Deep Down Popular: A Wish Novel

About this book

6th-grader Jessie Lou is deeply, madly, passionately in love with Conrad Parker Smith. Too bad she's a tomboy with only one on-again, off-again friend, and hair so short you can't spit on it. Too bad he's the most popular boy in their small-town school.

But then Conrad hurts his leg and suddenly can't keep up with his old pursuits anymore. Jessie Lou and Conrad start spending a lot more time together, but she can't help wonder -- is she just a substitute friend? And will Conrad forget her when his leg brace comes off and he's king of the school once again?

Reviews

"Sixth-grader Jesse Lou is consumed by thoughts of popular Conrad Smith, but in the small Virginia town where they live, Conrad is popular, while tomboy Jesse Lou has only “maybe-when-I-feel-like-it” friends. At the beginning of the school year, Conrad starts wearing a leg brace, which translates into loss of his considerable popularity and gives Jesse Lou an opening. Soon she, Conrad, and quirky fourth-grader Quentin Duster become a triumverate involved in an outlandish plot to save Bailey Hardware from competition from a “big box” store. Meanwhile, refreshingly honest Jesse Lou hopes that Conrad keeps limping. This is an ode to love in many forms. Jessie Lou has loved Conrad since second grade, and she learns someone has been in love with her, as well. There is also a sweet relationship between Jessie Lou and her grandfather, who knows how to turn a Southern phrase, and between Granddaddy and his daughter, Jessie Lou's mama. Jessie Lou tells her tale with the strong, rough-edged purity of a young poet, which she is; equally strong are the story's underpinnings, longing and laughter, and a willingness to believe in something despite the facts, which tangibly manifests itself in a field of flowers that were never supposed to bloom." -- Booklist, starred review

"Sweet and winning." -- Kirkus Reviews