Thanks for all the great responses. I showed the Scholastic book fair
video this morning, and Lisi Harrison is one of the featured writers.
She talked about how you don't want to be in the clique. Very timely!
Titles
The Misfits-Howe
The Girls-Koss
Stargirl-Spinelli
Yankee Girl
Gospel According to Larry
Because of Anya
The View from Saturday, maybe?
Try Amy Goldman Koss' The Girls and her new one Poison Ivy.
Walking Naked by Alyssa Brugman might work
After being in detention with a girl called "The Freak," Megan finds
herself torn between the developing friendship the two share and her
involvement with a popular clique.
Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip,
Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence (Paperback)
by Rosalind Wiseman
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books&field-a
uthor-exact=Rosalind%20Wiseman&rank=-relevance%2C%2Bavailability%2C-date
rank/104-5228903-1796705>
And the movie that is based on the book which is quite amusing, Mean
Girls.
Rhymes with Witches by Lauren Myracle directly deals with this topic.
It's a pretty dark book and riddled with unrealistic fantasy ideas, but
the point gets across. Also, it may be more suitable for the high
school age, but it's worth mentioning for a general compilation.
Flake Skin I'm in that kid tried popularity...
This suggestion is a little, um, traditional, but given that the girl is
in 7th grade, I might suggest EMILY OF NEW MOON by L.M. Montgomery.
What is great about this particular book is that Emily is NEVER part of
the popular clique (unlike the more family Montgomery heroine ANNE OF
GREEN GABLES), and is often persecuted by them mercilesslly. But she
forms friendships with three other unusual students and moves through
life in a strong, effective way (plus there are sequels!) So while it's
not contemporary, it's still current.
For an older reader (since we all love lists) I would suggest SHATTERING
GLASS by Gail Giles and BREAKING POINT by Alix Flinn, which both show
the darker side of popularity at all costs.
True Meaning of Cleavage
Feed-Anderson
Walking Naked
Girls for Breakfast
The Ashwater Experiment
or most anything else by Amy Goldman Koss
Lists of movies that deal with popularity:
Never Been Kissed with Drew Barrymoore
She's All That with Freddie Prinze Jr.
10 Things I Hate About You with Julia Stiles
Kathleen Gilles Seidel has a novel on that topic. I am not sure if it
has been published yet. (She is the only romance author that I read
these days...I read almost nothing but mysteries... and this book is
supposed to be a departure from her usual style, but sounds like it
might be what the parent might want to read.) Put her name into amazon
and the title should come up.
Deb Hendrickson
Mom: Reviving Ophelia:saving the selves of adolescent girls by Mary
Pipher.
Daughter: Honey, Baby, Sweeteart by Deb Coletti.
Odd Girl Out is a good non-fiction title or The Wish by Gail Carson
Levine for fiction
I would recommend Con-fidence by Todd Strasser.
How about Richard Peck's Princess Ashley?
How about Life in the Fat Lane by Cherie Bennett. Here's the summary
from our catalog: Sixteen-year-old Lara, winner of beauty pageants and
Homecoming Queen, is distressed and bewildered when she starts gaining
weight and becomes overweight.
She loses her popular clique because her looks no longer fit in.
Katie Kaminski
Teacher Librarian
Erie Middle School
303 828 3391 x4513
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