In honor of back-to-school, we’re devoting this issue to the ultimate “SCHOOL RULES!” novel, Populazzi which came out in paperback this month! Having been touted by Publisher’s Weekly as a Macbeth–meets–Mean Girls tale,” Populazzi is a favorite among popular actresses—from Hilary Duff to Disney stars of “Shake it Up” Zendaya Coleman and Bella Thorne. Here’s what Hilary Duff had to say about it:“Fresh, funny, and sometimes wrenching, Populazzi nails what it’s like to try to find yourself while navigating the crazy world of high school. I loved it.”

About Populazzi

What would you do if you had the chance to erase your past and reinvent yourself as the person you’ve always wanted to be? Would you grab it? Would you stick with it, no matter what the consequences? Cara Leonard always wished she could be one of those girls: confident, self-possessed, and never at a loss for the perfect thing to say. One of the Populazzi. It always seemed impossible… but now could be her chance.

About Elise Allen

Populazzi is Elise Allen’s first solo novel but she previously co-wrote the bestselling novel ELIXIR with author and actress Hilary Duff and is at work on the next book in the series with Hilary. She’s written for several television shows from the Cosby to Muppets to Dinosaur Train, which recently garnered her two Daytime Emmy Awards. Elise has a sick penchant for running marathons, and can’t seem to stop even though fifteen really should be enough already. She lives in L.A. with her husband, daughter  and insatiable food-hound of a dog, Riley.

What’s on my iPod: “Backfire” by Mute Math

What I’m reading: Perfect Bait by Michael Fowlkes

The last person I followed on Twitter: @stephenfry

1. Headline: French fries dipped in a chocolate shake, anyone?

In a recent guest (character) post the book’s protagonist Clara Leonard sat down with The Electrical Book Cafe
for an interview about food and had this to say. “Hey!  Cara Leonard here, and ever since Populazzi came out, I’ve been getting a lot of questions about my eating habits.  Usually they go something like, “You don’t seriously eat all that weird stuff, do you?”  And they’re usually accompanied by a curled-lip grimace that makes me feel like I have something gross hanging off my face. But the thing is, I do eat all that weird stuff.  And it’s really good.  So since Debo was nice enough to invite me here, I thought I’d take the opportunity to present a full day’s meals worth of my favorite delicacies.  Chefs of the world, be on alert: if you’re searching for innovative new ideas, look no further.  Read, implement… and make sure you give me a shout-out when you get your James Beard award.”

2. ‘It’s the 80’s, bigger isn’t always better when it comes to hair, just saying.’

In a recent interview with I Just Want To Sit Here And Read! Elise sits down to a Q&A and answers questions about her life in relation to her book Populazzi, The YA genre as a whole, and what she’s reading currently. Oh yeah, almost forgot, she describes her book Twitter style, “Wallflower Cara transforms her way up Popularity Tower! Cue hot guys, wild admiration… & hideous disaster. Her only hope? Sheer audacity… & a guy who talks like Yoda.”

 

3. The 5 W’s of Elise Allen.

In an interview with A Novel Review Elise Allen describes herself as, “I’m a roiling mass of ecstatic passions, neurotic quirks, and manic energy.  At the risk of angering Queen Kinehora, I will honestly say I’m deliriously happy with my life… and yet if my high school self could see me, she’d be slack-jawed in stunned disbelief.” And that’s just the WHO of the five W’s…

 

4. Note to Teen Self: ‘Bubbeleh, you’ve got to stop stressing about what other people think’

Elise Allen was asked recently by Reading the Best of the Best what she would tell her teen self, “Ahhh, Teen Elise. There’s so much she needs to learn. For starters, there’s the hair. The blown-out curls in a foot-high corona all around her head. And then there’s the electric blue eyeliner. And the stretch pants. And the shoulder pads. I’m really not sure the 80’s is even enough of an excuse for the walking fashion faux pas that was Teen Elise.

5. Adoration for Populazzi

Reading, Writing and Waiting gave Populazzi high praise saying, “I adored this novel. Cara was so fun to read about. She takes some major risks and at times I found myself biting my nails to see what she was going to do next. Cara and her best friend at times seem like they are only interested in climbing the social ladder and don’t care who they hurt, but I was able to look past that because I was into the story. All and all, I really liked it. I recommend this to any YA contemporary fan who likes plots centered around high school popularity and smexy time with guys.”