A few years ago, prior to her entering eighth grade, Maya Van Wagenen’s father unearthed a copy of a 1950’s guide to teenage popularity he’d picked up somewhere and passed it on to her. She thought the book was quaint, but interesting. She discussed it with her mother, who suggested she try applying it during her next year of school. Maya, considering herself on the bottom rung of the popularity scale in her school, decided to give it a try. She was also an aspiring writer, and thought it might be a good resource for writing. Even though much of the advice in Betty Cornell’s guide seemed outdated, she decided to take a section per month and apply it to see if she became popular. The result is her book, “Popular: A Memoir”.
The results were not what she expected. There were ups and downs, failures and successes, but in the end she had to concede that the book had worked. When her family moved to another state after that school year she had to admit she had achieved popularity. But her views of what constituted popularity had changed, and she concluded that while Betty Cornell’s sense of fashion was no longer in vogue, much of her advice was accurate and still very relevant.
Van Wagenen’s memoir covers a fair bit more than just her experience with Betty Cornell’s book, but also paints a portrait of an eighth-grade girl struggling to come into her own in a rather tough school and area. I got this book in the hope that it might offer some insight and advice for my daughter, but decided I should read it first just to make sure I knew what I was getting her in for. My daughter is not obsessed with clothing and appearances, and I’d prefer she stay that way, and yet Betty Cornell’s book seems to devote considerable ink to those topics. I was also a little hesitant after finding Van Wagenen’s frank descriptions of puberty and discussion topics in her health class, but ultimately decided it was probably nothing my daughter hadn’t already heard or would soon hear.
What I did not expect was candid insight into the fourteen-year-old mind. I’ve never been a teenage girl (duh!), so this was a bit of an eye-opener for me. There are a fair number of similarities between Maya and my daughter.
Ultimately I green-lighted the book for my daughter. The fact that her dad was reading this caught her attention, and she was already asking to read it before I got very far into it. Just how much she’ll pick up and take to heart remains to be seen. I think Van Wagenen was more obsessed with popularity than my daughter is. She seems largely content with her level of social interaction/status, but I do hope she’ll pick up some of Van Wagenen’s example of reaching out to those who are left out, as well as her willingness to talk to kids of all perceived social levels.
I found this to be an interesting and potentially helpful book. Ms. Van Wagenen is a good writer; he prose is clear and descriptive, and she has a clear voice that fits who she appears to be. I think she has great potential as a writer. I’ll have to check back in a few years and see if she’s written any more.