The Popularity Papers by Amy Ignatow

The Popularity Papers by Amy Ignatow; read in March, 2010.  ARC provided at ALA Midwinter by Amulet Books.

Another fast five:

1. I LOVED the format of this book.  It reminded me of the notebooks I had in junior high and high school with my best friends.  Instead of writing notes on loose pieces of paper, we would trade a spiral notebook back and forth.  This book goes a step beyond that, though, with the illustrations.  It is fun to get this glimpse into the friendship between these two girls.
2. Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang are adorable.
3. I love that Julie has two dads and it is completely normal.
4. I think a lot of girls in the late elementary/early middle school range will relate to Lydia and Julie’s quest to figure out how to be popular.  I remember one of my childhood friends starting junior high determined to become popular.
5. The ending is adorable: the girls make up and list what they learned.  The list could be very after-school-special, but it is not.  They list lessons we all learn, and reminders never grow old.  Lydia’s older sister, Melody, has the best line at the end, “Your friends should be the coolest people you know.”  No doubt, Melody.

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