, anyone in 6th grade and up.)
Integration Ideas
Theme: Identity

Guiding Question: How is popularity determined? By whom is it determined?
Research
Betty Cornell's Teen-Age Popularity Guide is a real book! (You can find it on Amazon and you can also preview a few pages of it with Google Books.) Help provide students with a context for when this book was written. In her own time, Betty's advice would have been quite well received but, some of selections from Betty's book quoted by Maya in Popular and some of the things Maya does while following Betty's advice will seem old-fashioned to today's student. By providing images and contemporary texts, you can help students better understand the culture from which Betty's book was born.

There are lots of great resources for finding historical images. Here are just a few:

LIFE Photo Archive - This one is hosted by Google and I like it for more recent history. You can browse by decade, events, people or do a keyword search.

Google Cultural Institute: Historic Moments - Though this includes the LIFE photos, it also includes many other types of artifacts from museums and organizations all over the world. There are collections that have been curated, along with informational text, but you can also assemble your own collections (with their own permalink) to share with your students.

Library of Congress - I could get lost on this website with so many kinds of digital treasures. Photos, maps, documents, sound clips, movie clips - there is so much to explore. Check out this search for "fashion" narrowed by decade to 1950-1959. Particularly interesting to me are the photos of the 1950s models, of which Betty Cornell was one. Such a contrast to today's models, which could lead to some great conversations!

The LOC also has a great resource for analyzing photographs and prints, which includes helpful prompts to encourage students to think more critically about what they are seeing: Teacher's Guide.

Not an image, but pretty cool primary source (full-text of the book): Betty Cornell's Glamour Guide for Teens
Communication and Collaboration
As a young author, Maya has a strong social media presence. In the same that Maya corresponds with Betty Cornell in her book to ask questions and learn more about her life, students can use social media to correspond with Maya. Have students think about questions they might want to ask - about her writing process, about the "characters" in her book, about the experiment, about Betty's book.

She is on Twitter and Facebook.

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Book Review: Popular by Maya Van Wagenen

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Why I Picked It Up: As this year's Battle of the Books gets closer (next week!!!), I decided to start looking ahead to the 2015 Lone Star List and the 2016 Battle of the Books. As I scrolled down the list, this one stood out to me: Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek.

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Description

New York Times Bestseller

A breakout teen author explores the true meaning of popularity and how to survive middle school in this hysterically funny, touchingly honest contemporary memoir.

"I was inspired by [Maya's] journey and made a point of saving a copy of 'Popular' for my sister, who starts middle school this fall. Maybe if I had read it when I was her age, it could have saved me from a world of hurt, or at least put that world in perspective." -Maude Apatow, New York Times Book Review

Can curlers, girdles, Vaseline, and a strand of pearls help a shy girl become popular?
Maya Van Wagenen is about to find out.

Stuck near the bottom of the social ladder at "pretty much the lowest level of people at school who aren't paid to be here," Maya has never been popular. But before starting eighth grade, she decides to begin a unique social experiment: spend the school year following a 1950s popularity guide, written by former teen model Betty Cornell.

The real-life results are hilarious, painful, and filled with unexpected surprises. Told with humor and grace, Maya's journey offers readers of all ages a thoroughly contemporary example of kindness and self-confidence, along with a better understanding of what it means to be popular.

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Praise

A New York Times bestseller!

Maya Van Wagenen is a Time magazine Top 16 Most Influential Teen of 2013

and a Huffington Post Most Fearless Teen of 2013

"I was inspired by her journey and made a point of saving a copy of 'Popular' for my sister,

who starts middle school this fall. Maybe if I had read it when I was her age, it could have

saved me from a world of hurt, or at least put that world in perspective."

-Maude Apatow for the New York Times Book Review

" Popular taps into a feeling shared by Bradbury and Bieber enthusiasts alike-the need to

fit in during middle school." - USA Today

"Everyone's happiness project looks different, and I was utterly charmed by Maya Van

Wagenen's honest, funny, and thought-provoking account of her efforts to become 'popular.'"

-Gretchen Rubin, #1 bestselling author of The Happiness Project

"Geeky and dorky, but never wimpy, Maya Van Wagenen is as powerful and honest as she

is quirky and funny-and startlingly gifted. She's the real deal, folks, a teenage John Green

for the next generation. Stunning." -Margaret Stohl, bestselling co-author of the Beautiful Creatures series

"Maya Van Wagenen's memoir, Popular, would have been wonderful to read as a kid, and

so reassuring to Nerdy Teenage Me. Her year-long experiment in popularity is timeless; the

intelligent and humane way she gets to the heart of the matter is uniquely her.

Funny, determined, and wry, Van Wagenen has written a wise, heartfelt guide for

other kids eager to keep up." -Rachel Hartman, bestselling author of Seraphina

"An interesting and earnest memoir." - Kirkus Reviews

"While completely appropriate for middle school readers, Popular is even more entertaining

for adults. Van Wagenen is a uniquely gifted talent with a gem of a first novel" - VOYA

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Details

Pages: 272 Pages

Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group

Imprint: Speak

ISBN: 9780147512543

Read more about this book and author

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New York Times BestsellerA breakout teen author explores the true meaning of popularity and how to survive middle school in this hysterically funny, touching...