''Dork Diaries'' is a

children's book Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

series written and illustrated by

Rachel Renée Russell Rachel Renée Russell (born March 13, 1959) is an American author of the children's book series ''Dork Diaries'' and its spin-off ''The Misadventures of Max Crumbly.'' Russell grew up in Saint Joseph, Michigan, and has four younger siblings, tw ...

. The series, written in a

diary A diary is a written or audiovisual record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digital. A personal ...

format, uses

drawings Drawing is a form of Visual arts, visual art in which an artist uses instruments to mark paper or other two-dimensional surface. Drawing instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, various kinds of paints, inked brushes, colored pencils, ...

doodle A doodle is a drawing made while a person's attention is otherwise occupied. Doodles are simple drawings that can have concrete representational meaning or may just be composed of random and abstract lines or shapes, generally without ever lift ...

s, and

comic strips A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...

to chronicle the daily life of its 15-year-old adolescent protagonist, Nikki Maxwell. Over 5 million copies of the ''Dork Diaries'' books are in print in the United States, and publishing rights have been sold in 42 countries with translation into 38 different languages.

Books

Side books

* ''How to Dork Your Diary'' (October 8, 2011), presented as the third-and-half entry in the main series, is an activity book containing activities for the reader to write their own diary in the style of the books. It starts with the premise of Nikki losing her diary and then presenting her diary tips to make up for the loss. * ''Dork Diaries OMG!: All About Me Diary!'' (October 8, 2013) is an activity book which offers a prompt for the reader to answer for each day of the year.

Audio books

Audio books for books 1 and 2 were released on September 28, 2010.

''The Misadventures of Max Crumbly'' spinoff

This spin-off series focuses on Maxwell "Max" Crumbly, the character introduced in ''Tales from a Not-So-Perfect Pet Sitter'' and, also written in diary format, his life in middle school.

Characters

Nicole Julianne "Nikki" Maxwell : Nikki is the main character of the series. At the beginning, she transfers to Westchester Country Day, a private school she can only afford because of a scholarship. She is a misfit kid who lives with a family she considers weird (namely her father, an exterminator who drives around a van that has a giant cockroach on top of it), and is bullied by Mackenzie and the CCPs (Cute, Cool, & Popular clique). She enjoys art and sketching and has a flair for it. She has two best friends, Chloe Garcia and Zoeysha "Zoey" Franklin, and shows interest in Brandon Roberts, a fellow student who loves animals and photography. She has brown hair that is usually in pigtails and she is left-handed. Her real name is Nicole, but she prefers being called Nikki. Mackenzie Hollister : The most popular girl at Westchester Country Day and the leader of the CCP (Cute, Cool, & Popular Clique.) She has a locker next to Nikki’s. Mackenzie is wealthy, spoiled, self-centered, and mean. She always wears top designer outfits, carries expensive bags, and wears a lot of

lip gloss Lip gloss is a cosmetic used primarily to give lips a glossy luster, and sometimes to add a subtle color. It is distributed as a fluid or a soft solid (not to be confused with lip balm, which generally has medical or soothing purposes, or lipst ...

. She too has a crush on Brandon Roberts and tries to flirt with him, especially by twirling her hair, whenever possible. Mackenzie often bullies Nikki, calling her a dork, talking behind Nikki's back and trying to wreck her life with the help of her best friend, Jessica. She has blonde hair, blue eyes, and a little sister named Amanda, who is best friends with Nikki's sister, Brianna. Chloe Christina Garcia : Nikki’s best friend. Chloe is an avid

reader A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to: Computing and technology * Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader * Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application * A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...

and loves young adult romances. She is a self-proclaimed expert on guys and dating, and works in the library with Nikki and Zoey. She is described as somewhat prissy, but is a social outcast. Her parents own a

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...

company. She is the fifth most unpopular girl at Westchester Country Day. Garcia is canonically Latina. Zoeysha Ebony "Zoey" Franklin : Zoey is Nikki’s other best friend. She is super smart and also an avid reader, and is a self-proclaimed expert in psychology. She enjoys self-help books and often quotes them. Zoey works in the school library with Nikki and Chloe. Her mother is an attorney and her father is a

record executive A music executive or record executive is a person within a record label who works in senior management and makes executive decisions over the label's artists. Their role varies greatly but in essence, they can oversee one, or many, aspects of a re ...

, and they are divorced. Zoey is the third most unpopular girl in the school. Due partly to the clarification that Zoey looks like

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

in the second book, it is clear that she is African-American. Brandon Roberts : Nikki's and Mackenzie's crush. He is not as impressed by Mackenzie as everybody else, very obviously preferring Nikki. In the second book, he asks her to the dance (see above). In the seventh book, he kissed Nikki. In the books, he is described as "super cute" with wavy hair and blue eyes. He is shy around Nikki. Brandon is a photographer for Westchester Middle School's newspaper, and in ''Dork Diaries: Tales From a Not-So-Talented Pop Star'', it is revealed Brandon plays the drums and joins Nikki's band, "Actually, I'm Not Sure Yet". His parents died sometime before the series and he lives with his grandparents. He works in an animal center named Fuzzy Friends and loves being with the puppies there. He hopes to be a veterinarian in the future. In the 12th book, he finally confessed to Nikki that he likes her a lot. Brianna Lynn Maxwell : Nikki’s little 6-year-old sister. Brianna is afraid of the

tooth fairy The Tooth Fairy is a fantasy figure of early childhood in Western and Western-influenced cultures. The folklore states that when children lose one of their baby teeth, they should place it underneath their pillow or on their bedside table and ...

because Nikki told her the tooth fairy collects children's teeth to make

dentures Dentures (also known as false teeth) are prosthetic devices constructed to replace missing teeth, and are supported by the surrounding soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity. Conventional dentures are removable (removable partial denture or ...

for old people. She is terrible at cooking, often causing a mess, but she enjoys it. In the 13th book, she starts a business of dog biscuits that she makes herself, and earns more than 500$ to pay for Nikki's birthday party. She has a friend named Miss Penelope (which is her own hand with a face drawn on it with an ink pen), and loves Princess Sugar Plum. She is best friends with Amanda Hollister, Mackenzie Hollister's younger sister. Jessica Hunter : The second highest-ranking CCPs at WCD and Mackenzie's best friend. She also dislikes Nikki, and bullies her alongside Mackenzie. Jessica has blonde hair and loves the color

pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

. Her last name (Hunter) was revealed in ''Dork Diaries 3 1/2: How to Dork Your Diary''. Violet Baker : The most popular girl out of the most unpopular people. When she signs up to run for chairperson of WCD's Halloween dance, she loses to MacKenzie Hollister and signs up for clean-up committee instead. When Mackenzie quits, Violet becomes head of the entertainment committee. She has a huge

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

collection and is in a

wheelchair A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...

. She appears in the second and third book. In ''Dork Diaries: Tales From a Not So Talented Pop Star'', it is revealed Violet plays the piano. She is the pianist in Nikki's band, Actually, I'm Not Sure Yet. Theodore L. "Theo" Swagmire III : One of the unpopular boys in WCD and one of Nikki's friends. He is known for being the school nerd, and in Dork Diaries: Tales From a Not So Talented Pop Star, it is revealed he plays guitar. He is lead guitarist in Nikki's band, Actually, I'm Not Sure Yet. He hopes to one day go to

Hogwarts Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry () is a fictional Scotland, Scottish boarding school of Magic in Harry Potter, magic for students aged eleven to eighteen, and is the primary setting for the first six books in J. K. Rowling's ''Harry Pot ...

. He had a big crush on Mackenzie, but now has a crush on Zoey Franklin because they went together as dates to the Sweetheart Dance in ''Dork Diaries: Tales From a Not-So Happy Heartbreaker''. Marcy Simms : Nikki meets Marcy through her post as Miss-Know-It-All. Marcy sends an anonymous letter to Miss Know-It-All, saying that she's new, being bullied by some other girls, and can't find friends. Nikki tells her to hang in there, and keeps a look out for the new girl. She soon finds Marcy, and invites her to Brandon's birthday party, where Marcy has a great time. Marcy is Mackenzie's assistant fashion director for the newspaper, but is bullied by Mackenzie, and is deemed to be unfashionable by the latter. Marcy wears sports glasses and has short hair. Marcus : Marcus is a recurring character in the ''Dork Diaries'' series. He is the guitarist of Nikki's band, Actually, I'm Not Really Sure Yet. He appears in ''Dork Diaries: Tales From a Not-So Talented Pop Star'' and ''Dork Diaries: Tales From a Not-So Happy Heartbreaker''. He appears to be a shy, nice, and thoughtful character in ''Dork Diaries'' and is also known as one of the smartest people in school along with Theodore L. Swagmire III. He also has a crush on Chloe Garcia, and the both of them went on a date at the Sweetheart Dance in ''Dork Diaries: Tales From a Not-So Happy Heartbreaker''. Tiffany Davenport : Tiffany is the secondary antagonist of the ''Dork Diaries'' series. She is a student at North Hampton Hills International Academy, along with her BFFs, Hayley and Ava. She debuted in ''Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So Friendly Frenemy''. She is Nikki's enemy, and Mackenzie's frenemy. Her mother found out in book 12 that she was a cyberbully, and forced her to do community service doing the summer (which Tiffany really disliked). André is her stepbrother. André : André is the stepbrother of Tiffany. He was introduced in ''Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Secret Crush Catastrophe'' as Nikki's pen pal. Nikki first believes that he is a girl named Andrea and accidentally reveals some embarrassing information to him as a result, but they both become friends. André somewhat rivaled Brandon Roberts for Nikki's affection at first, but he eventually understood that Nikki only saw him as a friend and backed off. He is also the first and only friend of Nikki to call her Nicole.

Reception, awards, and honors

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

review of ''Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life'' praises the humor and ability to reflect upon early adolescence experiences well, saying "Nikki’s journey of self-discovery will appeal to preadolescent readers struggling to find their places in the world." As of August 2012, the ''Dork Diaries'' series has spent 43 weeks on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list in the Children's Series category. Book 1 :''Dork Diaries'' has been on the

New York Times Best Sellers ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...

list for 42 weeks and the USA Today Best Sellers list for 7 weeks. It was awarded the 2010 Children’s Choice Book of the Year Award for the 5th/6th grade division. On February 10, 2011, it was nominated as Book of the Year by the

Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards (also known as the KCAs or Kids' Choice) is an annual American children's awards ceremony show that is produced by Nickelodeon. Usually held on a Saturday night in late March or early April, the show honors ...

. Book 2 :''Dork Diaries: Party Time'' has been on the

list for 42 weeks and the USA Today Best Sellers list for 12 weeks. Books 1 and 2 appeared on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list simultaneously for 17 weeks, with the former peaking at #4 and the latter at #2. Book 3 :''Dork Diaries:Pop Star'' has been on the

list for 28 weeks and the USA Today Best Sellers list for 28 weeks. Book 3 1/2 :''Dork Diaries: How To Dork Your Diary'' has been on the

list for 14 weeks. The eighth book, ''Tales of a Not-So-Happily Ever After'', won the 2015

NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Children This article lists the winners and nominees for the NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP) to honor outstanding perfor ...

award.

Film adaptation

In March 2014,

Summit Entertainment Summit Entertainment is an American film production and distribution company. It is a label of Lionsgate Films, owned by Lionsgate Entertainment and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California. History Independent era (1991–2012) Summit E ...

acquired the movie rights to the series. Karen Rosenfelt is in negotiations to produce.Bacle, Ariana
"Summits nabs rights to 'Dork Diaries' book series."
Entertainment Weekly. Mar. 25, 2014

References

Notes

External links

*
''The Misadventures of Max Crumbly'' official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dork Diaries Book series introduced in 2009 2009 children's books 2000s children's books 2010s children's books Fictional diaries Novels set in elementary and primary schools Novels about bullying Series of children's books Aladdin Paperbacks books