YMMV / How I Survived Middle School

• Alternative Character Interpretation: Is Addie just a selfish Jerkass who ditched Jenny the first chance she got for the popular crowd, or was she a genuinely nice kid who simply fell under Dana's Toxic Friend Influence? The books don't give a real answer because she and Jenny never truly reconcile, though it's occasionally hinted that she does suffer from insecurity issues.
• Unconvincingly Unpopular Character: Played with (or zig-zagged). On one hand, Jenny and her friends aren't particularly popular and it's always emphasized that the Pops are the ones on top of the social food chain, even though they're much friendlier and far more fun to be around than the Pops are. On the other hand, Jenny does win the class presidential election over Addie in Madame President and this sticks for the rest of the series, and her friends' webcast in Caught in the Web wins over the Pops' when the Pops stop making theirs after it ends in disaster.
• Unintentional Period Piece: Not as bad about it as other examples (and definitely not to outright time capsule levels), but the books are clearly products of the 2000s. Some topical trends of the time, like Jessica Simpson's Dessert Beauty makeup line, are casually referenced and it's particularly glaring that most of the middle schooler characters lack cell phones or social media (Addie and the Pops having cell phones is treated as an indicator of their "coolness"). The extent of Jenny's internet usage seems limited entirely to visiting one website for middle school activities and crafts, which seems unthinkable in a highly online day and age from the 2010s onwards.

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