![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The comments students make on her retro-inspired hair and outfit experiments might be read as mean-spirited, but her delivery is matter-of-fact, as if she herself is determined to treat their responses as data in an ongoing experiment with an uncertain outcome. The results of her makeover, adorned with photos and related in a style replete with dry humor and deadpan observations, are a complete hoot. Focusing on one or two topics per month, and ignoring the open-mouthed exasperation of her best friend, Maya changed her diet, grooming, and posture, donned a girdle and pearls, forsook dungarees for smart cardigans, and went out of her way to overcome her shyness in response to Cornell’s crisp admonitions. ![]() What can you do when you’re a social outcast in eighth grade, with glasses, braces, and blotchy skin? Real-life teen Maya Van Wagenen gives her answer in this autobiographical title of an experimental year: reinvent yourself according to Betty Cornell’s Teenage Popularity Guide, originally published by a teen model in 1951 and picked up by your geeky dad in a used bookstore. ![]()
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