Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek (A Memoir)
Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek (A Memoir) | Maya Van Wagenen
New York Times Bestseller Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek is a touchingly honest, candidly hysterical memoir from breakout teen author Maya Van Wagenen. 'School is the armpit of life . . . and my school is no exception' Stuck at the bottom of the social ladder at 'pretty much the lowest level of people at school who aren't paid to be here,' Maya Van Wagenen decided to begin a unique social experiment: spend the school year following a 1950s popularity guide, written by former teen model Betty Cornell. Can curlers, girdles, Vaseline, and a strand of pearls help Maya on her quest to be popular? The real-life results are painful, funny, and include a wonderful and unexpected surprise-meeting and befriending Betty Cornell herself. Told with humour and grace, Maya's journey offers readers of all ages a thoroughly contemporary example of kindness and self-confidence. 'The real deal. . . A teenage John Green for the next generation. Stunning.' Margaret Stohl, bestselling co-author of the bestselling Beautiful Creatures series 'Popular is wonderful. It is charming, touching, entertaining - and brought back a lot of memories about my own high school anxieties. I will be saving my copy to give to my daughter when she is a little older' Jo Elvin, Glamour '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 'Made me smile, giggle and question what my idea of popularity really is . . A must read this summer' Guardian Books Blog 'Honest, funny, and thought-provoking.' Gretchen Rubin, #1 bestselling author of The Happiness Project '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 Wagenan has written a wise, heartfelt guide for other kids eager to keep up.' Rachel Hartman, NYT bestselling author of Seraphina 'A talented writer, she's funny, thoughtful and self-effacing . . . Teens will readily identify with her' Kirkus About the author: Maya Van Wagenen is fifteen years old. When she was eleven, her family moved to Brownsville, Texas, the setting of Popular. When not hunched over a desktop writing, Maya enjoys reading, British Television, and chocolate. She now lives with her parents and two siblings in a rural Georgia. She is a sophomore in high school but still shares a room with her sixth grade brother. Remarkably they have not yet killed each other.
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
blurb
Sharpeipup
post image

The book within the tagged book!

20 likes1 stack add
review
Eggs
post image
Pickpick

Memoir - Maya wants to be popular ! She finds a book from 1950s that she will try to emulate. She définitely gets attention by donning pearls, wearing skirts, using good posture and being friendly to others. Social experiment yields revelation…Maybe being “popular” is more about being your best self

#Pantone2023 @Clwojick
#20in4Readathon Day 3 @Andrew65

Andrew65 Sounds interesting. Well done 👏👏👏 1y
Eggs @Andrew65 thanks 🙏🏻 1y
53 likes2 comments
review
tjwill
post image
Pickpick

This is a memoir written by a modern teenager, Maya, who tries to be popular in the craziest ways. She finds a book from the 1950s, written for teenage girls on how to become popular. She tries girdles, pearls, diets, and joining new activities. Maya writes with a sense of humor about herself, and she gains self-confidence through her experiment. I recommend for middle and high school girls especially.
#Nonfiction #YAWednesday

BookBabe Fun! Thanks for sharing. #Stacked! 6y
TheFunkyBookworm This is a fun one- I read it a few years ago but forgot about it! My girls would love this! 🎉💜 6y
Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick This makes me think about that 90s song Popular by Nada Surf! 6y
66 likes5 stack adds3 comments
review
AngieAvers
Pickpick


I really enjoyed this book. I tend to like memoirs so it isn't surprising. Toss in that fact that it refers to a vintage book written about social advice and I was sold. Maya is a good writer for one so young. I'd love to meet her or then woman whose book affected her so greatly, Betty Cornell. I hope some of our kids will read Maya's book.

blurb
Mindyrecycles
post image

I would never in a million years have picked this up on my own, but it's my book club's selection and darn if it isn't rather charming. #bookclub

65 likes4 stack adds
review
night_shift
post image
Mehso-so

Nothing earth-shattering here.. a quick, fluff read. I can see this though being a good book for middle school age kids trying to figure all this same stuff out. For the life of me, I can't figure why my job banned this book from their fairs. It's 100% wholesome!

#YA #successfulfluffread #fluff

Megabooks I don't remember it that well, but I've read it. 8y
LeahBergen That is some truly bizarre censorship, isn't it? 🤔 8y
night_shift @LeahBergen you're not kidding! I'm baffled! 8y
23 likes1 stack add4 comments
blurb
night_shift
post image

Yeah, this is definitely fluff. I always have this feeling when reading YA.. did I really think like that? Was everybody really that over-dramatic? I'd like to think not, but I dunno. Perhaps I blocked the whole lot of it lol
As a result, I can't really read any YA unless it's got a fantasy element. Being over-dramatic because a demon has possessed your sister seems pretty reasonable, comparably.

emilyhaldi 😂 8y
28 likes1 comment
blurb
night_shift

I don't have a picture of this book because we were going to sell it at work, but it got banned last second and we had to immediately ship it back due to "mature content". So now, of course, I need to find a copy to read at work ??

#banned #nopicture

LeahBergen And now I want to read it, too! 8y
Brenley Wait. What? How did it get banned? 8y
22 likes1 stack add2 comments
review
Ancchy
Pickpick

Highly recommend

quote
Mtlbibliophile

“Betty Cornell says, 'Try telling your parents how much you love them. Let them know you appreciate all they do for you.'"

review
TreyaTheT-Rex
Pickpick

A beautiful true story for any young person struggling socially (all of us). Maya's story will make you laugh and cry and will teach you amazing things

blurb
TreyaTheT-Rex

I just started this book, but can't wait to see what magic is in store. I love the young author already and can only imagine what trials she will face at school! #booktober #setinaschool

1 like1 stack add
quote
bellebookish
post image

"Remember the girl in pearls"

bellebookish Not my best picture but I like what it represents ❤️ 8y
2 likes1 comment
review
Creadnorthey
Pickpick

Cute and fun, sometimes close to heartbreaking but never tears you asunder, leaving you with a cool fresh satisfied feeling like gum before its lost any of its flavor.

1 like1 stack add
quote
Creadnorthey

I‘m the protagonist in my own story, facing every challenge with grace and wit.

review
Emily92Bibliophile
Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 A wonderful memoir! I wish I had this book when I was in middle school

review
Katiedabookworm
Pickpick

This book was amazing, and I don't normally like non-fiction books.

2 likes2 stack adds
review
thepinupchick
post image
Pickpick

While maybe not intended for a 21 year old, this would be great for a preteen to young high school age kid. I know I would have loved it at 14, but it still spoked to me as a young adult. #YA #memoir

1 like2 stack adds
review
Rich63
post image
Pickpick

This book had me laughing out loud during parts. It also had me in absolute tears. One of the most entertaining books I have read in a very long time.

review
FoldedPagesDistillery
post image
Pickpick

Adored this memoir! Maya finds a 50s teen popularity guide and follows its out dated advice to see if it works. This is not only hilarious, but it's brave! Maya's ultimate discovery is a better definition of popularity, which is useful for all ages. I am impressed Maya wrote this at such a young age

9 likes2 stack adds
review
TiaReadsTooMuch
Pickpick

This was a fun and entertaining read full of advice that was sometimes good and sometimes downright silly. Very good book for middle/high school girls.