Deep Down Popular by Phoebe Stone

6th-grader Jessie Lou is deeply, madly, passionately in love with Conrad Parker Smith. Too bad she's a tomboy with only one on-again, off-again friend, and hair so short you can't spit on it. Too bad he's the most popular boy in their small-town school.


But then Conrad hurts his leg and suddenly can't keep up with his old pursuits anymore. Jessie Lou and Conrad start spending a lot more time together, but she can't help wonder -- is she just a substitute friend? And will Conrad forget her when his leg brace comes off and he's king of the school once again?


My Thoughts/ Review:

Jessie Lou had a voice all her own. She was spunky, and she wasn't afraid to say exactly what was on her mind. Conrad and Quentin were great as her best friends, and their story was really cute. This book kind of mixed up generations though, because ain't nobody ever said to me that I should wear panty hose cause I skinned my knees to much when I was younger. Oh, and Jessie Lou and her sister Melinda had an off-campus lunch without permission. They just left campus, ate lunch, then went back to school. That would never work. Back to Jessie Lou. She had a way of talking that just kind of flowed, like the river down a hill, as she would  say. It was kind of metaphorical, the way she talked, and it was really interesting. But the story itself, it's about change. And I think the author communicated change pretty dang well.

                                       ♠♠♠
If only I could think of a few words. Finally I come up with, "Oh, there it is." And those words just kind of fall through the hot, soft, full air. They seem to collapse onto the ground at my feet all broken and twisted. Conrad doesn't say anything, and I kick those words aside, my face full of sun, just burning up.