Dork Diaries 1: Tales From A Not-So-Fabulous Life Read Free Books and Download eBooks
Meet Nikki Maxwell! She’s starting eighth grade at a new school—and her very first diary packed with hilarious stories and art in this SUPER SQUEE updated edition of Book One of 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 schoolwide art competition. Nearly 30 million books in print worldwide!
Lexile Measure: 890 (What's this?)
Series: Dork Diaries (Book 1)
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Aladdin; First Edition edition (June 2, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1416980067
ISBN-13: 978-1416980063
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.1 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (754 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #3,480 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #45 in Books > Children's Books > Growing Up & Facts of Life > Friendship, Social Skills & School Life > Girls & Women #74 in Books > Children's Books > Comics & Graphic Novels #74 in Books > Children's Books > Growing Up & Facts of Life > Friendship, Social Skills & School Life > School
Age Range: 9 - 13 years
Grade Level: 4 - 8
Dork Diaries was a complete impulse buy. After leafing through a few pages and deciding to take it home (mostly because I thought the drawings were cute), I zipped through it in an afternoon.The story recounts, in gory detail, how fourteen year old Nikki Maxwell is adjusting to life in her new school. She comes from an average middle class family, but the school is an upper class haven; she only attended because her father received the pest extermination contract and cajoled a scholarship for his daughter. Of course, if anyone--especially MacKenzie, the uber-rich mean girl and leader of the CCP (Cute, Cool & Popular crowd)--found out that she was the daughter of the man driving around town with a GINORMOUS cockroach on his van, her life would be over before it even began.Nikki's mother, in an attempt to open her daughter's lines of communication, gets her a diary. Of course, Nikki was expecting a new iPhone, so she had a minor meltdown. But as she warms up to the idea of writing in a diary, we come to see who Nikki is as a person, and ultimately, what matters most to her. She's a multi-dimensional (and far from perfect) character, which made her charming.She was artistic, creative, sometimes self-centered, and sometimes self-conscious. I found myself relating because people don't always see the forest for the trees, and we become paranoid that our friends aren't being true friends, that the world truly will end if we don't fit in with the popular people, and lose sight of what's important. And we watch as she matures through her various experiences and learns valuable lessons: the grass isn't always greener on the other side, be true to yourself, don't judge a book by its cover, and running away from problems won't solve them.The writing itself was pleasant and witty, but sometimes the overzealous use of all-caps wore on me. The illustrations throughout, which highlighted Nikki's commentary, were adorable. One in particular--when she's forced to reveal the cell phone she purchased for $12.99 on eBay--was hilarious; I laughed until a tear sprang forth. Unfortunately, the subsequent illustrations didn't illicit the same reaction, but they were still well done and comical. I did make one other observation about the artwork and its continuity--sometimes Nikki was right-handed and sometimes left. It's possible she's ambidextrous, but somehow I believe it was a minor oversight.All-in-all, this was a delightful and quick book. Although I don't believe too many boys would be interested in Nikki's story, I would certainly recommend it to girls who are coming of age and even adults who want to reminisce.
I can't believe how much I enjoyed the new middle grade book DORK DIARIES: TALES FROM A NOT-SO-FABULOUS LIFE by Rachel Renee Russell. I guess you could say I was pleasantly surprised by my reaction to this book -- basically, I didn't want to put it down. It was just so much fun to read, and I absolutely couldn't wait to hear what my nine year old daughter thought.I just adored this book. I loved the character of Nikki and felt that almost all young girls are going to be able to relate to her. She has the "normal" middle school insecurities such as the desire to be popular, wondering who she can trust as a friend, and fear of being laughed at. It's been a long time since I was in eighth grade, but I could definitely relate to being the new girl in school -- it's very hard at that age!While there were certainly times that I felt Nikki's pain, I'd say for the most part this book was a hoot! Nikki was a terrific character who had a great perspective on her life. I found myself laughing hysterically at her attempts to get an iPhone, and I also thought the scenes with her little sister to be fantastic. (Like Nikki, I had a sister who was a good bit younger.) And her parents....well, as a parent I probably shouldn't have thought they were so funny, but the way Nikki described their actions was hilarious. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I laughed out loud while reading this story.Since DORK DIARIES is supposed to read like Nikki's actual diary, the book had a really cool format with interesting fonts and amazing illustrations. I loved the look of this book and thought that Nikki's drawings really enhanced the story and allowed the reader to better understand Nikki. Ms. Russell is not only a fantastic writer but also a terrific artist! The various pictures of Nikki's life were just adorable while also being extremely funny. DORK DIARIES is very easy to read with the font and pictures, and I think this book will appeal to even the most reluctant reader. I am sincerly hoping that it's going to be the first in a series. I definitely want to see more of Nikki and her family and friends.I have a feeling that this book is going to be a big hit with middle grade girls. When my daughter took this book to school, the girls were all over it -- asking her questions like "where did you get it?," "how did you get it?," "can I borrow it?," etc. I think the cover alone will attract many young girls because it is just so cute.I definitely recommend this book for any middle grade girl in your life, although I have to admit that I enjoyed it a great deal too! The messages in this book are fantastic -- ones that young girls need to hear over and over again. I like that the book focused on what's really important in our lives such as family and friends. This book also showed that it's normal to feel insecure at this age, but I'm hoping that young girls will see how Nikki coped and learn from her. In fact, my daughter thought Nikki was great and didn't understand why she thought she was a "dork." I jumped at this opportunity and told her that maybe some people would say the exact same thing about her! (I think it's sometimes easier to see things in others.) I also liked the message that girls who seem to have it all, sometimes don't; and that it does pay to be a nice girl and a good friend.I wasn't surprised when my daughter absolutely devoured this book. I don't think we saw her face the entire time she was reading DORK DIARIES because she had her nose buried in the pages. Here are some of her thoughts:I liked DORK DIARIES because it was really made me laugh. It was kind of sad too in parts of the story, but it was still funny. I liked Nikki because she is really funny. I liked her drawings of the characters. I sometimes feel geeky and nerdy at school, so I understood how Nikki felt.
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