Cara has never been one of those girls: confident, self-possessed, and always ready with the perfect thing to say. A girl at the very top of the popularity tower. One of the Populazzi. Now, junior year could change everything. Cara's moving to a new school, and her best friend urges her to seize the moment-with the help of the Ladder. Its rungs are relationships, and if Cara transforms into the perfect girlfriend for guys ever-higher on the tower, she'll reach the ultimate goal: Supreme Populazzi.
The Ladder seems like a lighthearted social experiment, a straight climb up, but it quickly becomes gnarled and twisted. And when everything goes wrong, only the most audacious act Cara can think of has a chance of setting things even a little bit right. A Hilarious Social Experiment: The plan is simple: date a guy on a low rung of the social ladder, then trade up until she reaches the king of the school.
Total Personality Makeover: To snag each new target, Cara has to become his perfect girl-transforming from a witty theater geek to a brooding emo fan at a moment's notice. An Unexpected Romance: She never planned on actually falling for one of her 'rungs' on the ladder, especially not a guy who sees right through her act. A Classic Coming of Age Story: As the lines between her real self and her fake personas blur, Cara must figure out what's more important: being popular or being happy.
Cara has never been one of those girls: confident, self-possessed, and always ready with the perfect thing to say. A girl at the very top of the popularity tower. One of the Populazzi. Now, junior year could change everything. Cara's moving to a new school, and her best friend urges her to seize the moment-with the help of the Ladder. Its rungs are relationships, and if Cara transforms into the perfect girlfriend for guys ever-higher on the tower, she'll reach the ultimate goal: Supreme Populazzi.
The Ladder seems like a lighthearted social experiment, a straight climb up, but it quickly becomes gnarled and twisted. And when everything goes wrong, only the most audacious act Cara can think of has a chance of setting things even a little bit right. A Hilarious Social Experiment: The plan is simple: date a guy on a low rung of the social ladder, then trade up until she reaches the king of the school.
Total Personality Makeover: To snag each new target, Cara has to become his perfect girl-transforming from a witty theater geek to a brooding emo fan at a moment's notice. An Unexpected Romance: She never planned on actually falling for one of her 'rungs' on the ladder, especially not a guy who sees right through her act. A Classic Coming of Age Story: As the lines between her real self and her fake personas blur, Cara must figure out what's more important: being popular or being happy.