A joint review from Elena Gower & Nova King (both aged nine)
We like Dork Diaries more than Diary of a Wimpy Kid, or The Story of Tracey Beaker, starring Tracey Beaker, shopping in River Island, watching Star Wars, building Lego or eating doughnuts. And we don’t just mean those boring apple crumble doughnuts but the chocolate ones, with the sprinkles on top!
The Dork Diaries are also funnier than the Itchy and Scratchy Show, looking at funny cats on YouTube, farting in daddy’s bed or making up shows at home.
In case you don’t know, they’re written by Rachel Renée Russell who has two jobs. She is a lawyer, but also likes to write Dork Diaries because books are a lot more fun and pyjamas and bunny slippers aren’t allowed in court! That’s what she says.
We both have favourite bits such as when Brianna gets caught in MacKenzie’s bathroom. Another time, in Skating Sensation, she ends up on stage, dressed like a mummy, during a performance of The Nutcracker. The performers don’t know why everybody’s laughing at them…
Clara and the Nutcracker prince, still all smiles, stared back at the audience with perplexed looks on their faces. But when they finally turned and saw Brianna standing there smiling and waving at the audience, they totally FREAKED…
The pictures also make the stories more interesting and funny and some are pictures of Nikki’s imagination.
We love Dork Diaries because sometimes we feel like Nikki Maxwell. She is the main character. She is a lot like us and so we can identify with her. Brianna is so cheeky and mischiefy and her hand puppet Miss Penelope is SO funny. In one book Brianna pretends to be a top hair designer but it ends in disaster when she tries to give Nikki a stylish haircut but ends up looking a bit like a hedgehog!
It’s good that the stories don’t always have happy endings which makes it feel like Nikki and her family and friends are real people. Dork Diaries are simply supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Banner illustration by Dean Lewis
