![]() Even on a terrible day when Nikki has to ride to school in her dad’s embarrassing exterminator van and accidentally destroys her art competition entry, only to be the victim of MacKenzie’s bullying, Brandon tries to comfort her. This goes well for a while, but the sudden popularity is overwhelming, and Nikki eventually backs out of her busy tattoo-drawing demands.Īt the same time, Nikki has been growing closer to a cute boy named Brandon Roberts, who supportively backs whatever decision Nikki makes. The three girls set up a book drive, with a Nikki-drawn tattoo as an incentive for book donation. The tattoos are such a hit that Nikki becomes an in-demand tattoo drawer. When Brianna draws a smiley face on Nikki’s hand, Nikki has the idea to help Chloe and Zoey by giving them temporary tattoos. At home, Nikki suffers the annoyances of her little sister, Brianna. When this plan is foiled by their parents’ objections, the two girls talk about running away to Manhattan by themselves. Peach, Chloe and Zoey decide to get matching reading tattoos. When simply being good at shelving isn’t getting them the necessary amount of attention from Mrs. Peach, the librarian who decides which students will get to go on a field trip to New York City for National Library Week. They have been doing their best in the library to impress Mrs. This turns out to be a great decision because, in the library, Nikki meets the girls who will become her best friends: bookworms Chloe and Zoey. Worried that her art won’t stand up to MacKenzie’s, Nikki briefly pulls out of the competition and signs up to be a library shelving assistant instead. Nikki’s nemesis at school is another new student – the instantly popular and snobby MacKenzie Hollister, whom Nikki calls that “KILLER SHARK” in “sparkly nail polish.” MacKenzie and her friends mock Nikki’s clothes, labeling her a “dork,” but their hostility really comes to head when both girls decide to enter the Avant-Garde Art Competition at the beginning of October. As a response to her bratty demands, Nikki’s mom buys her a diary, so Nikki starts writing down her thoughts – this diary is the novel. Worried about fitting in with the wealthy kids she will find there, Nikki sets her sights on ways to achieve popularity: a new iPhone and a designer wardrobe. Other characters remain stereotypes: the jocks, the mean, popular blond girls, the irritating little sister, the embarrassing parents, the dorky good friends, the one honest guy.” When Nikki Maxwell is fourteen, her exterminator father gets a contract to work at Westchester Country Day School, which includes a scholarship for his daughter to attend this prestigious private institution. Even at the book's end, it is hard to know what is actually likable about Nikki. ![]() ![]() As Common Sense Media notes, “While some kids may find Nikki's daily dramas humorous, her obsession with fashion, tech gadgets, pop stars, TV, and makeup make her come across as shallow. Although the novels are modeled after other similar successful children’s series such as Diary of a Wimpy Kid, critics complain about their generic characters, stereotypical plotting, and off-putting materialism. ![]() Written in the form of diary entries accompanied by drawings, each novel covers a month in the life of the protagonist. Written by Rachel Renée Russell and illustrated by her daughter Nikki Russell, the books feature the adventures of a middle school girl as she makes her way through a new school rife with problems related to her low social status, her crush on a classmate, and her torment at the hands of a popular girl. Dork Diaries (2009) is the first novel in the children’s book series of the same name. ![]()
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