I’m obviously suffering from a very serious and debilitating medical condition called CBPP, or CRUDDY BIRTHDAY PARTY PHOBIA. There are a lot of Dork Diaries books to read, and once the super-fan is happy to move on, here are some books that are equally enjoyable. Dazzling drawings If you want two perspectives, try The Offline Diaries by Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené, where Ade and Shanice become instant friends. But then Ade is invited to hang out with the popular girls… We can’t miss out The Princess Diaries – a classic series by Meg Cabot, but do read the books before you watch the films. Funny, warm-hearted and full of drama, they are a must-read.

Meet Nikki Maxwell (aka Queen of the Dorks!) in the first book in the mega-selling Dork Diaries series, for fans of Lottie Brooks. Join the jokes, drama and aDORKable BFFs with over 50 million copies in print worldwide! Happy to report I liked this one a lot more than I liked the last one. If you ignore the cringy fortnite references, it was really enjoyable. It felt like the good old days when the series was just starting with Nikki and her friends doing crazy stuff that would get them arrested. When I started this series I found Nikki to be relatable, if kinda melodramatic, and sweet. She’s got a loving family and friends and used to have cute little dramas at school that pretty much anyone could relate to. These days her problems are essentially most peoples’ dreams come true. I wonder how she’d cope if she had to face a real problem. I used to love this series but at this point I think I’m done. 🙁 Everything is SO unbelievably PERFECT, I need to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming. OUCH!! That hurt! (I just pinched myself!) My wonderful birthday party had turned into a complete CATASTROPHE! It was AWFUL! Thank goodness the entire thing was just a…Here's my downfall. I did just read a rating that didn't exactly like this book and it got my wheels spinning. Not wanting to spoil, (this might be a spoil, so perhaps skip to next paragraph? CAUTION) but Nikki and Brandon don't really do much. And I can see Nikki does kind of whine and doesn't exactly solve her problems like I would or some others might. But, I do respect the point that Rachel is trying to keep her readers hooked in and probably has everything solved at the last minute/last book. Maybe Rachel you could maybe do something about that when Nikki's in Paris? I'm sure my sister would love it for she is a fan of your books and agrees a small bit with me. Though I do understand this book is mainly for 3rd to 6th graders, possibly 7th. I loved this series first books. Books 1-6 are all amazing. 7, 8 and 9 are also really worth the read. But something just happened around book 10. It's like if Barbie were in book form, she'd be books 10-13. At least that's the vibe I get. Maybe I'm just getting too old for these books (I'm in my last year of junior high). The problem is I have no idea what happened with this series. The earlier books are so good and they slowly became...this. I enjoyed it well enough, but it's like 'problem. problem solved. problem. problem solved. problem. oh, wait that wasn't a problem at all!' repeat cycle. This book was confusing, slightly weird and the story isn't whole. I sound like I'm just saying," The old Dork Diaries were better!" and theywere in my opinion. But if this is the way Rachel Renee Russell wants her books to go, I'll stop ranting. Her books, her choice. I think she's changed the books' target demographic to much younger and I don't have a problem with that. If I can't enjoy these books anymore, that's my headache. Finally, for a slightly older read, Glow Up, Lara Bloom by Dee Benson follows Lara, star of the school football team, as she and her friends ‘glow up’ to become the best possible versions of themselves. Funny friends If it’s the diary format that’s particularly captivating, try The Accidental Diary of B.U.G. by Jen Carney. Follow the feisty Billie’s ups and downs as she tries to work out who the school purse thief is. Could it be the annoying new girl trying to steal her BFF? Bea in Diary of an Accidental Witch by Perdita and Honor Cargill also has school troubles – her dad’s sent her to a school for witches!

I think I first contracted this illness on my fifth birthday. I had invited my ENTIRE kindergarten class to my party, and my dad dressed up as a clown.

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There’s no character development and “SQUEEE 😃!!”, which was kinda cute for the first few books, is really annoying me now. I understand that catchphrases can be important in the continuity of a series but I would have liked to have seen some new ones added to the ones that have been used for 13 books now. I’m also over Nikki throwing up in her mouth a little; she did it four times in this book alone.