Reviews of Recent Reads

Dork Diaries by Rachel Renee Russell
Nikki J. Maxwell got a diary instead of cell phone because her mom is "brain dead." In this book, we follow Nikki's daily trials and tribulations at her new private middle school, where she has to deal with the snotty CCP girls, MacKenzie and her dad's bug van! Oh, the embarrassment! MacKenzie, who is the prettiest and most popular girl at school, is down right cruel to Nikki. When Nikki decides to enter the Avant-Garde Art Contest at school, she becomes intimidated by MacKenzie, so instead she signs up to be a library assistant. Luckily, she meets Chloe and Zoey, who end up being her best friends. Eventually, Nikki does sign up for the art contest, but MacKenzie continues to torment her, but on the bright side, Nikki's crush, Brandon, decides that Nikki is a better artist than MacKenzie. Even though there are abundant mishaps and humiliations, Nikki does well for herself and gains a ton of self esteem in the process. This diary is funny, sweet and has some real cringe inducing moments. The book has a similar style to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney although the drawings are more anime like in style rather than stick figures. I'd say that Nikki is the female equivalent of Greg. Definitely worth a read!


Tenderness by Robert Cormier
Lori Cranston is a lost teen girl, who becomes fixated on a teen murderer, Eric Poole. Cormier takes us into the mind of a killer, who master minded the deaths of his female victims as well as his mother's and step father's death. He is a cold and vicious boy, who is about to be released from the correction facility that he has been living in, but a cop wants to keep Eric locked up for good. Lori's obsession with Eric leads her to meet up with him when he's released from prison. What follows is the development of a strange relationship between the two and yes, even tenderness, which forever changes Eric. Although this isn't one of Cormier's better known novels, it's definitely an interesting read with well crafted characters and a strong plot.