This book should be added to the list of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Big Nate fan favorites. It's interesting because it takes the journal/drawing genre to a new level because the whole thing is one photo-copied layout of the author's actual work. It gives it the feel that real children actually created the thing. For one thing, this makes it feel slightly less real or as if a student actually created it, which takes away its credibility from an actual book stand point, but on the other hand it also makes it feel much more genuine. The one issue I had with this frame was that to differentiate the two girls creating it, the author uses cursive writing for Lydia's character and I think this will hinder some readers from being able to access the book if they can't read cursive yet. For the case of advanced reading 2nd graders who often go towards the diary style books because of their use of pictures, it makes it so they can't read it.
Now for the story...Lydia and Julie are best friends and have decided to observe and note all the of popular girl's doings so that they may become popular themselves. There are a number of mishaps on their journey, but what really gives the book its literary credibility is where their friendship fails in their striving to become popular. It cleverly addresses real issues with Middle School girls and shows that popularity isn't the number one goal when you have real friendship.
Interest level: Grades 3-6 Reading level: Grade 4
Genre: Friendship, Coming-of-age, Diary style
First in series
Comparable Titles: Big Nate, Dork Diaries, Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Book Connections: Musicals, Knitting, Observation Journals, Poster Making/Drawing, Norway
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