Maya Van Wagenen

So, I was billed that a "teenager" found an old "How to Be Popular" book and decided to implement it for a year and see what happens. I think only middle schoolers consider 13 year olds to be teenagers. I think this book would have felt quite different if written even by a 14 year old, but the maturity gap between middle school and high school looms large, and I found this too juvenile to appeal to an adult audience. In addition, I found myself really judging the amount of makeup, attempted dating and dieting that occurred. To be fair, I judge the relationship of adult women and makeup, dieting and weird interactions with men, but I simply don't think middle school is the right age for these things.

I also felt really disheartened by the throw-away comment at the end that in her pursuit of popularity, Maya found herself distanced from her actual close friends. She seems overjoyed that she now has lots of friendly acquaintances, but I felt really sad for her. As someone who's been on both sides: a few really close friends, and a lot of friendly acquaintances (the key to being popular in my current life is having an adorable small child, and I succeeded!), it's the few close friends that are worth the long time investment.

So, juvenile book or old-fashioned fuddy-duddy reader? You decide.… (more)