Without a doubt, Rachel Renee Russell's "Dork Diaries" has had her completely rapt, hoovering up just about every single one of the 12 main books (plus the 'extras').
This arrived to whoops of glee because she'd been waiting for the paperback version (you know how it is when you're a book collector and you want your lovely shelves all having the same types of each edition). But enough waffling, over to C to talk about this latest story, "Crush Catastrophe"
"Oh no, it's about boys!" she said with her eyes rolling. Yes folks, I'm afraid it looks like Nikki Maxwell, the series' dorky heroine, has a serious case of boy trouble.
It’s the countdown to the end of the school year with the prospect of the long summer holidays stretching out ahead of her.
Nikki’s juggling some big questions about how she’ll spend her summer. Oh the endless possibilities when you're young.
But there is a dark cloud hovering above Nikki's head. There’s a new kid in school and he's REALLY interested in Nikki.
But there is a dark cloud hovering above Nikki's head. There’s a new kid in school and he's REALLY interested in Nikki.
She's trying her best to be polite and friendly but the last thing she wants to do is accidentally hurt Brandon! It all comes down to a big decision Nikki has to make, and drama like she’s never faced before!
C devoured this in one sitting and gave me that look - you know, the dad / daughter look of "If you don't make this book of the week, I'll hide all your art materials and eat your secret chocolate stash!" Who am I to argue with that.
With other 30 million copies of the Dork Diaries books sold, there's absolutely no question that other girls and boys love this series to bits too.
"Dork Diaries: Crush Catastrophe" by Rachel Renee Russell is out now in paperback, published by Simon and Schuster Children's Books (kindly supplied for review).