Ever since the first book, I've become a fan of the Dork Diaries series. (Basically, it's Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but for girls). Despite being way past the intended age group for these books, I've found a kindred spirit of sorts in Nikki Maxwell--the artistic dorky girl who just wants to make friends, survive middle/high school, and stay one step ahead of the school's queen bee and number one bully. While some of the dialogue can get repetitive at times, the artwork to go along with the story more than makes up for it, and makes the plots that much more hilarious (and it's a big step above the stick figures in the aforementioned "Wimpy Kid" books, considering the main character goes to art school in the summer).
But in her latest installment, "Tales of a Not-So-Perfect Pet Sitter", the audience was introduced to a new character--her boyfriend, Brandon's best friend, Max Crumbly, who's now been given his own spin off series of books. I'm not sure why the publishers would be so quick to do this, considering we only just met the guy. (As it's usually popular characters that've been around a while who get their own shows. If anything, I thought it'd be Brandon or Chloe and Zoey who would warrant a spin off more than a new person.) But none the less, I excitedly dove into this little side adventure; interested to see what new things we could learn about the characters from a different angle (as was the case in the well written "Tales of a Not-So-Dorky Drama Queen").
Turns out my hopes were dead wrong.
Max Crumbly is an imaginative middle schooler who's obsession with superheroes and comic books has earned him the label of being a dork and a nerd. It doesn't help that he suffers from social anxiety and severe bully problems, which caused him to be homeschooled for most of his life. But wanting to make friends and not be tutored by his grandma, he convinces his parents to let him attend public school and tries to make the best of it; managing to hook up with the local popular girl. But after running afoul of a fearsome bully, he's stuffed inside his locker, where he'll remain trapped for the course of a three day weekend if he doesn't somehow engineer an escape. Will Max make it out alive? And can he stop a gang of thieves out to burglarize the school?
Starting with the good, Max himself is an enjoyable character. He's very kind, clever, imaginative, and his obsession with all things geeky reminds me alot of myself growing up. And though his asthma and severe social anxiety can be crippling at times, he never gives up--determined to fit in and make friends however he can.
But that's pretty much where the good stuff ends. The entire book is basically a gender-flipped version of "Dork Diaries"; offering hardly anything new, and being simply a carbon copy of what we've seen before. Save for his different hobbies, Max is practically Nikki in all but name--they both have annoying younger siblings; they both have a main bully they deal with; both of them keep a journal (though his isn't written on a daily basis), and they're both artists. Even the voices they speak/write with are near identical. And speaking of the artwork, it's drawn in the same style as Nikki's, which makes no sense to me, considering this is a completely different person. (At least in the aforementioned "Not-So-Dorky Drama Queen", the art style changed slightly once MacKenzie got a hold of Nikki's diary.)
As for the story itself, apparently gone is the funny-but-still-relatable scenarios of the early Dork Diaries, and in is a tale so ridiculous, it turns into a Saturday morning cartoon, rather than anything kids could remotely learn from. We go from an awkward kid trying to survive middle school, to said kid being trapped in his locker for hours on end (with no physical harm done); breaking out via a hole in the wall; crawling through air vents like a secret agent, and foiling a trio of robbers that sound and act like they stepped out of the "Home Alone" series. Add to it Max being concerned about a rare comic book more than his own safety; his friend somehow knowing how to hack the security cameras in the school, and refusing to call the police through ANY of this, and you've got yourself a story that's completely unrealistic and non-relatable to any person--kid or adult.
There's also the problem of seeing NONE of the "Dork Diaries" cast (Brandon and Nikki are only mentioned in passing). That, and the book ends on a cliffhanger, with nothing resolved--forcing you to have to buy the next book to see what happens next.
And unfortunately, I'm not. Dork Diaries was basically supposed to be the girl version of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid", so to create a near-identical spin off with a male lead seems like a step backwards to me--a marketing decision made to try and pull in more boy readers. I wouldn't mind a spin off as long as something new was done with it, or gave a fresh angle on old characters, and sadly, we get neither of that here. I could forgive even that as long as the story was taken somewhat seriously, but instead, we're given cartoony antics that only a five year old would find funny.
Bottom line, unless you're a completionist, this is one book you can easily skip, and this is where Max Crumbly's adventures end for me. Unless you're dying to know what a male version of Nikki Maxwell is like, just stick to "Dork Diaries."
Enjoy fast, FREE delivery, exclusive deals and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime
and start saving today with Fast, FREE Delivery
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Join or create book clubs
Choose books together
Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. Learn more
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Flip to back Flip to front
Follow the Author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
| Price | New from | Used from |
|
Audible Audiobook, Unabridged
"Please retry" |
$0.00
| $7.95 with discounted Audible membership | |
|
Audio CD, Audiobook, CD, Unabridged
"Please retry" | $14.99 | $5.82 |
- Read with Our Free App
-
Audiobook
$0.00 - 128 Used from $1.25 35 New from $8.99
- 6 Used from $7.73
- 2 Used from $5.82 1 New from $14.99
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.
Frequently bought together
$9.66
Get it as soon as Friday, Jul 28
In Stock.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Choose items to buy together.
What do customers buy after viewing this item?
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
From the Publisher
|
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
About the author
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
The only thing I don't think Is nice in this book is that Max got stuck in his own locker twice.
Images in this review
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 26, 2016
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 3, 2020
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 22, 2017
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 6, 2022
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 21, 2017
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 26, 2019
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 11, 2018
Top reviews from other countries
Kell
The Misadventures of Max Crumbely: Locker Hero
Reviewed in Australia 🇦🇺 on August 21, 2016Lisa Gass
cool or not cool that is the question?
Reviewed in Australia 🇦🇺 on July 17, 2016
