Editorial Content for Dork Diaries 7: Tales from a Not-So-Glam TV Star

Rachel Renée Russell's wildly popular Dork Diaries series follows Nikki Maxwell as she maneuvers through the turbulent world of friends, enemies, parents, crushes, schoolwork and everything else that middle school entails. With pluckiness, sass and not in the least a kind heart, Nikki has managed to best the popular school bully MacKenzie, become good friends with her crush Brandon, enjoy many adventures with her BFF's Chloe and Zoey, mostly keep her father’s job as a bug exterminator and her scholarship to the private school she attends a secret, start a pop band and keep a detailed and artistic diary. Nikki is generally a sweet, creative and relatable 8th grader who tends to find herself in funny and poignant situations.

 

 

It is her band that is the center of the seventh and latest book, DORK DIARIES: Tales From A Not-So-Glam Tv Star. The band (improbably named Actually, I'm Not Really Sure Yet) has caught the attention of producer Trevor Chase who wants them to record their song “Dorks Rule.” But right away Nikki and her besties run into trouble when MacKenzie steals the backstage tickets to a Bad Boyz concert where they are supposed to meet with Chase. When they finally do get an audience with him, he announces that in addition to the recording, the band will be opening for the Bad Boyz in concert. Most importantly, however, he announces that he is creating a reality show that will follow Nikki, from home to school to band practice, for a month! The show, “Nikki Maxwell: The Making of a Pop Princess” just may be too much for Nikki, who is already overwhelmed by the demands of school, the expectations of family and her new responsibilities as a musician.

 

Nikki's schedule becomes grueling and her budding relationship with Brandon is at risk as she misses plans with him again and again. Still, TALES FROM A NO-SO-GLAM TV STAR is full of slapstick comedy, funny drawings and 13-year-old girls going “squeeeee!” It is not clear how seriously to take the pressures on Nikki when things tend to always work out for her, with the added bonus of usually humiliating MacKenzie. This installment of the series leans towards the silly and unrealistic, though many readers are sure to stick by her on all her adventures, both extraordinary and mundane. The funniest moments in the book actually come in Nikki's gym class with the guest teacher, Rodney Hawkins --- an out of shape, goofy martial arts instructor who manages to teach while consuming vast amounts of food.

 

Russell's narrative voice (as Nikki writing in her diary) has been consistent throughout the series, as have the cute illustrations. Nikki, in some ways, is still the average middle school girl who rebels within acceptable boundaries, loves her family despite they ways they embarrass her and is primarily focused on her own social relationships. However, the pop band and the reality show takes the story in a different direction. While Nikki is a nice kid, deep down, she doesn't always come across that way in this book, though perhaps that is what Russell was going for. The series continues to be one that can be easily dismissed by parents or teachers who hope for more sophisticated and thoughtful reading selections, but its pratfall humor and tween speak will appeal to kids looking for a light and entertaining read.