Home

One of the central themes in "How Not to Be Popular" is the concept of home. Rosie and Les believe that there is too much of the world to stay in one place and that the ability to get up and leave is an adventure. Because of this, Maggie has lived all over the country and experienced many different types of lifestyles, but she also feels un-tethered. For many years as a child she has gone a long with it, but after leaving her last and favorite home Portland, Oregon and her boyfriend, Trevor—she has had enough.

Desperate to not get attached to another place, she makes a plan to hate Austin. But, even in the first weeks, she's enjoying the new place that she inevitably feels will never be a real home, just a transient stopping place on her parents' list of places to live...