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The Friendship Ring #5
Popularity Contest
In the fifth book in the series, downtoearth Zoe Grandon competes for the office of class president and the approval of all her friends. Original.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
3 people are currently reading
114 people want to read
About the author
Rachel Vail
56 books455 followersBirth
I was born on July 25, 1966, in NEW YORK CITY, and grew up in New Rochelle, NY, with my mother, my father, and my younger brother Jon. (And down the street from my future husband, though of course I didn't know that until much later.)
Interests
Some details, I do know-I was very into reading and theater, so I read every book I could get my hands on (especially realistic fiction, either contemporary or historical) and took acting workshops and auditioned for every play in school, camp, or the community. I played Peter Pan, Miss Hannigan in Annie, Benny Southstreet in Guys and Dolls, the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz, and lots of extremely memorable chorus parts-for instance, I was "girl number two" in Fiddler on the Roof-the one who said "We heard about your sister, Chava". I didn't care -I just wanted to be on stage. Waiting backstage before curtain call, after giving my all in a performance, was the best feeling I knew. In seventh grade I started taking magic lessons, and by eighth grade I was making all my own spending money by performing at kids' birthday parties as a clown named Tallulah. I liked the freedom of wearing all that grease-paint-I could be as wacky and un-cool as I wanted. I tried dance but felt so clumsy. I faked a sprained ankle to get out of the recital. I took voice lessons which made me a little light-headed (and I was afraid of the voice teacher's growling, drooling Doberman) and both saxophone and piano, neither of which I ever practiced. I did well in school but started a lot of my work at the last minute, in a crazy mad dash, so that it was never late but there were usually careless errors or areas I had to fudge. I had this idea that to work hard at something was sort of a negative, an admission that I didn't have natural talent. If I wasn't going to be Mozart and have the music (or dance, or math, or social studies term paper, or whatever) channeled through me from God, then I was just embarrassing myself by all that workmanlike effort. I didn't get over that idea until after college, by the way.
Career Ambitions
I never really planned to be a writer. I planned to be a financial wizard after learning about option-spreading at age 10, then a poet after discovering Shakespeare at 11. After overhearing "the real power is held by the lobbyists" on a class trip to Albany, I planned to become a lobbyist. Secretly, of course I always imagined myself as an actress, but that didn't seem hard or important enough, and also I worried I wasn't naturally gifted enough.
Parents
My parents were always great. I liked to make them proud, and they trusted me and supported my efforts and interests, which was sometimes weirdly tough. There was so little for me to rebel against.
As a Kid
When people ask me what I was as a kid, I always feel like my answer is at best incomplete.What are you like, as a kid? I'm still trying to figure out what I'm like as an adult.
Socially
Well, things went in waves. Sometimes I felt very "in", very aware of and tied in to the whole scene, excited by who liked whom, all the gossip, some of it less than kind. Other times I felt so alone-like there was nobody like me, nobody who liked me, nobody to talk to. And much of the time it was somewhere in between. A best friend when I was lucky, and a few people in each crowd I liked and who liked me. I resisted being classified as a brain or a jock or alternative or popular-too limiting. I would have to shut down too many parts of myself to be just one type.
Adolescence
I went through a very intense stage in middle school (Junior High). I worried about being too ordinary. I also worried about being too weird. I also worried about changing states of matter, my inability to be morally certain, ignorance (my own and world-wide), and making a fool of myself.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/rachel...
I was born on July 25, 1966, in NEW YORK CITY, and grew up in New Rochelle, NY, with my mother, my father, and my younger brother Jon. (And down the street from my future husband, though of course I didn't know that until much later.)
Interests
Some details, I do know-I was very into reading and theater, so I read every book I could get my hands on (especially realistic fiction, either contemporary or historical) and took acting workshops and auditioned for every play in school, camp, or the community. I played Peter Pan, Miss Hannigan in Annie, Benny Southstreet in Guys and Dolls, the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz, and lots of extremely memorable chorus parts-for instance, I was "girl number two" in Fiddler on the Roof-the one who said "We heard about your sister, Chava". I didn't care -I just wanted to be on stage. Waiting backstage before curtain call, after giving my all in a performance, was the best feeling I knew. In seventh grade I started taking magic lessons, and by eighth grade I was making all my own spending money by performing at kids' birthday parties as a clown named Tallulah. I liked the freedom of wearing all that grease-paint-I could be as wacky and un-cool as I wanted. I tried dance but felt so clumsy. I faked a sprained ankle to get out of the recital. I took voice lessons which made me a little light-headed (and I was afraid of the voice teacher's growling, drooling Doberman) and both saxophone and piano, neither of which I ever practiced. I did well in school but started a lot of my work at the last minute, in a crazy mad dash, so that it was never late but there were usually careless errors or areas I had to fudge. I had this idea that to work hard at something was sort of a negative, an admission that I didn't have natural talent. If I wasn't going to be Mozart and have the music (or dance, or math, or social studies term paper, or whatever) channeled through me from God, then I was just embarrassing myself by all that workmanlike effort. I didn't get over that idea until after college, by the way.
Career Ambitions
I never really planned to be a writer. I planned to be a financial wizard after learning about option-spreading at age 10, then a poet after discovering Shakespeare at 11. After overhearing "the real power is held by the lobbyists" on a class trip to Albany, I planned to become a lobbyist. Secretly, of course I always imagined myself as an actress, but that didn't seem hard or important enough, and also I worried I wasn't naturally gifted enough.
Parents
My parents were always great. I liked to make them proud, and they trusted me and supported my efforts and interests, which was sometimes weirdly tough. There was so little for me to rebel against.
As a Kid
When people ask me what I was as a kid, I always feel like my answer is at best incomplete.What are you like, as a kid? I'm still trying to figure out what I'm like as an adult.
Socially
Well, things went in waves. Sometimes I felt very "in", very aware of and tied in to the whole scene, excited by who liked whom, all the gossip, some of it less than kind. Other times I felt so alone-like there was nobody like me, nobody who liked me, nobody to talk to. And much of the time it was somewhere in between. A best friend when I was lucky, and a few people in each crowd I liked and who liked me. I resisted being classified as a brain or a jock or alternative or popular-too limiting. I would have to shut down too many parts of myself to be just one type.
Adolescence
I went through a very intense stage in middle school (Junior High). I worried about being too ordinary. I also worried about being too weird. I also worried about changing states of matter, my inability to be morally certain, ignorance (my own and world-wide), and making a fool of myself.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/rachel...
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 19, 2024
This is the fifth book in the Friendship Ring series. While it is a continuation of books 1 to 4. It can be read as standalone. If memory serves me right this was actually the first book in the series I read back when I was the intended target audience (good time.) This is the second book in Zoe's point of view.
This book takes place a day after the whole debacle with CJ forging her mom's signature to go apple picking with her class. It's time to choose the President of seventh grade. Morgan nominates Zoe and surprise, surprise... Tommy nominates Lou! Zoe is surprised and a little hurt. Tommy is clearly not over Zoe's apparent rejection. Tommy is working with Lou on his campaign making him and Zoe rivals. To recap a little, Zoe likes Tommy. But Zoe's new best friend CJ also likes Tommy! CJ is not aware of Zoe's feelings and asks her to set her up with Tommy since Tommy and Zoe are good friends and neighbors. Zoe doesn't really want to set up the guy she likes with her best friend but she wants CJ's friendship more. So she asks Tommy if he likes someone. She send him a note in class that says: Tommy Levit likes _____. So he would fill in the blank. When Zoe gets the note back it says: Tommy Levit likes Zoe Grandson. The way I screamed 😭 I ship them so much. Anyway, after Tommy confesses Zoe still tells him to ask CJ out this rejecting him. Tommy is confused and hurt but asks CJ out anyway...
Back to our book, nominations are in, the race is on and CJ is in detention. Zoe is having trouble with her friends and classmates. She never seems to say the right thing. Everyone misunderstands her. She decides to change herself to please others. Zoe is good at everything competitive and loves to win, but this time she might prefer to lose! She starts to try hard to lose. She loses at soccer on purpose. And she tries very hard not to work on her campaign for the election. At first she wanted to win and even convinced her mom to order pencils will Zoe for President on them but since Morgan thought is was all a bit joke she felt embarrassed and never used them. I actually thought the pencil idea was so cute!!!
Morgan reminds me so much of a friend I had in school. She was my best friend for a while actually. She was like Morgan, cruel, a bit of a bully and always stirring up some trouble. She even had bangs like Morgan. Much like Morgan she had a bad home life so I get it now even if I didn't back then.
Morgan like I said likes drama. She likes to create it, instigate it or be in the middle of it. After one of their reunions to discuss Zoe's campaign. Zoe foolishly shows her the note she got from Tommy. Zoe had lied and told everyone that Tommy said he liked CJ. Now Morgan knows and what does she do. She runs and tells CJ. CJ is embarrassed and hurt. She thinks she was just Tommy's second choice and that Zoe also did it so CJ would quit ballet. Zoe only wanted to be a good friend. Anyways, Zoe lies and tells her none of it is true. Morgan gets upset because now everyone is calling her a liar. Tommy hears and gets even more upset with Zoe. Zoe tries to apologize but Tommy is a hard nut to crack. He is soooo upset! Poor Zoe doesn't know what to do. In trying to please everyone she has made things worse so she decides to come clean. She tells CJ the truth, and Morgan too... They don't take it so well at first but CJ is soft and forgiving and finally understand Zoe's side of the story. Morgan still won't talk to Zoe but they sit together at lunch so that's something.
Election day comes and Zoe doesn't have speech prepared. Only the day before with the help of CJ and Zoe's cousin Gabriela they make some posters with construction paper (not oak tag) and make some pencils that say 'Zoe 4 Prez', you know because number 4 pencil. Effectively using Zoe's initial idea. Turns out no one thinks her idea is dumb and her classmates actually use the pencils and think they are cool. Lou prepared a speech and had a plan and an actual campaign. Zoe gets up and gives a heartfelt speech about friendship and pretty much everything we learn in this book. She will basically try her best. She wins the election. That made sad for Lou because he actually put in a lot of effort but I guess that's how things are sometimes.
In the final chapter we find Zoe in the old tre house and Tommy follows after her. They talk for a bit with Tommy finally starting to come around. It ends with both of them sitting in companionable silence.
I have to say I loved this book but the first 4 are better. Still this book is quite funny. The whole thing with Zoe's father being bad at repairing things around the house. Devin teaching Zoe how to flirt (hilarious!) and Zoe's internal monologue will always captivate me. I wish there was more conclusion like maybe Zoe and Tommy actually together and our clique actually good with each other for once. At the moment they are a bit fragmented. Morgan and Zoe are not in the best terms. It is implied they will come around but I would've liked to actually see it, same goes for Tommy.
I was lucky enough to find this book in the library after a long year of searching. The next book is Tommy's point of view. I'm definitely intrigued but they didn't have it at the library 😕 so I guess I'll have to wait to read his story.
This book takes place a day after the whole debacle with CJ forging her mom's signature to go apple picking with her class. It's time to choose the President of seventh grade. Morgan nominates Zoe and surprise, surprise... Tommy nominates Lou! Zoe is surprised and a little hurt. Tommy is clearly not over Zoe's apparent rejection. Tommy is working with Lou on his campaign making him and Zoe rivals. To recap a little, Zoe likes Tommy. But Zoe's new best friend CJ also likes Tommy! CJ is not aware of Zoe's feelings and asks her to set her up with Tommy since Tommy and Zoe are good friends and neighbors. Zoe doesn't really want to set up the guy she likes with her best friend but she wants CJ's friendship more. So she asks Tommy if he likes someone. She send him a note in class that says: Tommy Levit likes _____. So he would fill in the blank. When Zoe gets the note back it says: Tommy Levit likes Zoe Grandson. The way I screamed 😭 I ship them so much. Anyway, after Tommy confesses Zoe still tells him to ask CJ out this rejecting him. Tommy is confused and hurt but asks CJ out anyway...
Back to our book, nominations are in, the race is on and CJ is in detention. Zoe is having trouble with her friends and classmates. She never seems to say the right thing. Everyone misunderstands her. She decides to change herself to please others. Zoe is good at everything competitive and loves to win, but this time she might prefer to lose! She starts to try hard to lose. She loses at soccer on purpose. And she tries very hard not to work on her campaign for the election. At first she wanted to win and even convinced her mom to order pencils will Zoe for President on them but since Morgan thought is was all a bit joke she felt embarrassed and never used them. I actually thought the pencil idea was so cute!!!
Morgan reminds me so much of a friend I had in school. She was my best friend for a while actually. She was like Morgan, cruel, a bit of a bully and always stirring up some trouble. She even had bangs like Morgan. Much like Morgan she had a bad home life so I get it now even if I didn't back then.
Morgan like I said likes drama. She likes to create it, instigate it or be in the middle of it. After one of their reunions to discuss Zoe's campaign. Zoe foolishly shows her the note she got from Tommy. Zoe had lied and told everyone that Tommy said he liked CJ. Now Morgan knows and what does she do. She runs and tells CJ. CJ is embarrassed and hurt. She thinks she was just Tommy's second choice and that Zoe also did it so CJ would quit ballet. Zoe only wanted to be a good friend. Anyways, Zoe lies and tells her none of it is true. Morgan gets upset because now everyone is calling her a liar. Tommy hears and gets even more upset with Zoe. Zoe tries to apologize but Tommy is a hard nut to crack. He is soooo upset! Poor Zoe doesn't know what to do. In trying to please everyone she has made things worse so she decides to come clean. She tells CJ the truth, and Morgan too... They don't take it so well at first but CJ is soft and forgiving and finally understand Zoe's side of the story. Morgan still won't talk to Zoe but they sit together at lunch so that's something.
Election day comes and Zoe doesn't have speech prepared. Only the day before with the help of CJ and Zoe's cousin Gabriela they make some posters with construction paper (not oak tag) and make some pencils that say 'Zoe 4 Prez', you know because number 4 pencil. Effectively using Zoe's initial idea. Turns out no one thinks her idea is dumb and her classmates actually use the pencils and think they are cool. Lou prepared a speech and had a plan and an actual campaign. Zoe gets up and gives a heartfelt speech about friendship and pretty much everything we learn in this book. She will basically try her best. She wins the election. That made sad for Lou because he actually put in a lot of effort but I guess that's how things are sometimes.
In the final chapter we find Zoe in the old tre house and Tommy follows after her. They talk for a bit with Tommy finally starting to come around. It ends with both of them sitting in companionable silence.
I have to say I loved this book but the first 4 are better. Still this book is quite funny. The whole thing with Zoe's father being bad at repairing things around the house. Devin teaching Zoe how to flirt (hilarious!) and Zoe's internal monologue will always captivate me. I wish there was more conclusion like maybe Zoe and Tommy actually together and our clique actually good with each other for once. At the moment they are a bit fragmented. Morgan and Zoe are not in the best terms. It is implied they will come around but I would've liked to actually see it, same goes for Tommy.
I was lucky enough to find this book in the library after a long year of searching. The next book is Tommy's point of view. I'm definitely intrigued but they didn't have it at the library 😕 so I guess I'll have to wait to read his story.
March 17, 2024
"¡Prefiero perder!" es el quinto libro de la serie "Inseparables". Sigue la historia de Zoe cuando se presenta como candidata para delegada de curso. Lo leí hace muchos años, cuando era apenas una niña, y me encantó. Recuerdo que fue uno de esos libros que me hizo amar la lectura. Muy recomendable.
January 30, 2023
3.5*
I'm pretty sure I got this book as a prize at a library years ago, when I was the intended audience for this book, and it has sat on my shelves ever since, never having quite caught my interest. I'm currently focusing on books I own but haven't read yet, and so, finally, I checked the first Friendship Ring book out from the library. I wasn't really expecting to get into this series; I thought I'd give the first one a shot, and then just donate the one I own. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised.
I really enjoyed the first four books in this series. I think the girls are relatable pre-teens with understandable struggles. As each of the first four books is from a different girl's perspective, readers are given the opportunity to understand why a character behaves a certain way, as well as how that behavior is interpreted by others. At the same time, there isn't too much of an overlap in the timeline, so there's little danger of boredom. I loved that, and looked forward to continuing to a point where the friends would grow closer and improve their understanding of each other.
My problem upon reaching Popularity Contest is that I know it's the penultimate book in the series and the final book from one of the girls' perspectives, and I was hoping to get more out of it. As a continuation of the story, it's great, but by the end of it, I'm forced to hope that Fill In the Blank will bring a satisfying conclusion, and I just don't see how it could, being that it is randomly from Tommy's perspective...
I'm pretty sure I got this book as a prize at a library years ago, when I was the intended audience for this book, and it has sat on my shelves ever since, never having quite caught my interest. I'm currently focusing on books I own but haven't read yet, and so, finally, I checked the first Friendship Ring book out from the library. I wasn't really expecting to get into this series; I thought I'd give the first one a shot, and then just donate the one I own. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised.
I really enjoyed the first four books in this series. I think the girls are relatable pre-teens with understandable struggles. As each of the first four books is from a different girl's perspective, readers are given the opportunity to understand why a character behaves a certain way, as well as how that behavior is interpreted by others. At the same time, there isn't too much of an overlap in the timeline, so there's little danger of boredom. I loved that, and looked forward to continuing to a point where the friends would grow closer and improve their understanding of each other.
My problem upon reaching Popularity Contest is that I know it's the penultimate book in the series and the final book from one of the girls' perspectives, and I was hoping to get more out of it. As a continuation of the story, it's great, but by the end of it, I'm forced to hope that Fill In the Blank will bring a satisfying conclusion, and I just don't see how it could, being that it is randomly from Tommy's perspective...
March 24, 2010
I was pleasantly suprised by how much I enjoyed this quick read after I found it during an easter scavenger hunt at my local liabray. takes less than 3 hours to read and is a really cute story.
March 21, 2009
i love this book!!!i am currently reading it!!is a good book!!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews