How To Be Popular

Preparing for eleventh grade, Steph studies an old book entitled How to Be Popular and plots her path into the A-Crowd. Steph's name has been synonymous with klutz since sixth grade, when she spilled a red Super Big Gulp on a popular girl's white skirt. But when she puts her mind to it, she surprises herself as well as her longtime best friends, Jason and Becca. Soon, though, Steph discovers that the love of her life is not sitting at the popular kids' table in the school cafeteria. Some readers will carefully study the pages of tips from Steph's guidebook that appear at the beginning of each chapter. But others will find themselves skipping the advice on social graces in order to get on with Cabot's appealing, first-person story of teen yearning, befuddlement, and love. Despite the scenes when Steph spies on next-door neighbor Jason in his bedroom at night, there's an appealing innocence about the story, which depicts the main characters within their extended families as well as with their peers.