Includes bibliographical references (p. 399-433).

Journalist Robbins explores the ways group identity theories play out among cliques--and the students they exclude. She reveals the new labels students stick onto each other today, the long-term effects of this marginalization, and the reasons students in these categories are often shunned. Then she celebrates them. The homogenization of the US education system has made outcasts more important than ever. In this conformist, creativity-stifling society, the innovation, courage, and differences of outcasts--nerds, weirdos, punks, etc.--are crucial to progress. Robbins intertwines psychology with science, addressing questions such as "Why are popular people mean?" and "Why do social labels stick?" As in Pledged and The Overachievers, Robbins follows students through the course of a year. In her other books, however, Robbins merely observed students. This time, she forces them to examine who they are and how other students perceive them, then dares them to step outside of their comfort zone to attempt social experiments at their schools--experiments that end up changing their lives.--From publisher description.