Common Sense Media Review
By Terreece Clarke
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Crushes and middle school drama continue in popular series.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 9+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 2 parent reviews
Based on 30 kid reviews
Kids say this book is a mix of love drama and humor that appeals to younger readers, but it has drawn criticism for its unrealistic portrayal of middle school life and shallow character development. Many reviewers feel that the protagonist is a poor role model, often obsessed with boys and social dramas, which can perpetuate harmful stereotypes about teenage girls.
- love drama
- unrealistic portrayal
- poor role model
- shallow characters
- humor appeal
- stereotypes
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
What's the Story?
Nikki is back in TALES FROM A NOT-SO-SECRET CRUSH CATASTROPHE, and her crush life is heating up with Brandon. But MacKenzie is never far behind, with terrible tricks aimed at ruining Nikki's friendship with Brandon. This time she takes her cruel fun to the internet. While Nikki battles internet trolls, a new school exchange student is making things fun and a tad more difficult than Nikki had hoped. On top of all that, she's got a big secret that may ruin her friends' plans for summer. Gosh, will Nikki overcome all of this D-R-A-M-A, or will she fall flat on her dork bottom?
Is It Any Good?
Kids who love the Dork Diaries series will love this installment. Tales from a Not-So-Secret Crush Catastrophe has all of the characters, funny angst, cool illustrations, and Nikki-related fun that readers have come to expect from the series. The book does a great job focusing on the friendship aspect of young crushes instead of going ultra intense like many other books in this genre. Book 12 shows continued evolution and maturity on Nikki's part, though MacKenzie seems to have forgotten all of the lessons she learned in the last book. Funny and easy to read, this book will delight fans eager to see where the drama with Brandon leads.
Bonuses: Parents and educators will get an opening to talk about cyberbullying, and the series continues to be great for reluctant readers.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the cyberbullying in Dork Diaries 12: Tales from a Not-So-Secret Crush Catastrophe. Have you experienced cyberbullying? What did you do about it, whom did you talk to? Have you seen any news stories about cyberbullying?
In the story, Nikki withholds information from her friends in order to not hurt them. What could she have done instead? How do you handle tough situations with friends?
Do you think Nikki and Brandon's relationship is typical of middle school? What do they get right in their friendship? What could they do better?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Rachel Renee Russell
- Genre : Friendship
- Topics : Friendship , School ( Middle School )
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Aladdin
- Publication date : October 17, 2017
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 9 - 13
- Number of pages : 272
- Available on : Paperback, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
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