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    Dork Diaries 1: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
    Dork Diaries 1: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
    Dork Diaries 1: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
    Ebook304 pages1 hour

    Dork Diaries 1: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life

    By Rachel Renée Russell

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Meet Nikki Maxwell! She’s starting eighth grade at a new school—and her very first diary packed with hilarious stories and art in 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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAladdin
    Release dateJun 2, 2009
    ISBN9781416986553
    Dork Diaries 1: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
    Author

    Rachel Renée Russell

    Rachel Renée Russell is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dork Diaries, an international blockbuster series chronicling the life and misadventures of middle school students, Nikki Maxwell and her best friends Chloe and Zoey. With humor and wit, Rachel’s books encourage tweens to embrace their individuality and always let their inner dork shine through. The Dork Diaries series has been translated into forty-two languages worldwide and its characters are as diverse as the millions of tweens who read the books. With more than fifty-five million books in print, the series has garnered such honors as two Kids’ Book Choice Awards, an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for Children, the Milner Award for Children’s Literature, and a Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Book of the Year nomination. Rachel is also the author of a second New York Times bestselling series, The Misadventures of Max Crumbly, which received a Kids’ Book Choice Award. Her daughter, Nikki Russell, is the illustrator for both book series. The mother-daughter team has released nineteen consecutive New York Times bestsellers.

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    Reviews for Dork Diaries 1

    4.5/5

    224 ratings63 reviews

    What our readers think

    Readers find this title to be a funny and entertaining novel for kids. The relatable characters, including Nikki, her crush Brandon, mean girl Mackenzie, and supportive BFFs, make the story enjoyable. The book is praised for its humor, relatable moments, and unforgettable characters. Some readers mention that they love how the book encourages them to be themselves and not worry about others' opinions. Overall, readers highly recommend this series for its funny and relatable content.

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      I really liked this book! I tell my friends 'if you want a girl version of 'Diary of a wimpy kid', this is the book for you!'.
    • 3/5
      Entertaining and very current. A girl's answer to the 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' series.
    • 5/5
      I have heard this book for some many years now and never thought to read it. This book is really funny and their are so many puns in the book that I don't think I even found them all. The hand-drawn pictures in the book make this book that much better because it gives the author more time to develop the story than to describe a setting. I was shocked to find that this book does contain bullying, however, it's not that bad. After reading this book, I am stocked to read the other books in the series.
    • 5/5
      Since I LOVE so much comedy books, and books that include so many emotions, I think this book can hit the shelf!?
    • 5/5
      It’s a funny, entertaining novel for kids! I love it! I’m nine years old and I hate reading! But, this made me want to not stop reading! 5 Stars!
    • 5/5
      It was amazing I dont go to real school so reading these types of books help me to make a image inside my head but I'm always happy to read these books<3
    • 5/5
      It was cool and I like Ed it la la
    • 5/5
      it was funny and awesome and it was cool and it was amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
    • 5/5
      It’s a really good book I hunk everyone should read it
    • 3/5
      It is a great starting to the book and I’m looking forward for more
    • 5/5
      I loved this book because it help me not to think what others think of me but to just be myself. I love the dork diaries series and hope there are more books to come.
    • 5/5
      I love how she hade a good talent that helped her
    • 5/5
      It is a very good book and you can't wait to read the next page whet is more interesting than reading about a pre-teen and a socially challenged drama queen? Rachel is sure to become your new fave author!
    • 5/5
      Book had funny, relatable moments that any drop-hot wannabe CCP teen would had lOved book contains laughter, joy, and SQEEEEE moments! Highly recommend for any body that wants books with tea that burns your hands when touched, PREACH SISTA
    • 5/5
      This series is one of my favorites! I highly recommend this!
    • 5/5
      It is full of wonderfulness amazing story and great humor I have fairly shared some interesting information
    • 5/5
      It's everything that a nerdy teenage girl would want to read about when going through a bad time in her life.
    • 5/5
      For the first time I felt like it is amazing and so on.
    • 5/5
      It was so good and awesome. I recommend it.
    • 4/5
      My rating may be unfair because I'm not the target audience, which, according to the back of the book, is ages 9-13. But the local elementary school librarian said her husband found the book to be laugh-out-loud. The main character starts attending a private school, where she feels like an outsider, but thanks to her artistic talent and genuineness and niceness she succeeds. I wondered what would have happened if she weren't good at drawing temporary tatoos on students and if the ink would make people ill. As I said, I'm not the target audience.
    • 4/5
      When she starts snooty prep school Westchester Country Day, Nikki is determined to be a super star. Unfortunately some things get in the way, like having a locker next to queen bee Mackenzie and getting a diary instead of the posh cell phone she was hoping for. In her diary, Nikki chronicles her misadventures as she tries to make friends and avoid embarrassment. This is perfect for girls who can't get enough Wimpy Kid!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      i thought it was ok

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      This graphic novel is the first in a series, told from a middle school girl's point of view. I'd recommend it to grades 8 and up, though, as it describes what sounds more like a high school (dissecting frogs in biology, for example). Some of the references are already dated, too (pubbed in 2009, and younger students won't get them all. However, the voice of a preteen/teen was completely realistic. Made me laugh and cry and I think students (in honesty, girls) will totally relate to the main character.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Dork Diaries Tales from a NOT-SO-Fabulous Life is about a eighth grader who just transferred to a new school and she is trying to be a CCP (Cute,Cool, and Popular) girl,but,instead, she gets landed as the biggest dork in school. Nikki, the main character, has a locker right next to the biggest CCP diva in school, and she is struggling to find friendship, popularity, and courage. It is a bumpy road. I absolutely loved this book because a) I like graphic novels, and b) it is like a female version of Diary of a Wimpy kid, which I liked. Also, I kind of think a little bit like her.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Some interesting stuff re: writing on the body and the protag.'s role as narrator, but otherwise merely an ok novel. I was mostly out off by the artwork, which seemed too perfect, and suggested more that a computer had drawn it than a human hand. Should be included on a syllabus, but make sure other GNs are, too.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I love it very much ,it is very great !!wow

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      3.5 stars
    • 5/5
      Everyone can relate to Nikki about her little sister and family,Crush Brandon,Mean girl Mackenzie,And the BFFs that got your Back.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      It is a cool book
    • 5/5
      It's is such a good book

    Book preview

    Dork Diaries 1 - Rachel Renée Russell

    SATURDAY, AUGUST 31

    Sometimes I wonder if my mom is BRAIN DEAD. Then there are days when I know she is.

    Like today.

    The drama started this morning when I casually asked if she would buy me one of those cool new cell phones that do almost everything. I considered it a necessity of life, second only to maybe oxygen.

    What better way to clinch a spot in the CCP (Cute, Cool & Popular) group at my new private school, Westchester Country Day, than by dazzling them with a wicked new cell.

    Last year, it seemed like I was the ONLY student in my ENTIRE middle school who didn’t have one . So I bought an older, used phone SUPERcheap on eBay.

    It was bigger than what I wanted, but I figured I couldn’t go wrong for the clearance price of only $12.99.

    I put my telephone in my locker and spread the word that I had HOT gossip about my NEW phone and that everyone could now call me.

    Then I counted down the minutes before my social life started heating up.

    I got really nervous when two of the CCP girls came walking down the hall in my direction, chatting on their cell phones.…

    They came right over to my locker and started acting SUPERfriendly.

    Then they invited me to sit with them at lunch and I was like, Umm… okay. But deep down inside I was jumping up and down and doing my Snoopy happy dance.…

    Then things got really strange.

    They said they had heard the hot gossip about my brand-new iPhone and that everyone (meaning the rest of the CCP crew) was DYING to see it.

    I was about to explain that I'd said I had HOT gossip about my NEW phone NOT the HOT gossip is about my NEW iPhone, but I never got a chance because, unfortunately, my telephone started ringing.

    Very loudly.

    I was trying my best to ignore it, but both of the CCP girls were staring at me like, Well, aren’t you going to answer it?!…

    Obviously, I didn’t want to answer it because I had a really bad feeling they were going to be a little disappointed when they actually saw my phone.

    So I just stood there praying that it would stop ringing, but it didn’t.

    And pretty soon, everyone in the hallway was staring at me too.

    Finally, I gave in, snatched open my locker, and answered the phone. Mainly to stop that AWFUL ringing.…

    I was like, Umm… sorry. Wrong number.

    And when I turned around, both of the CCP girls were running down the hall screaming, Make it go away! Make it go away! I guessed it probably meant they DIDN’T want me to sit with them at lunch anymore, which was really HUMILIATING!

    The most important lesson I learned last year was that having a CRUDDY phone—or NONE at all—can totally RUIN your social life. While millions of kids regularly FORGET their homework, not a single one would be caught DEAD without their cell phone. Which was why I was nagging my mom about getting ME one.

    I’ve tried saving up my own money to buy it, but that was impossible to do. Mainly because I’m an artist and TOTALLY ADDICTED to drawing! Like, if I don’t do it every day, I’ll go NUTZ!

    I spend ALL of my cash on sketchbooks, pencils, pens, art camp, and other stuff.

    Hey, I’m so BROKE, I have a milk shake on layaway at McDonald’s!

    Anyway, when Mom came home from the mall with a special back-to-school present for me, I was pretty sure I knew what it was.

    She rambled on and on about how my attending a new private school was going to be a stressful time of tremendous personal growth and how my best coping mechanism would be to communicate my thoughts and feelings.

    I was absolutely

    ECSTATIC

    because you can communicate with a

    NEW CELL PHONE!

    Right?!

    I kind of zoned out on most of what my mom was saying because I was DAYDREAMING about all of the cool apps, games, and music I was going to download.

    It was going to be LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT!…

    ME AND MY NEW CELL PHONE!!

    But after my mom FINALLY finished her little speech, she smiled really big, hugged me, and handed me a BOOK.…

    I opened it and FRANTICALLY flipped through the pages, figuring that maybe she had hidden my new cell phone inside.

    It made perfect sense at the time because all the advertisements said it was THE thinnest model on the market.

    But slowly it dawned on me that my mom had NOT gotten me a cell phone, and my so-called present was just a stupid little book!

    Talk about major HEARTBREAK!

    Then I noticed that ALL the pages of the book were BLANK.

    I was like, OH. NO. SHE. DIDN’T!

    My mom had given me two things: a DIARY and irrefutable evidence she IS, in fact,

    CLINICALLY BRAIN DEAD!!

    Absolutely no one writes their most intimate feelings and deep, dark secrets in a diary anymore! WHY?!

    Because just one or two people knowing all your BIZ could completely RUIN your reputation.

    You’re supposed to post this kind of juicy stuff online on your BLOG so MILLIONS can read it!!!…

    Only a TOTAL DORK would be caught WRITING in a DIARY!! This is THE worst present I have ever received in my entire life!

    I wanted to yell at the top of my lungs:

    Mom, I don’t need a STUPID book with 336 BLANK pages!!

    What I NEED is to be able to communicate my thoughts and feelings to my friends using my very own cell phone.

    Wait! Silly me. I keep forgetting. I don’t have any friends. YET. But that could change overnight, and I need to be prepared. With a shiny new cell!

    In the meantime, I will NOT write in this diary again.

    NEVER! EVER!!

    MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2

    Okay. I know I said I’d never write in this diary again. I meant it at the time.

    I’m definitely not the kind of girl who curls up with a diary and a box of Godiva chocolates to write a bunch of really sappy stuff about

    MY DREAMY BOYFRIEND,

    MY FIRST KISS,

    or my overwhelming ANGST about the HORRIFIC discovery that I’m a

    PRINCESS

    of a small French-speaking principality and now worth

    BILLIONS!!

    THIS IS SO NOT ME!

    MY LIFE TOTALLY SUCKS!! All day I wandered around my new school like a ZOMBIE in lip gloss. Not a single person bothered to say hi.

    THIS IS ME!

    MOST OF THE TIME I FEEL INVISIBLE!

    How am I supposed to fit in at a snobby prep school like Westchester Country Day?! This place has a Starbucks in the cafeteria!

    I wish my dad had NEVER been awarded a bug extermination contract from this school.

    They can take their little pity scholarship and give it to someone who wants and needs it, because I sure DON’T!

    TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3

    It’s way past midnight, and I’m about to freak out because I still don’t have my homework done.

    I was really surprised to hear a knock on my bedroom door this late at night, and I assumed it was my six-year-old sister, Brianna.

    About a week ago, she lost one of her front teeth and buried it in the backyard to see if it would grow.

    She is FOREVER doing crazy-weird stuff like that.

    My mom says it’s because she’s still a little kid. But I personally think it’s because she has the IQ of a box of crayons.

    As a little joke, I told Brianna the tooth fairy collected teeth from children all over the world and then superglued them together to make dentures for old people.

    I explained that she was in BIG TROUBLE with the tooth fairy, seeing as she had dug a hole and buried her tooth somewhere out in the backyard.

    The funniest part was that Brianna TOTALLY believed me.

    She actually dug up half of Mom’s flower garden trying to find her tooth.

    Since then Brianna has been paranoid that the tooth fairy is going to sneak into her room in the middle of the night and pull out ALL her teeth to make dentures.

    But my prank kind of backfired, because now she absolutely REFUSES to use the bathroom at night unless I first check inside to make sure the tooth fairy is not hiding behind the shower curtain or under the bath towels.

    And if I’m not quick enough, Brianna will have a little accident right on my bedroom carpet.

    MY LITTLE SISTER, BRIANNA

    Unfortunately, I

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