My Awesome/Awful Popularity Plan

October 31, 2011
Justin, the 15-year-old narrator of actor/writer Rudetsky’s (Broadway Nights) droll YA debut, wants more than anything to be popular and to land the attention of Chuck, the handsome school quarterback. His obstacles include his looks (he’s overweight), Chuck’s heterosexuality, and constant bullying by some of his classmates. When Justin learns that Chuck and his girlfriend, Becky, need to hide their relationship from Becky’s father, he sees an opportunity—pretending to date Becky and covering for the lovebirds—while also getting to spend more time with Chuck. Justin’s plan is met with skepticism by his best friend, Spencer, whose attempts to help Justin overcome his shallowness generally fail. Rudetsky avoids lettings things spiral so far out of control that they turn into slapstick, but he throws in enough misunderstandings to keep the humor and drama flowing. The bullying subplot wraps up too neatly and with too few consequences, and Justin’s real 11th-hour romance is also too easy, but Justin’s acerbic narration compensates, making this an energetic twist on the typical high school romance and hijinks novel. Ages 12–up.

December 1, 2011
Chubby, Broadway-obsessed gay goofball Justin Goldblatt pines after swoony, blond, blue-eyed Chuck, the douchebag quarterback of the football team who's dating the school's hottest girl, Becky. Opportunity rears its persuasive head when he learns that Becky's dad despises Chuck, and the only option for the two of them to see each other is for Justin to pretend he's Becky's new boyfriend. Of course, not all goes as planned, and their carefully laid plans fall apart: Becky crushes on Justin, and Justin loses his best friend in the shuffle. Rudetsky's first teen novel is full-on fluff. Readers will definitely identify with Justin's pursuit of his crush, but too often his character's flakey-ness and silly disposition causes him to make stupid, thoughtless decisions that could cause him to lose both his readers' respect and their interest. Stock characters, predictable plot devices and unmemorable dialogue abound. Broadway themes run amok, and theatrically inclined readers can expect plenty of references to Wicked, Phantom, Cats and more. The novel's conclusion itself unfolds like a jukebox musical--predictably canned, with lots of high drama, public unmaskings and a showstopping musical number that will leave readers wondering why they had to read so long to get where they knew there were going in the first place. Not much style, not much substance, but suitable for younger readers. (Romance. 12 & up)

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January 1, 2012

Gr 7 Up-Sophomore Justin Goldblatt has simple goals for this school year: get a boyfriend, have his first kiss, and, most importantly, become popular. But these are lofty ambitions considering that the object of his affection is the handsome school quarterback who is dating the quintessential beautiful and nice girl. And then there's the fact that Justin is less popular than the weird kid who started high school at age nine. Is Justin's plan awesome or awful-or maybe a bit of both? In his young adult debut, Rudetsky has crafted a laugh-out-loud story about the ups and downs of high school. Justin is a delightfully normal kid in search of his perfect first kiss. Though the characters might be blends of the usual stereotypes (handsome jock; homophobic bully; clueless, but well-meaning parents), the novel's upbeat and sassy tone serves readers the typical teen romance from a gay perspective.-Elaine Baran Black, Georgia Public Library Service, Atlanta

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2012
Grades 7-10 Justin has a plan: begin dating someone, enjoy his first kiss, and achieve popularity, including a seat at the Cool U lunch table. His crush is Chuck, ex-boyfriend of Becky, who has been forbidden by her father to date the football star (though they are still an item in secret). So Justin agrees to fake being Becky's new beau in order to be close to Chuck, in spite of his best friend Spencer's advice and in complete denial of Chuck's obvious heterosexuality. Dating Becky gains Justin popularity, but is the facade worth the cost? Rudetsky has created a funny, insecure, and in some ways stereotypical gay young man, out of the closet but still not sure of who he is and what he wants. Readers will figure out the plan's end long before Justin, but that won't remove the appeal for those readers who identify with him.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)