Friday, September 2, 2011

THE POPULARITY PAPERS by Amy Ignatow


Okay, so technically, the blog series I hosted with Jon is over. But I read Amy Ignatow's Popularity Papers based on a recommendation by Kate Messner. And guess what? I found gay parents in a middle grade book. Not an issues book. But a regular old graphic-type novel. Just there. Adding to the fabric of the story. Adding to one of the character's, well, character.

From Goodreads:

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.


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You might notice, gay parents aren't even mentioned in the blurb. Huh. Isn't that awesome? It's a great book--my eight-year-old is reading it as I type this. True, real life characters, awesome art and graphically cool, and a very fast read. There are also two sequels which I haven't yet read.


You can read more about Amy Ignatow at www.amyignatow.com.

4 comments:

Laura Pauling said...

that's the best way - when it's not an issues book but just part of the fabric of life.

Jonathon Arntson said...

Thank you for doing this book, Chris. I tried to get it as an ebook, but it's not available and my library seemed confused by the fact that it's part of a series.

I love the blurb and your followup makes me like the idea of this book even more. Thanks to Kate for recommending this!

Ansha Kotyk said...

Adding this one to my tbr list. Wondering how it will look on my nook. :)

Elana Johnson said...

Adding it to my list!