Books with author Amy Ignatow

Love is in the air! Julie and Roland are an official “couple,” which means . . . well, they’re not exactly sure what, except that it makes Papa Dad extremely anxious. Meanwhile, Lydia’s mom announces that she’s marrying Coach Eric (the soccer coach from England), and Lydia and her sister, Melody, are not happy about it. With the wedding date looming, the girls will have to figure out how to accept the inevitability of change―and that even if the change isn’t what you thought you wanted, it can still end up all right, as long as you have good friends at your side. Praise for The Popularity Papers: Book Six "Julie and Lydia discover just how rocky the road to romance can be in the sixth installment of Ignatow’s Popularity Papers… fans of the series will be rewarded with plenty of giggle-worthy antics from Julie and Lydia." --Kirkus Reviews

Fresh off their epic summer road trip, Lydia and Julie are back and ready to take seventh grade by storm. Well, Lydia is: She wants to start a band, and she’s convinced Julie to join her. The Macramé Owls are joined by Roland (expert at the hardingfele) and Jane (expert at drama). None of them, unfortunately, are experts at rocking out. The band needs more practice, but instead Lydia and Julie find themselves riding an unexpected wave of popularity to their own belated birthday party. The girls may have accidentally stumbled upon the secret to popularity—if only the secret weren’t so completely humiliating. Hilarious, observant, and honest, this installment of the series has all of Amy Ignatow’s signature charm, while bringing our beloved heroines to a new turning point in their lives. Praise for The Popularity Papers: Book Five "Ignatow’s illustrations (attributed to Julie), humorous comments, and the story’s sticky situations make this a gregarious addition to the series." —Booklist

In the second title in the slam-dunk new series from bestselling author Amy Ignatow, the Odds are back and trying to figure out just who inflicted these lame abilities on them in the first place. Nick can still teleport four inches to the left, and Farshad’s thumbs are still super strong. Cookie can still read minds, if they’re thinking of directions, and Martina can still change the color of her eyes. But now, Martina can see the invisible, and when Nick is super stressed, he can move a lot farther than four inches. As their powers evolve in possibly dangerous ways, the Odds are even more determined to solve the mystery of their origin, but it means interacting at school—a serious social risk to popular girl Cookie. Soon, it becomes clear that Auxano, the chemical company that employs half the town, is involved. With the help of some renegade Amish teenagers and Ed, the invisible bus driver, this unlikely group of companions will uncover a nefarious experiment in which they’ve become unwitting test subjects. They’ll also begin to become something even more incredible—friends.

In the thrilling conclusion to the Odds trilogy, our four heroes try to investigate the mysterious high scores of the Auxano kids, but their powers have gotten out of control. Nick teleports more than a few inches and can bring others with him, but he mostly does it out of panic. Cookie can read minds and put thoughts into people’s heads, but it overwhelms her. As the Mighty Odds grow closer as friends, they find out that the Auxano company has been experimenting on more than just the rabbits: They’ve been using their technology to make their children smarter. So the Odds rush to the lab to see what’s really going on—but is this motley group of kids with patchwork powers really enough to save the day?

It’s summertime, and Julie and Lydia are going on a road trip! After all the ups and downs of their first year in junior high, they’re looking forward to seeing the sights and getting some new perspective on their quest for popularity. Papa Dad and Daddy will provide the transportation, and they’ll provide the entertainment. At first Julie and Lydia use their Powers of Observation to catalog the traditions and oddities of each new location they visit, but soon their attention turns to parents and family and negotiating sensitive family dynamics. By the time the duo hits familiar streets again, they may have to accept some uncomfortable truths, but their journey is infused with the humor, heart, and truthfulness that Amy Ignatow is known for.

Lydia and Julie have been through many adventures as they navigated junior high, popularity, families, and friendship. In the final adventure in the series, the peaceful world of Hamlin Junior High is rocked when Lydia and Julie learn that they’re going to have to play host to new students whose school burned down. The outside threat bands the Hamlin kids together against a common enemy—for a while. When the enemy gets their hands on Lydia and Julie’s notebook, no one wants anything to do with the girls. It’s the biggest threat to their friendship (and a pretty definitive failure of their quest for popularity), and it can only be solved one way. Two words: dance battle.

In the second title in the slam-dunk new series from bestselling author Amy Ignatow, the Odds are back and trying to figure out just who inflicted these lame abilities on them in the first place. Nick can still teleport four inches to the left, and Farshad’s thumbs are still super strong. Cookie can still read minds, if they’re thinking of directions, and Martina can still change the color of her eyes. But now, Martina can see the invisible, and when Nick is super stressed, he can move a lot farther than four inches. As their powers evolve in possibly dangerous ways, the Odds are even more determined to solve the mystery of their origin, but it means interacting at school—a serious social risk to popular girl Cookie. Soon, it becomes clear that Auxano, the chemical company that employs half the town, is involved. With the help of some renegade Amish teenagers and Ed, the invisible bus driver, this unlikely group of companions will uncover a nefarious experiment in which they’ve become unwitting test subjects. They’ll also begin to become something even more incredible—friends.

Best friends Julie and Lydia are back in this hilarious sequel to Amy Ignatow's breakout novel! After spending all of fifth grade studying popularity together, Julie and Lydia are finally ready to put their hard-earned lessons to use in junior high. But before they can, tragedy strikes: Lydia's mom gets a job in London for six whole months! Before Lydia can say "fancy a cup of tea?" she's thrust into a new school, where she earns a reputation as "the Violent American." Meanwhile Julie's stuck navigating the cliques of American junior high on her own, where she is adopted by a group of troublemaking eighth graders known as the Bichons. The two best friends will have to learn to keep in touch and stand on their own, assisted as always by their trusty notebook. Amy Ignatow's signature sense of humor is on full display in this satisfying sequel.

After spending six months apart in Book Two, best friends Julie and Lydia are reunited at last! Julie has said good-bye to the mean girls, and Lydia is ready to apply her hard-earned friendship lessons to founding their own crew. But bad news interrupts their reunion: their friend Sukie’s mother, ill for many years, has passed away. This shakes Lydia and Julie, who reevaluate their goals and decide to focus more on being supportive of the friends they have. Unfortunately, their well-meaning schemes almost immediately start to go awry, and everyone seems to be mad at them for reasons beyond their control. How can they be better friends when no one seems to want to give them the chance? As always, Julie and Lydia’s hilarious back-and-forth notes form the backbone of the novel, in which Amy Ignatow reveals all-too-real truths about friendship and loyalty.

Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang are best friends with one goal: to crack the code of popularity. Lydia’s the bold one: aspiring theater star, stick-fighting enthusiast, human guinea pig. Julie’s the shy one: observer and artist, accidental field hockey star, faithful recorder. In this notebook they write down their observations and carry out experiments to try to determine what makes the popular girls tick. But somehow, when Lydia and Julie try to imitate the popular girls, their efforts don’t translate into instant popularity. Lydia ends up with a bald spot, their parents won’t stop yelling, and Julie finds herself the number-one crush of Roland Asbjørnsen. Worse, they seem to be drifting farther and farther from their goal—and each other. Amy Ignatow’s hilarious debut novel introduces the intrepid fifth-graders Julie and Lydia, whose quest to understand popularity may not succeed in the ways they want, but will succeed in keeping readers in stitches.From Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books:Lydia and Julie, BFFs since birth, are now preparing to enter junior high, and they're on a mission to become popular. First, however, they have to determine exactly how popularity is achieved, so they decide to approach the matter as any good scientist would: observe those creatures already at the height of popularity and apply said observations to themselves, in the hopes of cracking into that mysterious world of junior-high stardom. The two record their observations and the often spectacularly unsuccessful outcomes of their various social experiments in a scrapbook-like journal, complete with notes passed at school, lists of projected popularity goals, and credibly goofy and kidlike drawings. The story here is fairly familiar: the girls fail miserably at their first attempts at the A-list (Lydia's hair falls out after a botched dye job, among other disasters) but eventually find acceptance in the upper echelon, only to learn the valuable lesson that it's the people you're most comfortable around who make the best friends. The diary format, however, adds an extra dimension of funny, and as in Jeff Kinney's Wimpy Kid series about Greg Heffley, it allows Julie and Lydia to come alive through their witty dialogue, their perceptive commentary, and even their characteristic handwriting. Secondary characters shine as well, particularly Julie's embarrassing but ultimately charming two dads, along with Lydia's goth-punk sister, a font of random quips and junior high wisdom. The popular kids end up being far from perfect and each has issues of her own to contend with, making the actual friendships that form among the girls all the more endearing. Those waiting for the next installment of Greg Heffley's adventures will be well served by this amusing experiment in sixth-grade celebrity. KQG

It’s summertime, and Julie and Lydia are going on a road trip! After all the ups and downs of their first year in junior high, they’re looking forward to seeing the sights and getting some new perspective on their quest for popularity. Papa Dad and Daddy will provide the transportation, and they’ll provide the entertainment. At first Julie and Lydia use their Powers of Observation to catalog the traditions and oddities of each new location they visit, but soon their attention turns to parents and family and negotiating sensitive family dynamics. By the time the duo hits familiar streets again, they may have to accept some uncomfortable truths, but their journey is infused with the humor, heart, and truthfulness that Amy Ignatow is known for.

After spending six months apart in Book Two, best friends Julie and Lydia are reunited at last! Julie has said good-bye to the mean girls, and Lydia is ready to apply her hard-earned friendship lessons to founding their own crew. But bad news interrupts their reunion: their friend Sukie’s mother, ill for many years, has passed away. This shakes Lydia and Julie, who reevaluate their goals and decide to focus more on being supportive of the friends they have. Unfortunately, their well-meaning schemes almost immediately start to go awry, and everyone seems to be mad at them for reasons beyond their control. How can they be better friends when no one seems to want to give them the chance? As always, Julie and Lydia’s hilarious back-and-forth notes form the backbone of the novel, in which Amy Ignatow reveals all-too-real truths about friendship and loyalty.