Book Review: Uncool, a Girl’s Guide to Misfitting In by Erin Elisabeth Conley

The Unrules:

• Be kind to your fellow misfits.
• Believe that black is a color suitable for any occasion, worthy of even being added to the rainbow.
• Think.  Be.  Think and be different.
• Throw caution to the wind.  Take chances with fashion, hobbies, hopes, and dreams.
• Be OK with wearing things that your mother, grandmother, or nosy old neighbor thinks are ugly.
• Don’t be afraid to look weird.
• Write a blog.  Make a documentary film.  Publish a zine.  Learn the accordion.  Build a radio-controlled blimp.
• Express your individuality in a healthy, creative way.
• Let your inner geek speak- whether it’s through music, art, science, origami, circus school, or whatever.
• Do something slightly risky (but never dangerous) every once in a while.  Take up the sport of spelunking (cave exploring), or invite your gym teacher to join you for lunch.
• Have patience with people who are different from you.  (You know, the ones who are so “normal” they’re practically clones.)
• Find something to believe in, a worthy cause of sorts.  Volunteer and invest some genuine spirit into it.
• Feel free to pop over to the Dark Side, but don’t move there.
• Orbit Planet Normal in your mother ship, but don’t inhabit it.
• Don’t change just because someone else thinks you should.
• Know that even though you may misfit, there is always someplace you are welcome in the world.

Uncool, a 2009 YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, is a fun and active read for teen girls who are always faced with the pressure of fitting in and bending to the whims of everyone’s opinions, whether it’s the media or family and friends.  When you know that you are not stepping to the same tune as everyone else, life is always difficult, and the humor that runs rampant throughout the book helps give girls already anxious about issues like appearance, clothing, cliques, and being themselves a lift and an easy way to navigate through some of the tougher waters.

Filed under: Adolescent Development, Book Reviews, Girl Power, Teen Issues, Teen Nonfiction, Uncool, Zest Books