The Popularity Papers: Research for the Social Improvement and General Betterment of Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang by Amy Ignatow

Happy New Year, TBF readers!

I hope you had a great and safe holiday. After the snow storm we had, I was trapped inside my house. I decided to sit down and read The Popularity Papers: Reasearch for the Social Improvement and General Betterment of Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang. Whew! The series, The Popular Papers written by TBF author, Amy Ignatow, is mainly targeted at middle school girls but anyone can read them! This series is similiar to Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, only it's a girly version of it. Take a look:

Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang are best friends with one goal: to crack the code of popularity. Lydia’s the bold one: aspiring theater star, stick-fighting enthusiast, human guinea pig. Julie’s the shy one: observer and artist, accidental field hockey star, faithful recorder. In this notebook they write down their observations and carry out experiments to try to determine what makes the popular girls tick. But somehow, when Lydia and Julie try to imitate the popular girls, their efforts don’t translate into instant popularity. Lydia ends up with a bald spot, their parents won’t stop yelling, and Julie finds herself the number-one crush of Roland Asbjørnsen. Worse, they seem to be drifting farther and farther from their goal—and each other.

Amy Ignatow’s hilarious debut novel introduces the intrepid fifth-graders Julie and Lydia, whose quest to understand popularity may not succeed in the ways they want, but will succeed in keeping readers in stitches.

I loved the things Lydia and Julie dealt with like being popular were things I onced cared about. When I went to middle school, I wanted to be popular and hang out with the popular crowd. I always wondered what it took to be popular. In my perspective, one way was to gossip, make fun of other people and wear a lot of makeup to look pretty. Eventually, I learned that I didn't need to dye my hair or wear exspensive clothing to be popular. It even didn't even mattered if I was popular or not. Yes, I admit it was hard not to feel a little bit jealous when it looked like the popular girls had more fun. But I didn't want to hide behind a mask and pretend to be someone I'm not. I learned that excelling in school, making new friends and being kind to everyone was the only thing that mattered. Sadly, I learned all of this after I left middle school. So learn from my mistakes and be true to yourself.

Miranda

Find all of Amy's books in the Monroe County Library System here.