Book Talk: Popular by Maya Van Wagenen by Steve Tetreault https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk Check out some reasons why Popular should be part of your YA library! en-us 2017-10-28 17:51:53 UTC 2017-10-30 09:42:49 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Templeball.png My borrowed library copy, plus the two I bought for my school DrSteve https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201430938 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. ]]> 2017-10-28 17:57:31 UTC https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201430938 First Impressions DrSteve https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201431016 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. 
]]> 2017-10-28 17:58:36 UTC https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201431016 What does this book have to offer YA readers? DrSteve https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201431092 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. 

]]> 2017-10-28 17:59:27 UTC https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201431092 Maya Van Wagenen DrSteve https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201431324 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/]]> 2017-10-28 18:03:27 UTC https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201431324 Overall, the reaction has been positive... DrSteve https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201433503
  • 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." 
    • ]]>     2017-10-28 18:36:18 UTC https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201433503     ...But there are a few complaints. DrSteve https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201433515 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:
    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. 
    ]]>     2017-10-28 18:36:26 UTC https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201433515     Maya's Interview on BBC Channel 4 DrSteve https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201434320 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.)]]> 2017-10-28 18:51:27 UTC https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201434320 References DrSteve https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201434977 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
    ]]>     2017-10-28 19:03:31 UTC https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201434977     Maya on The Today Show DrSteve https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201435154 2017-10-28 19:07:13 UTC https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201435154 Themes DrSteve https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201435659 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. 
    ]]>     2017-10-28 19:18:02 UTC https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201435659     Programming Ideas DrSteve https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201436015 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. ]]>     2017-10-28 19:25:55 UTC https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201436015     Gender DrSteve https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201437794 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"? ]]> 2017-10-28 19:59:42 UTC https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201437794 Appearance DrSteve https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201438008 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?]]> 2017-10-28 20:02:50 UTC https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201438008 Background Violence DrSteve https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201438730 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? ]]>     2017-10-28 20:13:03 UTC https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201438730     Other Related Titles DrSteve https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201439024 A few titles suggested by by GoodReads via "Books Like Popular: Vintage Wisdom for the Modern Geek" that seemed particularly apt:]]> 2017-10-28 20:18:30 UTC https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201439024 Editing DrSteve https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201443283 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"? ]]> 2017-10-28 21:43:46 UTC https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201443283 Maya Van Wagenen DrSteve https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201508681 2017-10-29 16:50:21 UTC https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201508681 DrSteve https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201509006 2017-10-29 16:53:33 UTC https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201509006 DrSteve https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201509436 2017-10-29 16:57:27 UTC https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201509436 Related Titles: Steve's Picks DrSteve https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201511510
  • 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. 
    • ]]>     2017-10-29 17:18:05 UTC https://padlet.com/DrSteve/popularbooktalk/wish/201511510