What do you think?
Rate this book
Class Favorite
It all started three days after I officially became a woman -- the message of mass destruction arrived. It was February 14, to be exact. Happy Valentine's Day.
Sara Thurman has never considered herself part of the popular crowd - she's got her best friend Arlene and that seems like enough. But when Sara's mom sends a special Valentine's Day delivery to her class, all of a sudden Sara is very famous - only for a horribly embarrassing reason! It seems everyone at Bowie Junior High knows something about Sara that she'd rather keep to herself and the harder Sara tries to blend in the more she ends up sticking out.
Not only that, but it suddenly seems that Arlene doesn't have time for her anymore, and she has an unbearable crush on Jason who doesn't have any idea who she is (until now, that is). Worst of all, nothing's felt the same since Sara's dad left home. It all has Sara wondering if things will ever return to normal -- especially if she can't even remember what normal feels like. Sara can't figure out why it seems that everyone else has it easier than she does - would things be better if she were popular? Sara decides that if she can't beat 'em then she'll join 'em -- and she hatches a top secret mission to become....Class Favorite.
Sara Thurman has never considered herself part of the popular crowd - she's got her best friend Arlene and that seems like enough. But when Sara's mom sends a special Valentine's Day delivery to her class, all of a sudden Sara is very famous - only for a horribly embarrassing reason! It seems everyone at Bowie Junior High knows something about Sara that she'd rather keep to herself and the harder Sara tries to blend in the more she ends up sticking out.
Not only that, but it suddenly seems that Arlene doesn't have time for her anymore, and she has an unbearable crush on Jason who doesn't have any idea who she is (until now, that is). Worst of all, nothing's felt the same since Sara's dad left home. It all has Sara wondering if things will ever return to normal -- especially if she can't even remember what normal feels like. Sara can't figure out why it seems that everyone else has it easier than she does - would things be better if she were popular? Sara decides that if she can't beat 'em then she'll join 'em -- and she hatches a top secret mission to become....Class Favorite.
- GenresMiddle Grade
304 pages, Paperback
First published November 6, 2007
6 people are currently reading
167 people want to read
About the author
Taylor Morris
24 books48 followersI write books and stuff for teens and tweens.
Author for celebrity chef and Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis' series, RECIPE FOR ADVENTURE, about how food can take you places, published by Penguin's Grosset & Dunlap. The books are, "Naples!" "Paris!" "Hong Kong!" and "New Orleans!"
HELLO, GORGEOUS! is a series about a well-intentioned blabbermouth who works at her mom's hair salon. The books are "Blowout," "Foiled," "Tangled," "Swept Up," and "'Do and Don'ts." Published by Penguin's Grosset & Dunlap.
I also wrote "BFF Breakup," "Class Favorite" and "Total Knockout: Tale of an Ex-Class President" for Simon & Schuster's Aladdin/MIX line.
I'm a full-time writer and freelance editor.
Author for celebrity chef and Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis' series, RECIPE FOR ADVENTURE, about how food can take you places, published by Penguin's Grosset & Dunlap. The books are, "Naples!" "Paris!" "Hong Kong!" and "New Orleans!"
HELLO, GORGEOUS! is a series about a well-intentioned blabbermouth who works at her mom's hair salon. The books are "Blowout," "Foiled," "Tangled," "Swept Up," and "'Do and Don'ts." Published by Penguin's Grosset & Dunlap.
I also wrote "BFF Breakup," "Class Favorite" and "Total Knockout: Tale of an Ex-Class President" for Simon & Schuster's Aladdin/MIX line.
I'm a full-time writer and freelance editor.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
April 30, 2008
All that Sara Thurman wants is to be popular. Unfortunately for her, disaster after disaster (or as disastrous as middle school can get) comes her way. Sara keeps on getting publicly humiliated, which doesn’t help her goal at all, or so she thinks.
It all starts when she “becomes a woman.” Sara’s mom finds this out and sends Sara flowers. Unfortunately, the flowers reach the wrong destination, Sara’s middle school to be exact, and everyone finds out about Sara’s secret. Sara puts all the blame on her best friend Arlene because Arlene was the only person she told the secret to. Soon, another friendship develops with the new girl Kirstie, who helps Sara create a list of everything that will help Sara become popular.
When I first read the cover of this book, I thought oh no, not another one of these. But I was glad when it turned out that the main character was not one of those popular girls with all their problems, but someone from the opposite end of the spectrum, the girl with few friends who wishes she was more popular. I also did not expect the ending of this novel, but it was better than the ending I expected.
Sara’s character is very believable, and so are her issues dealing with her friends, family, school, and boys. There’s a much drama as there can be in a middle school, but I found that some of Sara’s issues were overdramatized. There are a lot of lessons to be learned from this novel, including that popularity is overrated and that people aren’t always who you expect them to be. I liked watching Sara grow and mature, and overall, this book was a good read. I recommend this for middle schoolers, and even if you are older, I think you can still enjoy this.
reposted from http://thebookmuncher.blogspot.com
It all starts when she “becomes a woman.” Sara’s mom finds this out and sends Sara flowers. Unfortunately, the flowers reach the wrong destination, Sara’s middle school to be exact, and everyone finds out about Sara’s secret. Sara puts all the blame on her best friend Arlene because Arlene was the only person she told the secret to. Soon, another friendship develops with the new girl Kirstie, who helps Sara create a list of everything that will help Sara become popular.
When I first read the cover of this book, I thought oh no, not another one of these. But I was glad when it turned out that the main character was not one of those popular girls with all their problems, but someone from the opposite end of the spectrum, the girl with few friends who wishes she was more popular. I also did not expect the ending of this novel, but it was better than the ending I expected.
Sara’s character is very believable, and so are her issues dealing with her friends, family, school, and boys. There’s a much drama as there can be in a middle school, but I found that some of Sara’s issues were overdramatized. There are a lot of lessons to be learned from this novel, including that popularity is overrated and that people aren’t always who you expect them to be. I liked watching Sara grow and mature, and overall, this book was a good read. I recommend this for middle schoolers, and even if you are older, I think you can still enjoy this.
reposted from http://thebookmuncher.blogspot.com
December 22, 2008
evryone loves drama right? read these books if you liked this one:
dumped by popular demand
the secret identity of devon delaney
dumped by popular demand
the secret identity of devon delaney
May 12, 2022
it was okay
November 18, 2012
Reviewed by Cana Rensberger for TeensReadToo.com
You think Junior High is tough? Ha! It's nothing compared to Sara Thurman's eighth grade year! It all starts when Sara finally “becomes a woman” and • get this • her mother sends her • PERIOD flowers! On Valentine's Day! Yeah. You heard right. Ever try to keep a secret in Junior High? Only one person knows who sent those flowers besides Sara, and that's her best friend, Arlene. You can imagine Sara's hurt and confusion when she realizes everyone knows why she got the flowers. And it's only lunchtime!
You've heard of Murphy's Law? You know: If something can go wrong, it probably will. And it does for Sara. Things go from bad to worse. To top it off, she and Arlene have their first ever fight in front of everyone. How can she trust her best friend when Arlene's the only one who could have betrayed her?
Luckily for Sara, she's made a new friend. She met her that same fateful day that she received her red-tipped, white roses. Together, they vow to turn Sara's embarrassment into a nomination for class favorite. They watch the popular girls. They read magazines and clip out pictures and articles. Soon, they have a list of things Sara must do to become popular, which Sara follows faithfully. Will the popular kids notice her? Talk to her? Will her crush, Jason, like her new look? And will she and Arlene ever be friends again?
Taylor Morris has captured the heart of an eighth grader in CLASS FAVORITE. The characters were believable, although, at times, I felt they just as easily could have been sixth or seventh graders. I feel certain that any girl who has ever wished to be part of the popular crowd will totally relate to this book. And because it made me laugh out loud more than once, I give it five stars!
You think Junior High is tough? Ha! It's nothing compared to Sara Thurman's eighth grade year! It all starts when Sara finally “becomes a woman” and • get this • her mother sends her • PERIOD flowers! On Valentine's Day! Yeah. You heard right. Ever try to keep a secret in Junior High? Only one person knows who sent those flowers besides Sara, and that's her best friend, Arlene. You can imagine Sara's hurt and confusion when she realizes everyone knows why she got the flowers. And it's only lunchtime!
You've heard of Murphy's Law? You know: If something can go wrong, it probably will. And it does for Sara. Things go from bad to worse. To top it off, she and Arlene have their first ever fight in front of everyone. How can she trust her best friend when Arlene's the only one who could have betrayed her?
Luckily for Sara, she's made a new friend. She met her that same fateful day that she received her red-tipped, white roses. Together, they vow to turn Sara's embarrassment into a nomination for class favorite. They watch the popular girls. They read magazines and clip out pictures and articles. Soon, they have a list of things Sara must do to become popular, which Sara follows faithfully. Will the popular kids notice her? Talk to her? Will her crush, Jason, like her new look? And will she and Arlene ever be friends again?
Taylor Morris has captured the heart of an eighth grader in CLASS FAVORITE. The characters were believable, although, at times, I felt they just as easily could have been sixth or seventh graders. I feel certain that any girl who has ever wished to be part of the popular crowd will totally relate to this book. And because it made me laugh out loud more than once, I give it five stars!
June 30, 2010
You think Junior High is tough? Ha! It’s nothing compared to Sara Thurman’s eighth grade year! It all starts when Sara finally “becomes a woman” and – get this – her mother sends her – PERIOD flowers! On Valentine’s Day! Yeah. You heard right. Ever try to keep a secret in Junior High? Only one person knows who sent those flowers besides Sara, and that’s her best friend Arlene. You can imagine Sara’s hurt and confusion when she realizes everyone knows why she got the flowers. And it’s only lunchtime!
You’ve heard of Murphy’s Law? You know. If something can go wrong, it probably will. And it does for Sara. Things go from bad to worse. To top it off, she and Arlene have their first ever fight in front of everyone. How can she trust her best friend when Arlene’s the only one who could have betrayed her?
Luckily for Sara, she’s made a new friend. She met her that same fateful day that she received her red-tipped, white roses. Together, they vow to turn Sara’s embarrassment into a nomination for class favorite. They watch the popular girls. The read magazines and clip out pictures and articles. Soon, they have a list of things Sara must do to become popular, which Sara follows faithfully. Will the popular kids notice her? Talk to her? Will her crush, Jason, like her new look? And will she and Arlene ever be friends again?
Taylor Morris has captured the heart of an eighth grader in CLASS FAVORITE. The characters were believable, although, at times, I felt they just as easily could have been sixth or seventh graders. I feel certain that any girl who has ever wished to be part of the popular crowd will totally relate to this book. And because it made me laugh out loud more than once, I give it five stars!
You’ve heard of Murphy’s Law? You know. If something can go wrong, it probably will. And it does for Sara. Things go from bad to worse. To top it off, she and Arlene have their first ever fight in front of everyone. How can she trust her best friend when Arlene’s the only one who could have betrayed her?
Luckily for Sara, she’s made a new friend. She met her that same fateful day that she received her red-tipped, white roses. Together, they vow to turn Sara’s embarrassment into a nomination for class favorite. They watch the popular girls. The read magazines and clip out pictures and articles. Soon, they have a list of things Sara must do to become popular, which Sara follows faithfully. Will the popular kids notice her? Talk to her? Will her crush, Jason, like her new look? And will she and Arlene ever be friends again?
Taylor Morris has captured the heart of an eighth grader in CLASS FAVORITE. The characters were believable, although, at times, I felt they just as easily could have been sixth or seventh graders. I feel certain that any girl who has ever wished to be part of the popular crowd will totally relate to this book. And because it made me laugh out loud more than once, I give it five stars!
October 29, 2014
Class Favorite was a good book. Throughout the book there was so much drama at their school. Sara was obsessing over an award called the Class Favorite. She was constantly wanting to be the most popular girl in school and that was her goal to reach by the end of the year. All of a sudden her mom sends her flowers to school about a girl situation and all of a sudden kids are starting to notice her for a very embarrassing reason. This not the way Sara wants to be noticed by her peers. Another situation that Sara is having is that she feels like her friend Arlene is pushing her away because she has other friends she cares more about. On top of all the drama at school she has family problems. It's just not the same at home without her dad. It makes Sara think will anything go back to the way it was without all of the stress?
I think this book was good. It wasn't my favorite but it was still pretty good. Some parts were really cheesy which I found boring and not really entertaining. But some parts were filled with so much emotion you just had to keep reading. But overall I liked the book.
I would probably recommend this book to girls who like Dork Diaries. Both of the books always talk about gossip and friendship problems. Class Favorite and Dork Diaries in my opinion are for girls in elementary school and who like reading about popular girls.
I think this book was good. It wasn't my favorite but it was still pretty good. Some parts were really cheesy which I found boring and not really entertaining. But some parts were filled with so much emotion you just had to keep reading. But overall I liked the book.
I would probably recommend this book to girls who like Dork Diaries. Both of the books always talk about gossip and friendship problems. Class Favorite and Dork Diaries in my opinion are for girls in elementary school and who like reading about popular girls.
November 23, 2013
In Morris' debut middle grade novel, she tackles the social politics of middle school (in her sophomore effort, Total Knockout, she does school politics) and has become an author favorite of mine now. She really understands the middle school environment and does a great job creating the characters and their backstories, and all the jokes. It was really a pain to read about Sara's predicaments and embarassments; like what many of the characters said throughout the book, I simply can't imagine going through all that Sara did and not transfer schools. The mystery behind who spread the rumor and such was not terribly hard to figure out at all, but even so, reading this book and going along with the journey was fun. Sara is a really relatable character, no matter what age you are.
June 10, 2009
Sarah Thurman is just an ordinary girll in high school with a best friedn, Arlene and things are going fine until Valentine Days. That's when the most embarrassing moment that can happen to a girl happens to her. It;'s Valentine Days and three days ago, she had her period. Her mom decides to send flowers to her and announces her start of her woman hood. Within a day, everyone hears about her womanhood change. Her life had just turned upside down. However towards the end she learns the real truth behind how everyone found out the delivery, since she kept it a secret. The ending was really surpring!!!! It;s really good, very interesitng!!
October 22, 2011
What an absolutely delightful story! I found myself eagerly turning the pages to find out what would happen to poor Sara Thurman next. I loved the descriptiveness of the emotions and situations, it really brought the characters to life for me. I also enjoyed that there was a bit of mystery and surprise mingled in the story line as well.
I must confess that I found myself really irritated with Sara many times throughout the story, but that made the ending that much better! Great story with a really good underlying message for teens who are navigating those tough and awkward times that are junior high school. It is also a good lesson in friendship for all of us.
I must confess that I found myself really irritated with Sara many times throughout the story, but that made the ending that much better! Great story with a really good underlying message for teens who are navigating those tough and awkward times that are junior high school. It is also a good lesson in friendship for all of us.
September 30, 2008
i LOve THIS BOOK! it is such a god book its about a girl that wants to be class favorite (most popular)at her school but she does not think that she can pull it off b/c shes never even talked to any of the popular boys or girls at her school. i really advise that you read this book if you're a gurl through the ages of 9-16. but its a pretty girly book so if you don't like that kind of stuff than i wouldn't read it.
Read
April 17, 2014Poor Sara Thurman. It's like she can't trust anyone in the world of popularity, even a new friend betrayed her. Twice. But at least things work out in the end and she finally gets what she wants. Sort of. Either way, it's a great story and I enjoyed putting myself in her shoes whenever she faced a problem, and taking the quiz ( though someone vandalized this book and circled some answers ) I think my friends would enjoy this book. I might just recommend it to them.
April 2, 2012
Sara must deal with a lot of issues, including everybody finding out that she got her period after her mom sends her flowers, her crush having no idea who she is, and her dad leaving home, so Sara decides to become popular to make her life easier.
I probably would have enjoyed this as a 6/7th grader.
I probably would have enjoyed this as a 6/7th grader.
January 24, 2010
Sarah Thurman has been living a regular and normal life ever since forever until her period comes 3 days before Valentine's day. Her mom is very happy and decides to send her flowers to congrat her for her first time having her period. Soon the whole school knows about her period but at the end she learns the true meaning of puberty and learns to accept it.
September 8, 2008
i love this book! it talks about a girl in a sticky situation and it is awesome!
September 29, 2008
It was good.
Read
October 27, 2008its getting pretty good.............don't no whats going to happen next....UH OH
July 31, 2009
This was kind of odd, and too easily solved!
February 22, 2009
It had good adjectives, but the story itself was pretty boring.
March 22, 2009
alright. it just shows how a girl struggles through out highschool and later finds out who her true friends are and who arent
August 1, 2009
works out too well in the end.
April 18, 2011
it was cute
January 14, 2012
Good book, but it annoyed me how she wanted 2 be popular so badly that she made a list.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 19, 2011
For being a girl-book, not that there's anything wrong with that, I liked it a lot. The story is not as shallow as it sounds.
Read
September 20, 2012I thought at first it was really bad but then it got really good as it went
November 16, 2008
THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS!!!
December 26, 2008
Cute! :)
October 2, 2009
i thought this was pretty good. i like morris' books
October 14, 2013
Lovely book!!! Omgsh!
January 16, 2019
I read this book when i was in elementary or middle school. The main character was MESSY and little me was here for the drama
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews