Populazzi by Elise Allen

What would you do to be the most popular girl in school?

When Cara moves to a new school, her friend Claudia encourages her to use the Ladder. The Ladder is a way for Cara to reinvent herself. She was reallllyyy unpopular at her old school, but Claudia convinces her that there are simple steps so that she can be part of the Populazzi, and eventually Supreme Populazzi. There's four steps. First, she must date someone on a low tier to make herself seem wanted. Then she will dump him for a DangerZone on a higher tier. Next, she will date someone within the Populazzi. And eventually, she will become Supreme Populazzi.

Well, let's get the bad things out of the way first. It was predictable, and cliche. But then again, what would you expect from a book titled "Populazzi" haha. And a bit unrealistic, because I don't believe that high school works in the same way as the book described. In Populazzi, there is an elite group of students who are far more popular than anyone else. I don't think there's anyone in my grade like that. There are different groups of popular people, but they're all popular in a different way. They somewhat overlap, but I wouldn't say that there is a single clique of people who are ultimately more popular than everyone else. Nor, is there a Supreme Populazzi. Something that bothered me was how the author kept having her characters say, "I'll email you". Because honestly, having it be 2011, who emails their friends anymore? It's all about texting and Facebook. Just saying. Also, the cover. It's not the most beautiful cover in my opinion. The shirt she's wearing is not a very pretty shirt, her necklace is very cheesy, and the half-cut off face just isn't doing it for me. Lol, but anyway, those were minor things, and on to the good things!!

I LOVED Populazzi. From the first chapter, I was addicted. The writing was hilarious, and I really felt like I understood Cara's awkwardness and feelings. The characters are fantastic and well developed. Being a teenager, it's easy to relate to and recognize the situations I've been in. I found myself laughing at the ridiculous things Cara said, and then wishing she could take back. I loved the chapter about Cara going to Hot Topic and buying everything, because Hot Topic is my favorite store ever! I want to work there next year haha. I enjoyed the emo-transformation and appreciated how the author wrote about it. I liked how the author worked Cara's family problems into the plot line. Her step-dad seriously irked me. He needs a serious reality check! I liked the message this book was giving, and how it ended.

There are obviously a few things that you're like "Come on, that doesn't happen" , but I really loved this book. It was entertaining, I liked the characters, and the plot line was fast and engaging. I would definitely recommend Populazzi, because I'll probably be reading it again next year! I adored it and how it describes the adventures of high school. 5 out of 5 stars !!