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. (That means no Minecraft.Dork Diaries (2009) is the first novel in the children’s book series of the same name. Just be sure you don’t get into something that you’ll have a hard time stopping. If you break it up like this, it won’t feel so painful. Maybe all of you can take a walk to the store to get some candy and snacks, then come back and work on your English homework. So, let’s say you work on math for a half-hour right after school with all of your friends. But unfortunately, we can only do that stuff after putting in our time with the books. Of course, I’d much rather do other things with my friends – like play video games, shoot hoops, and sit around talking about stupid stuff, like who can eat more cheese fries. This way, we can all help each other, and it becomes part of my social life instead of something that takes away from my social life. One thing that has helped me is doing homework with my friends, and right after school (so I’m not doing it in bed with a flashlight at 1:00AM). I’m no dream interpreter, but I think that kind of speaks for itself: I was literally trapped in my homework, and it was keeping me from having fun and doing everything I love! There was a horrible rainstorm going on in the top half, so I was drenched and shivering, and it was like a beach party in the bottom half, with loud dance music and a bright shining sun. This one time, I was trapped inside the top part of a number eight, and all my friends were in the bottom part, along with my camera and the cats and dogs from my grandparents’ animal shelter. I hear you on this! I have homework nightmares too.
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