Dork Diaries
2009
- diaries
- nyt:series_books=2011-07-23
- friendship
- juvenile fiction
- popularity
- fiction
- freundschaft
- jugendbuch
- artists
- schools
The story
Nikki Maxwell is starting eighth grade at a new school—and her very first diary is packed with hilarious stories and art in this SUPER SQUEE updated edition of the first book in the #1 New York Times bestselling Dork Diaries series! Nikki confesses all in her first diary ever: her epic battle with her mom for an iPhone, meeting her new soon-to-be BFFs Chloe and Zoey, falling for adorably sweet crush Brandon, dealing with her zany little sister Brianna’s antics—and the immediate clashes with mean girl MacKenzie, who becomes Nikki’s rival in a school-wide art competition.
What it’s like
Bright, cluttered, and handmade-looking: a middle-grade diary where the page is the screen, with doodles, lists, collage-style notes, and hand-lettered captions crowding every spread. The voice is first-person and breezy, full of exclamations, self-deprecating asides, and running jokes about crushes, sisters, and a mom who won't budge on the phone. The palette of the book's art is pastel and sticker-bright, and the whole thing reads like a scrapbook kept by someone who cannot stop decorating. Pacing is quick and light, with short entries that turn over fast, so it suits a lazy afternoon, a bus ride, or a comfort reread between longer books. Emotional register is warm and gently anxious: the stakes are friendships, first crushes, and a school art contest, and the arc follows a girl learning to trust her own quirks instead of chasing the popular crowd. Entirely free of violence, with only mild teasing and rivalry. For younger readers and adults who want something sweet, funny, and visually playful with no darkness.
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