***It's all about the Attitude***
Parker Bell knows the secret to beauty is pretty simple–wearing the right clothes isn't as important as how you feel in them. Popularity is like that too. It's all about attitude. You have to picture who you want to be and then just imagine that's who you already are.
This year Parker and her three best friends have made their way to the top of the populadder at Wallingford Academy. And they're ready to use their Aristobrat status to help spread positive vibes throughout the school. But when the girls are assigned to produce the seriously lame school webcast, their popularity plummets! Will this tragedy destroy the girls' status? Or their friendship? Or both?
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### From School Library Journal
Gr 5-7–Parker Bell has everything going for her as she begins eighth grade at the Wallingford Academy: a great tan, an impeccable Facebook page, designer clothing, perfect make-up, and the attention of an equally stunning boy. She and her three friends have earned their position at the top of the populadder with their long list of rules set to ensure perfection and admiration. Their status is jeopardized when the headmistress assigns Parker and her friends the task of producing the school's conservative webcasts, a job normally done by a group of nobodies. Spending hours in the basement production studio seriously cuts down on the four friends' glamorous life. Frustrated, they decide to produce an unusual webcast and must deal with the consequences. Despite the concluding positive message, which is not to care so much about status or what others think of you, the book may leave readers feeling disappointed. They get little opportunity to see the protagonists change for the better, giving the story an ultimately shallow resonance.–Mindy Whipple, West Jordan Library, UT. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
### From Booklist
Parker, Ikea, Plum, and Kiki are second-generation students at prestigious Wallingford Academy. Their classmates call them Aristobrats, but they prefer to think of themselves as Lylas (Love you like a sister). Now eighth-graders who rule the school, they plan to use the principles of noblesse oblige to benefit the “Underpopular”: they will be nice, not nasty. With their Facebook updates as carefully tailored as their wardrobes, all goes according to plan until the girls are assigned the job of producing the school’s webcast, a show with “no understanding of image.” Once the four girls get past their considerable self-absorption, this novel develops into an enjoyable story with an ending that will satisfy even if it doesn’t surprise. The affection between the four girls is genuine, and it is refreshing to see an academy book in which the reigning clique is likable. By dropping brand names on every page and incorporating a liberal use of trendy language, this may date quickly. Meanwhile, though, it will appeal directly to its intended audience of middle-school girls. Grades 5-8. --Kara Dean
Description:
***It's all about the Attitude*** Parker Bell knows the secret to beauty is pretty simple–wearing the right clothes isn't as important as how you feel in them. Popularity is like that too. It's all about attitude. You have to picture who you want to be and then just imagine that's who you already are. This year Parker and her three best friends have made their way to the top of the populadder at Wallingford Academy. And they're ready to use their Aristobrat status to help spread positive vibes throughout the school. But when the girls are assigned to produce the seriously lame school webcast, their popularity plummets! Will this tragedy destroy the girls' status? Or their friendship? Or both? ** ### From School Library Journal Gr 5-7–Parker Bell has everything going for her as she begins eighth grade at the Wallingford Academy: a great tan, an impeccable Facebook page, designer clothing, perfect make-up, and the attention of an equally stunning boy. She and her three friends have earned their position at the top of the populadder with their long list of rules set to ensure perfection and admiration. Their status is jeopardized when the headmistress assigns Parker and her friends the task of producing the school's conservative webcasts, a job normally done by a group of nobodies. Spending hours in the basement production studio seriously cuts down on the four friends' glamorous life. Frustrated, they decide to produce an unusual webcast and must deal with the consequences. Despite the concluding positive message, which is not to care so much about status or what others think of you, the book may leave readers feeling disappointed. They get little opportunity to see the protagonists change for the better, giving the story an ultimately shallow resonance.–Mindy Whipple, West Jordan Library, UT. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. ### From Booklist Parker, Ikea, Plum, and Kiki are second-generation students at prestigious Wallingford Academy. Their classmates call them Aristobrats, but they prefer to think of themselves as Lylas (Love you like a sister). Now eighth-graders who rule the school, they plan to use the principles of noblesse oblige to benefit the “Underpopular”: they will be nice, not nasty. With their Facebook updates as carefully tailored as their wardrobes, all goes according to plan until the girls are assigned the job of producing the school’s webcast, a show with “no understanding of image.” Once the four girls get past their considerable self-absorption, this novel develops into an enjoyable story with an ending that will satisfy even if it doesn’t surprise. The affection between the four girls is genuine, and it is refreshing to see an academy book in which the reigning clique is likable. By dropping brand names on every page and incorporating a liberal use of trendy language, this may date quickly. Meanwhile, though, it will appeal directly to its intended audience of middle-school girls. Grades 5-8. --Kara Dean