Cookies and Similar Technologies

We, and providers working on our behalf, use cookies to analyze our websites, provide social sharing features, deliver content, and communicate with you to provide support. We also use cookies to deliver personalized ads and disclose information about your use of our site with our advertising providers for this purpose. View our Privacy Policy to learn more and manage your privacy choices.

Popular

How a Geek in Pearls Discovered the Secret to Confidence

Look inside
New York Times Bestseller

A breakout teen author explores the true meaning of popularity and how to survive middle school in this hysterically funny, touchingly honest contemporary memoir. 

“I was inspired by [Maya's] journey and made a point of saving a copy of ‘Popular’ for my sister, who starts middle school this fall. Maybe if I had read it when I was her age, it could have saved me from a world of hurt, or at least put that world in perspective.” —Maude Apatow, New York Times Book Review

Can curlers, girdles, Vaseline, and a strand of pearls help a shy girl become popular?
Maya Van Wagenen is about to find out. 


Stuck near the bottom of the social ladder at “pretty much the lowest level of people at school who aren’t paid to be here,” Maya has never been popular. But before starting eighth grade, she decides to begin a unique social experiment: spend the school year following a 1950s popularity guide, written by former teen model Betty Cornell.

The real-life results are hilarious, painful, and filled with unexpected surprises. Told with humor and grace, Maya’s journey offers readers of all ages a thoroughly contemporary example of kindness and self-confidence, along with a better understanding of what it means to be popular.

 

© Eli Coker
Maya Van Wagenen lives in Georgia with her partner and their many pets. Her second book and first novel,Chronically Dolores, is inspired by her experiences as a teenager with an incurable bladder condition. Sheis passionate about bringing visibility to youth with chronic illness and validating the questions, fears, andabsurdities that accompany a lifelong diagnosis in childhood. View titles by Maya Van Wagenen
And so, I embark on my grand experiment. Every month of this school year I will follow Betty Cornell’s advice on the topics in her book: dieting, hair, makeup, posture, and attitude, among others – no matter how embarrassing or difficult.

I definitely have my work cut out for me. That is if I’m not already beyond help. I am 5’2” with light brown skin that breaks out in acne on a regular basis. I am gawky, slouchy, and just a little bit lumpy. I have non-existent hips and a chest almost as flat as the cover of Betty Cornell’s book. I wear glasses and braces. I do all my clothes shopping at Walmart and second-hand stores. I spend more time on algebra than I do on my hair.

Maybe things will change. Can popularity advice from more than half a century ago still be relevant? I’ll find out. Crazier things have happened, right? Men have walked on the moon and society has found a way to grow square watermelons.

Betty Cornell has become my new soul mate, and I am married to her every word. For better or worse.
A New York Times bestseller!

Maya Van Wagenen is a Time magazine Top 16 Most Influential Teen of 2013

and a Huffington Post Most Fearless Teen of 2013
 

“I was inspired by her journey and made a point of saving a copy of ‘Popular’ for my sister,

who starts middle school this fall. Maybe if I had read it when I was her age, it could have

saved me from a world of hurt, or at least put that world in perspective.”

—Maude Apatow for the New York Times Book Review
 

Popular taps into a feeling shared by Bradbury and Bieber enthusiasts alike—the need to

fit in during middle school.” —USA Today
 

“Everyone’s happiness project looks different, and I was utterly charmed by Maya Van

Wagenen’s honest, funny, and thought-provoking account of her efforts to become ‘popular.’”

—Gretchen Rubin, #1 bestselling author of The Happiness Project

“Geeky and dorky, but never wimpy, Maya Van Wagenen is as powerful and honest as she

is quirky and funny—and startlingly gifted. She’s the real deal, folks, a teenage John Green

for the next generation. Stunning.” —Margaret Stohl, bestselling co-author of the Beautiful Creatures series
 

“Maya Van Wagenen’s memoir, Popular, would have been wonderful to read as a kid, and

so reassuring to Nerdy Teenage Me. Her year-long experiment in popularity is timeless; the

intelligent and humane way she gets to the heart of the matter is uniquely her.

Funny, determined, and wry, Van Wagenen has written a wise, heartfelt guide for

other kids eager to keep up.” —Rachel Hartman, bestselling author of Seraphina
 

“An interesting and earnest memoir.” —Kirkus Reviews

“While completely appropriate for middle school readers, Popular is even more entertaining

for adults. Van Wagenen is a uniquely gifted talent with a gem of a first novel” —VOYA
 

About

New York Times Bestseller

A breakout teen author explores the true meaning of popularity and how to survive middle school in this hysterically funny, touchingly honest contemporary memoir. 

“I was inspired by [Maya's] journey and made a point of saving a copy of ‘Popular’ for my sister, who starts middle school this fall. Maybe if I had read it when I was her age, it could have saved me from a world of hurt, or at least put that world in perspective.” —Maude Apatow, New York Times Book Review

Can curlers, girdles, Vaseline, and a strand of pearls help a shy girl become popular?
Maya Van Wagenen is about to find out. 


Stuck near the bottom of the social ladder at “pretty much the lowest level of people at school who aren’t paid to be here,” Maya has never been popular. But before starting eighth grade, she decides to begin a unique social experiment: spend the school year following a 1950s popularity guide, written by former teen model Betty Cornell.

The real-life results are hilarious, painful, and filled with unexpected surprises. Told with humor and grace, Maya’s journey offers readers of all ages a thoroughly contemporary example of kindness and self-confidence, along with a better understanding of what it means to be popular.

 

Author

© Eli Coker
Maya Van Wagenen lives in Georgia with her partner and their many pets. Her second book and first novel,Chronically Dolores, is inspired by her experiences as a teenager with an incurable bladder condition. Sheis passionate about bringing visibility to youth with chronic illness and validating the questions, fears, andabsurdities that accompany a lifelong diagnosis in childhood. View titles by Maya Van Wagenen

Excerpt

And so, I embark on my grand experiment. Every month of this school year I will follow Betty Cornell’s advice on the topics in her book: dieting, hair, makeup, posture, and attitude, among others – no matter how embarrassing or difficult.

I definitely have my work cut out for me. That is if I’m not already beyond help. I am 5’2” with light brown skin that breaks out in acne on a regular basis. I am gawky, slouchy, and just a little bit lumpy. I have non-existent hips and a chest almost as flat as the cover of Betty Cornell’s book. I wear glasses and braces. I do all my clothes shopping at Walmart and second-hand stores. I spend more time on algebra than I do on my hair.

Maybe things will change. Can popularity advice from more than half a century ago still be relevant? I’ll find out. Crazier things have happened, right? Men have walked on the moon and society has found a way to grow square watermelons.

Betty Cornell has become my new soul mate, and I am married to her every word. For better or worse.

Praise

A New York Times bestseller!

Maya Van Wagenen is a Time magazine Top 16 Most Influential Teen of 2013

and a Huffington Post Most Fearless Teen of 2013
 

“I was inspired by her journey and made a point of saving a copy of ‘Popular’ for my sister,

who starts middle school this fall. Maybe if I had read it when I was her age, it could have

saved me from a world of hurt, or at least put that world in perspective.”

—Maude Apatow for the New York Times Book Review
 

Popular taps into a feeling shared by Bradbury and Bieber enthusiasts alike—the need to

fit in during middle school.” —USA Today
 

“Everyone’s happiness project looks different, and I was utterly charmed by Maya Van

Wagenen’s honest, funny, and thought-provoking account of her efforts to become ‘popular.’”

—Gretchen Rubin, #1 bestselling author of The Happiness Project

“Geeky and dorky, but never wimpy, Maya Van Wagenen is as powerful and honest as she

is quirky and funny—and startlingly gifted. She’s the real deal, folks, a teenage John Green

for the next generation. Stunning.” —Margaret Stohl, bestselling co-author of the Beautiful Creatures series
 

“Maya Van Wagenen’s memoir, Popular, would have been wonderful to read as a kid, and

so reassuring to Nerdy Teenage Me. Her year-long experiment in popularity is timeless; the

intelligent and humane way she gets to the heart of the matter is uniquely her.

Funny, determined, and wry, Van Wagenen has written a wise, heartfelt guide for

other kids eager to keep up.” —Rachel Hartman, bestselling author of Seraphina
 

“An interesting and earnest memoir.” —Kirkus Reviews

“While completely appropriate for middle school readers, Popular is even more entertaining

for adults. Van Wagenen is a uniquely gifted talent with a gem of a first novel” —VOYA
 

Books for Native American Heritage Month

In celebration of Native American Heritage Month this November, Penguin Random House Education is highlighting books that detail the history of Native Americans, and stories that explore Native American culture and experiences. Browse our collections here: Native American Creators Native American History & Culture

Read more

2024 Middle and High School Collections

The Penguin Random House Education Middle School and High School Digital Collections feature outstanding fiction and nonfiction from the children’s, adult, DK, and Grupo Editorial divisions, as well as publishers distributed by Penguin Random House. Peruse online or download these valuable resources to discover great books in specific topic areas such as: English Language Arts,

Read more

PRH Education High School Collections

All reading communities should contain protected time for the sake of reading. Independent reading practices emphasize the process of making meaning through reading, not an end product. The school culture (teachers, administration, etc.) should affirm this daily practice time as inherently important instructional time for all readers. (NCTE, 2019)   The Penguin Random House High

Read more

PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

Translanguaging is a communicative practice of bilinguals and multilinguals, that is, it is a practice whereby bilinguals and multilinguals use their entire linguistic repertoire to communicate and make meaning (García, 2009; García, Ibarra Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017)   It is through that lens that we have partnered with teacher educators and bilingual education experts, Drs.

Read more