Seven Days to a Brand-New Me

by Ellen Conford

From Dull to Dangerous???

Adam is so cute. And his locker is right next to hers. But how can Maddy Kemper, self-labelled Mouse, get him to notice her?

Why, with the help of that best-selling new book, Seven Days to a Brand-New You. In just seven days, Maddy is determined to go from dull to dazzling, from being next to Adam's locker to being in his arms.

Only things don't quite work out the way Maddy planned.

Suddenly, it's seven days to a great big mess!

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Teen, Childrens

119 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Ellen Conford was an author for children and young adults. Among her writings are the Annabel the Actress and Jenny Archer series. Her books have won the Best Book of the Year Citation, Best Book of the International Interest Citation, Best Book of the Year for Children, Parents' Choice Award, and more.

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating courtesy of 11-year-old me. The first time I read this, I checked it out from my elementary school library. The librarian read the list of overdue books out loud. Heather - "Seven Days to a Brand New Me." Everyone giggled. Soooo embarrassing. :)

This is a quick, fun read that still makes adult-me smile.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very dated. Reads like a juvenile, even though the boy has a car. A brief but somewhat problematic nod to homosexuality. An enlightened view of mental health issues. A mother who doesn't censor her daughter's reading. A boy-crazy plot. Hm. I liked it, and might have loved it when I was a teen. But today's girls probably don't need it. Otoh, given the other YA I've seen currently, maybe it is still worth reading.

[Susann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book and Fast Times at Ridgemont High make me so nostalgic for 1980s malls.

03-08-2008:
I probably first read this in 1983 or 1984, and I just bought myself a used hardcover copy. This may have been my favorite Conford book while growing up, but now I think that honor lies with "We Interrupt This Semester...." This one is still lots of fun, though. High school sophomore Maddy is trying to change her image so that she can drive Adam Holmquist out of his gourd. Twenty-five years later and I *still* wish Adam were my boyfriend. I also wish that Conford hadn't referred to homosexual seagulls as "perverted."

[Cora Deputy · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW this brings back memories! I must have checked this book out from the library about a hundred times when I was 12! I thought it was a hilarious way to look at your insecurities and love who you are. I am so going to have to track this book down and buy it!

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omigod! I loved this book when I was in middle school. I wanted the fuzzy sweater on the cover soooooo much!

[Sharell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. It makes me giggle.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doesn't have the strong characters or sharp wit of Conford's best books, but still pretty enjoyable.

[MsVette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book as a kid, fell in love with it and even now in my mid-thirties I think of it still. Oh to only go back to the days where my biggest problem was how to get my crush to notice me. SIGH.

[Cat · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book may be the reason the Bechdel test was invented.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

First read this 1980s YA novel in the early 2000s and thought it was cute. On 2020 reread, the handful of pejorative references to homosexuality and boy-crazy protagonist Maddy were hard to swallow.

[Rei · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was honestly so disappointed. Maddy should have ended up with Terence. ;-;. If she did I would have given it a five...

[Ginny Messina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had I realized this book was by the same author who wrote “Dear Lovey Hart,” I probably would not have picked it up. And that would have been my loss, because I loved this! It’s funny and fun and captures teenage angst just right. As Maddy follows the program in a self help book to achieve an image makeover, her inspiration is a favorite romance novel heroine, which made this book just ever-so-slightly reminiscent of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey. At least that kept popping into my mind. Anyway, an all around fun read!

[Aighmi* · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off, I realize this book is dated & there are a couple of things in it that wouldn't fly today. But when it came out in 1982 & my nearly-teenaged self read it, I loved it. When my daughter hit adolescence, I hauled it out for her and we read it together, laughing in understanding. Now she is in college and I am a 50 year-old woman who occasionally reads it to myself, just to laugh. So with an awareness of a greater sensitivity today, I still recommend it. Very relatable, very funny.

[Lo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, we've all liked some tasty muffin who just didn't notice our existence. Even after para-gliding in front of his house! (Not that this protag does this) And finally there is a book one can use to become the super duper sex kitten we were always born to me.

Since this is a YA book it all backfires spectacularly.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm excited to have found a copy of this book, as it was one of my favorites in middle school/junior high. However, as I read it, I'm recognizing a lot of warped ideas about revamping my personality that I must have picked up from the story. Oh, ignorant youth.

[CLM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great tale of high school angst mixed with humor from the inimitable Conford.

[Brigette · Rating 5 out of 5]

An under-rated find from my childhood that I am forcing Julia to read. Maddy, a shy high schooler, is determined to make her crush notice her. Relatable and hilarious, a must-read for anyone who went to high school, is in high school, or is planning to go to high school.

[Shana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't remember much of this book other than I read it. When I was growing up my mother didn't encourage my reading and only wanted me to read Christian books. So, I scavenged a lot of random reads from the dump and books given to me. This was one of those.

[Kricket · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a favorite of mine in middle school, and I was delighted to find a nice yellowed copy at John K King. I miss those pocket-sized paperbacks! I probably wouldn't recommend this to the teens of today but it was a nice, if dated, palate-cleanser after all the grief memoirs I've been reading.

[J.X. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute little book, very YA of its era. On a pass-fail, I'd say pass; it felt a little silly at times and some of the internal monologuing didn't know when to taper itself off, but overall a pleasant read with enough small twists in Maddy's small world to keep things interesting.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since it was a Point Book I thought it would have some supernatural elements and it didn't, so that made reading it weird. It casually calls being gay "deviant behavior" and mocks a girl for being ugly, so maybe teen books from 1981 aren't worth reading anymore.

[Eileen · Rating 2 out of 5]

2¾ ☆

I was obsessed with this book when I read it as a (pre?)teen (':

[Shaneeza aziz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, witty (that last line!), loved the development of both characters. Can’t wait to read more of her books.

[Wauricka · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book a long time ago as a teenager. I got it from my school library. I loved it. I would like to read it again. One of the best books I ever read as a teenager.

[Katy Colwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

YA from the 80’s…so amusing. Can’t wait to read more!

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I needed a light book to read after the one I read last and this brought back all the teen romance nostalgia. I used to eat up books like this so it was fun, and a quick read.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Liz mentioned that she had read several of Conford's works growing up and recommended this one, I figured I'd give it a shot for a quick read. It's essentially Bridget Jones for American high school girls in the early 80s. I actually laughed out loud during a few scenes. It's probably the earliest example of a ChickLit style book I've read as well.

[Edit Ostrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the older romance stories sitting around in my library that few kids ever touch. It was published in 1981 and it's a very cute middle school romance story. Most girls can relate to the main character, Maddy, who is not happy with her appearance and decides to go through a radical "image change" in order to attract the boy she likes. It's sweet, innocent and has a happy ending ...

[Magda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Middle-school romance which I first read when I was still in single-digits. I didn't understand many of the phrases, and I think I'm still wondering about "drive him out of his gourd." Did/Would a middle-schooler ever say that? A little bit funny, but also a bit boring now that I've moved on from the drama of not being able to talk to (gasp) boys.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good fun--it reads like an 80s or 90s sitcom (but without commercials or a laugh track). A girl tries to change her look to get a boy to notice her, and she finds, of course, that he noticed her all along. Witty dialogue, both inner and aloud.