Dork Diaries: Holiday Heartbreak by Rachel Renee Russell

Simon and Schuster, 2023
For girls ages 9+. With the 'girls' choice' dance fast approaching, Nikki Maxwell is excited at the possibility of inviting her major crush, Brandon. When he gets in first to invite her on an 'almost' date, she is wildly excited. As is usual for Nikki, things go wrong and suddenly Brandon starts to change and begins to appear disinterested. Her initial enthusiasm to attend the dance disappears as she can't risk being turned down . . . can she? Younger sister Brianna again adds to the mayhem of the story, creating weird and wonderful hairdos for her Nikki and managing to send a photo of her to all of Nikki's contacts.
Russell again includes themes of friendship, bullying and cyber bullying, elements of junior romance, siblings and family. Written in a diary format with each page looking like the lined pages of an exercise book and sketches drawn on virtually every page, this series would most likely appeal to younger girls or reluctant female readers. Personally, I feel there are some discrepancies between the abilities and interests of the main character and her assumed age of fourteen yet students seem to be able to overlook this issue. Naturally, the dork comes out on top and this book leaves the reader with the feeling that fairy tale endings can happen to anyone.
Jo Schenkel