LitPick Review
"The Popularity Papers" by Amy Ignatow is a girly book written in the form of a pseudo slam book (as the colloquialism goes). Full of print and cursive writing alongside hand drawings, the two main characters fill pages of the book trying to decode popularity. These are the two authors of the book, although they are fictitious entities made up by Amy Ignatow. The two girls share their feelings, describe classmates, recount school events, and go back and forth as they discuss what makes other students popular (which they try to emulate).
Opinion:
The structure of this book is fun and will make reading enjoyable for young girls that are a bit put off by large blocks of text in regular chapter books. The book describes crushes but is in no way graphic. It is mentioned how some kids have gone through divorce, the loss of a parent, and the betrayal of a friend. Most shocking of all is that Ignatow chooses to have one of her "authors" have two fathers (homosexual, of course). The book does not promote this lifestyle, but it does put it in a positive light. Overall, this book is entertaining and will make young girls keep turning the pages, giggling along the way.
