Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Book Review - DORK Diaries by Rachel Renee Russell


Published by Aladdin
Publishing Date- June 2009

Ages 9-12
288 pages


Synopsis: (from DorkDiaries.com website)

New school.
New mean girl.
New crush.
New diary so Nikki can
spill about ALL OF IT…

Dork Diaries follows eighth grader Nikki Maxwell, who chronicles through text and sketches her move to a snooty new school; her epic battle with her mom for an iPhone; her enthusiasm for drawing & art; and a love/hate facination with the new school's queen bee, a girl named Mackenzie who becomes Nikki's rival in a school-wide art competition.

Nikki J. Maxwell is your typical Middle School Girl. She's dealing with all the issues you'd expect -- a mean girl rival, parents that are, you know, embarrassing and a crush on a cute boy. That's a lot, isn't it??

I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved the format of this book. Just like Diary of a Wimpy Kid, the pages are filled with sketches and an easy-to-read, hand-written font. Nikki's voice is funny and at times her mishaps are so touching that you find yourself wishing you could help her out of all those socially awkward moments associated with that particular grade.

Although my First Grade daughter was a little young to truly grasp some of the themes in the book, she did understand the concept of the main theme -- the importance of family and truly good friends. We both laughed our way through the book and are anxiously awaiting the sequel, DORK Diaries: Tales From A Not So Popular Party Girl which will be released on June 8th.


I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves. ~ Anna Quindlen

Good children's literature appeals not only to
the child in the adult, but to the adult in the child.
~ Anonymous ~