Dork Diaries, book 8
by Rachel Renee Russell
Aladdin
2014
295 pages
ISBN: 9781481421843
Read an excerpt
Fans of this series will be excited to get the newest book. The cover has massive tween girl appeal with its overload of pretty glitter and the eye-catching purple (lavender?) color will help the book fly off the shelf.
The story (sadly) does not live up to its packaging. The previous Dork Diaries were cute, funny, snarky, and fun to read. Tales From a Not-So-Happily Every After falls flat. Brianna is still a pain in the neck, Mackenzie is still a mean-girl diva, Brandon is still swoon-able and Nikki is as dorky as ever, but the story veers off into fairy-tale land. When Nikki is hit in the head during a brutal game of dodge ball, she blacks out. During her blackout, she "dreams" of every child's fairy tale imaginable: Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Cinderella, and many others.
I wish this Dork Diaries had more of a creative story. I felt a bit cheated that the author used well-known tales to tell a new??? story.
The book will probably have good sales and may make it to the bestseller list on the strength of the titles that came before. Readers may choose to skip the next book (if there is one). It is a shame that the latest in the series is the weakest one of all. The previous Dork Diaries--Tales From a Not-So-Happy Heartbreaker--was Russell at her best; too bad the newest title followed such a strong book.
Recommended for fans of the series. Grade 4-up.
This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC
requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and
Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)
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