How Not To Be Noticed: My High School Anti-Plan for Success

by Jill Marie Richardson

She knows exactly what she wants out of high school . . . nothing.

Madeline (that’s line as in fine, not as in sin) is starting high school with a plan. Not to be noticed. Or maybe that’s more of an anti-plan?

And she would succeed, except for two things. One, her best friend Erin believes it her sacred duty to drag Madeline toward the spotlight she herself can’t resist. Two, her mother’s insistence that she do something to prove she’s a decent human being leads to a mounting comprehension that her new friends are hiding a secret that could force her to take a very public stand.

Just to complicate her life, Madeline’s parents keep trying to adopt a little sister for her—and keep failing.

Is all this emotional attachment stuff really worth the risk? How far does loving your neighbor go? And can Madeline navigate the choppy waters of high school when she's forced to choose between her comfort zone and her conscience?

How Not To Be Noticed is a quirky middle grade contemporary standalone perfect for fans of Heather Hepler, Alison Gervais, and Melody Carlson. If you love empowering heroines, sarcastic humor, and strong female friendships, you'll love hanging out with Madeline.

190 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 2020

About the author

Jill is the pastor of Real Hope Community Church near Chicago. She is the author of six books and a national speaker. She has just completed her doctorate in Church Leadership in a Changing Context. Her tagline is Reframed: Picturing Faith what the Next Generation.

Jill enjoys speaking engagements on various topics, as seen on her website. She loves speaking on topics of working with the next generation, empowering women, church leadership, and writing. She loves to work with kids on writing skills and speak for events, retreats, seminars, and online events.

She has served on the boards of her local community theater and library and as a coach for the junior high Battle of the Books Team.

With three daughters, three cats, and only one husband, she keeps busy otherwise with theater, gardening, reading, scrapbooking, and traveling. Jill loves oceans, cats, chocolate, teenagers, her family, the Cubs, and God, not necessarily in that order.

Reviews

[Pattie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Madeline is a delightful narrator, and in spite of her anti-social leanings at the beginning of the book, she grows and changes in unexpected and delightful ways. I loved the link of each month's art project, and her sarcastic narrative voice is spot-on for teens. I have taught ninth graders for the past four years, and I can think of several students who would love this novel. Highly recommend.

[R.G. Ziemer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this YA novel of high school trials and tribulations. Middle School, Jr. High and High School readers will appreciate the high-jinks, young romance, and social dystopia of teen-age life in a suburban/small town high school. One might add "lily-white" to the description, as it's a town struggling to find its morality in changing times. If being a teenager isn't bad enough, the characters deal with issues of foreign adoption, illegal immigration, crime and prejudice, among others. Readers will enjoy the humor and pathos of freshman Madeline's narration. The Girl Who Tries Not to be Noticed finds herself more than once at the center of the storm.

[Megan Byrd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Madeline is starting her freshman year of high school and is determined to loose the less-than-flattering nicknames from middle school by staying under the radar. When a new girl joins her class, she feels a determination to stick up for her when others are unkind. The relationship helps her to realize that some things are worth speaking up about and being willing to make waves. A thoroughly enjoyable story about truly loving your neighbor and doing what is necessary to stand up for those you care about.