The Popularity Secret

by Cindy Savage

The basic premise of this book is a young teenage girl whose adoptive parents pass away in a bad car accident, left completely alone and with no family she is put up for adoption for the state. Problem is no one wants to adopt teenagers anymore. Janet catches a break when she gets adopted on sight by a family who own a farm. Upon arriving at the farm she sees why. These parent's aren't ordinary, since they both know what it is like to be rejected, they've adopted every child they've encountered with a problem. This makes for a BIG family. As Janet adjusts and tries to resume a normal life, she finds so called friends at her school who basically spend their time tormenting her siblings (unbeknown to them of course). Now she must find a way to remain true to herself, accept her new family, and make some decent friends and it won't be easy.

Genres: Young Adult

112 pages

First published June 1, 1988

Reviews

[Bunny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Four years after I got the answer to a question in the "What's the Name of That Book" group (which was 4 years after I originally asked the question), I finally bought a copy from Thrift Books and read the damn book that has lived in the back of my brain for entirely too long.

It is painfully, painfully, painfully obvious this book was written in the 80's, and not just because of those bitchin' fashions on the cover. The language is uncomfortably outdated, and this is the type of YA I grew up with, hence why I read true crime and horror when I was a preteen/teenager.

But the story itself, despite being painfully rushed and cliche'd (and then everybody clapped!), is still really sweet. The message and morals are still great. And while I forgot so much about the book, being VALIDATED in all the teeny tiny ungooglable details was entirely worth it.


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Four years after I posted a question in the What's The Name of That Book group on GoodReads, someone found the answer.

This book was published in 1988, when I was 6. I didn't read it at 6, but it couldn't have been much longer. Probably 8-10? Details have stuck with me ever since, and it's always driven me INSANE that I couldn't remember the name of the damn book.

I need to buy this to read it again. I NEED THIS STUPID BOOK JUST TO MAKE MY BRAIN HAPPY.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had this book as a kid, and my favorite thing was to try to guess which one of the girls on the cover was the main character. I loved all their clothes and the fact that she was considering dating a dude that skateboarded named "Rad". Obviously the deaf dude that flew airplanes was way cooler, buuuut...idk. All I can really remember about the book is that she is a foster child in a house of kids that are all disabled. She struggles with that because she wants to be cool and date Rad. But ultimately I think she decides hanging out with disabled kids and dating a deaf guy are okay.

[Beck · Rating 2 out of 5]

I remember reading this when I was young and found it again when my mom gave me a box of my old books so I've been re-reading them to see what would be appropriate for my step children now. The overall message of the story is good..but the language used in this book in regards to people with handicaps is terrible.

I suppose it could be used as a talking point and starting a conversation about the kind of things to never say, and how you should treat people regardless of their abilities, but I'm not sure I'll be letting them read it, at least not yet.

[Yukiraking · Rating 4 out of 5]

A favourite from my childhood, and a cast off from an older cousin who bought it in the eighties. I didn't get around to it until the early 2000's, but I loved it so much at that time. It doesn't hold up as well as it could have, but the nostalgia is strong in this one.

[ScarlettMi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't really recall enough about this book to know how to rate it but I remember buying it from one of those Scholastic book fair flyers when I was a kid in elementary school and that I liked it well enough back then. (Although I'm pretty sure I never really loved it or anything.)

Is there anything better than the fashion on display on that cover though? That's some seriously epic 80s style right there.

[Lissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books to read when I was a child.