So every month, I post a new poll on my website (www.jessicaleader.com–just like this except w/out the blog)–that relates in some way to Nice and Mean.  The first was about whether you were nice or mean or somewhere in between, back in middle school; last month’s had to do with getting what you want (something both characters have great difficulty doing–one wreaks havoc in her wake; the other one sneaks). 

This month, I’ve asked, How did you decide what to wear in seventh grade?  People have been voting, with interesting results (honestly, I would not have guessed my friends and acquaintances were quite as conformist, but I suppose we all are, in some way)–but the best responses have come from Facebook.  In the name of giving you something interesting to read (because it is, after all, Comment Challenge Month, so we’re all hopping on each others’ blogs in search of material juicy enough to comment on), here are some fabby excerpts:

Stole my stepsister’s jeans and hoped to get home from school before she did so I wouldn’t be caught.

In seventh grade, I think I was shopping at stores like Claire’s. Eighth grade was the year for curlers. The bangs were definitely in a forehead salute.

I can’t remember how, but I do remember never getting it right.

Hey there! In case you’re new to the blog–every month (ish), I post a poll on my website related to the themes of Nice and Mean. So far, we’ve learned How nice (or mean) were you in seventh grade? And now we’re learning…

How do you get what you want?

If someone is standing in the way of getting what I want, I am most likely to…

• Decide what I want is not worth an argument 0%
• Sneak around them to get my way — 13%
• Discuss what I want with the person and try to compromise — 44%
• Try to get them to see that what I want is good for them, too — 31%
• Blow past them however I can to achieve my goal — 13%

If you’re a blow-paster, you’re like narrator numero uno, Marina, and frankly, even though I know many adult readers may balk at Marina’s brashness, I think young readers like and even envy that quality.  Why are they so into The Clique and The Ashleys?  The clothes, maybe, but also the idea that somebody out there just does what she wants.  Of course, maybe they also comfort from the fact that there are often consequences from completely unleashing your inner beech tree. 

If you kind of swallow what you want, you’re like Sachi–at least, how she starts at the beginning of the book.  She learns a little from her experiences, and from Marina, to be more direct. 

To vote in this month’s poll, How did you decide what to wear in seventh grade? Go here.

Happy birthday to my website, just over a month old.  If it were a baby, it could…hm…despite being a new auntie, I don’t actually know.  But since it’s my website, it has something to report: poll results! 

Last month I asked whether you, in seventh grade, were/are nice, mean, or somewhere in between.  54 of you awesome people reported the following, with the most popular in green:

You in seventh grade:

I always try to be nice, no matter what 30% (16 votes)

I’m usually pretty nice, except if I’m in a bad mood 33% (18 votes)

To be honest, I can be both nice and mean 28% (15 votes)

I’m nice to my friends, but if I don’t respect someone, I have no problem being mean 7% (4 votes)

I’d be mean to friends, enemies, or whoever, if they get in my way 2% (1 votes)

I was inspired that so many people tried to be nice as often as they could.  But frankly….I don’t know…who else out there teaches seventh grade?  Who else remembers seventh grade?  Don’t you think there were way more people who had no problems being mean to someone they didn’t respect? 

So–the people who took the poll–friends and fellow children’s book writers–are exceptionally nice?  We have faulty memories?  We don’t think we’re being mean, but sometimes, we are?  To what do you attribute this discrepancy?  Very curious.  Can’t wait to hear thoughts.

Oh, and: As you may have guessed, these answers correspond to characters in the book.  Most of you were Sachi, and not Marina.  You’ll see what I mean.