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Dear Dumb Diary #12
Me! (Just Like You, Only Better)
There are more than 5 million Dear Dumb Diary books in print!
Bestselling author Jamie Kelly is back with an all-new, all-funny diary! But she has no idea that anybody is reading it. So please, please, please don't tell her.
Dear Dumb Diary,
I went five whole days without seeing or hearing from Angeline. I was beginning to get used to it. It's true that I have learned to overlook many of Angeline's flaws, like her flawlessness, but she can still be difficult to be around. Like when she's lit perfectly, for example.
To my extreme credit, I have learned to pretend to ignore Angeline's failure to not be perfect.
Bestselling author Jamie Kelly is back with an all-new, all-funny diary! But she has no idea that anybody is reading it. So please, please, please don't tell her.
Dear Dumb Diary,
I went five whole days without seeing or hearing from Angeline. I was beginning to get used to it. It's true that I have learned to overlook many of Angeline's flaws, like her flawlessness, but she can still be difficult to be around. Like when she's lit perfectly, for example.
To my extreme credit, I have learned to pretend to ignore Angeline's failure to not be perfect.
160 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2011
77 people are currently reading
1466 people want to read
About the author
Jim Benton
284 books608 followersBenton began his career in a custom design t-shirt shop where he started designing his own characters. At the same time, Jim did illustrations and artwork for magazines and newspapers. People magazine named him "the most visible cartoonist in America" .
Benton also created greeting cards and worked in the magazine and publishing industry. In 1998, his SpyDogs characters became an animated series, The Secret Files of the Spy Dogs, that aired on Fox Kids. Licensing his own creations brought them widespread attention on products, such as It's Happy Bunny, The Misters, Just Jimmy and more.
Benton currently lives in Michigan, where he operates out of his own studio.
Benton also created greeting cards and worked in the magazine and publishing industry. In 1998, his SpyDogs characters became an animated series, The Secret Files of the Spy Dogs, that aired on Fox Kids. Licensing his own creations brought them widespread attention on products, such as It's Happy Bunny, The Misters, Just Jimmy and more.
Benton currently lives in Michigan, where he operates out of his own studio.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
October 9, 2011
Originally on Kids Write Reviews:
Ah…… Dear Dumb Diary……. I’ve had memories with you. Well, we are here to talk about this book, not me, so let’s get started. This book is about many, many things. Bands, Angeline doing this, Isabella doing that, and more bands, and yeah, basically. Wait, did I tell you the name of this book yet?
It’s called “Dear Dumb Diary, Me! (Just like you, only better)” If you don’t know what I am talking about, you should start with the first book, since this is the 12th book.
I give this book 5 stars, because it is awesome. Very awesome. It’s a good book….. Never mind.
Ah…… Dear Dumb Diary……. I’ve had memories with you. Well, we are here to talk about this book, not me, so let’s get started. This book is about many, many things. Bands, Angeline doing this, Isabella doing that, and more bands, and yeah, basically. Wait, did I tell you the name of this book yet?
It’s called “Dear Dumb Diary, Me! (Just like you, only better)” If you don’t know what I am talking about, you should start with the first book, since this is the 12th book.
I give this book 5 stars, because it is awesome. Very awesome. It’s a good book….. Never mind.
March 12, 2012
Hysterically fun satire of middle school teen girl and her effort to "date" a band. I liked this one better than my daughter did because I found the young generation's take on the older generation's musical tastes dead on! This series is my guilty pleasure. I encourage the girls to leave them in the car so I can suck them down while doing the Mom-waiting-in-the-car-for the kids to come out thing. The girls love that I read these and are always asking me if I thought a certain passage was funny. Excellent series, I think, for girls that may not be that into reading -- but they'll like this. I think of it as Junie B. Jones for middle school.
August 15, 2015
Of course I loved this book. I've been reading this series since middle school and I still love it. This series is so awesome and funny :)
June 8, 2015
I personally love this book because its so relatable. Reading this book i was kind of the character Jamie and she was so irritated on how everyone was copying her. I thought this was funny because i got irritated even though it wasnt me because i honestly hate when people do this. I recommend this book to everyone who likes dorky relatable books because jim bently always seems to put those characteristics in his books. One more thing dont ever do this to a person its evil and soooo annoying. Especially not to me.
May 1, 2012
Hilarious. The one with the bands. LOLOLOL the emo one with the unpronounceable name.
(Huh. The last book in the series coincided with the end of the 2012 school year. Jamie Kelly will forever remind of driving back and forth to school, with my almost-teen son reading out loud and laughing so hard sometimes that he couldn't get the words out.)
(Huh. The last book in the series coincided with the end of the 2012 school year. Jamie Kelly will forever remind of driving back and forth to school, with my almost-teen son reading out loud and laughing so hard sometimes that he couldn't get the words out.)
June 18, 2012
I was sooooo sad when I found out this was the last book because I soooo wanted to read more of them. I even shared them with my hole family and they alllll loved it. I will never give these books away
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February 6, 2017I loved this book because this is a real image of me and I loved how the author described all the main characters.
March 14, 2019
it was great!!
June 24, 2021
mmmm so good. writing 10/10 characters 10/10. except there was a lot of internalized misogyny and narcissism tbh BUT still got 5 stars because it’s a classic
October 29, 2021
it was fun to read and there was an amazing plot twist
November 29, 2011
Jamie Kelly might possibly be the most obnoxious middle-school girl ever. In this twelfth installment in the popular Dear Dumb Diary series, Jamie reveals her prattling thoughts on the centuries-old tradition of children copying off each other. As she prepares for her birthday, Jamie also discusses her love of music, her less-than-kind opinions of her “friends” and her parents’ inability to recognize their own lack of cool (a fate suffered by many her age). Young readers will like the text variations that denote different emotions, like yelling in all capital letters, or bolding a word for emphatic derision. Jamie’s diction tends to be similar to the writing found online in chat or Facebook conversations, including the use of misspellings like “kewt” and frequent appearance of “LOL.” Juvenile readers will enjoy the many pencil drawings Jamie includes in her diary entries. They are quite detailed and use mechanisms typically found in comics such as thought bubbles, sound effects, and dramatic faces especially eyes and mouths drawn with heavy strokes. From the adult reader’s perspective this story offers a succinct picture of how trends start—and end—abruptly in middle school. Unlikely to entertain readers over the age of thirteen, Dear Dumb Diary #12 can stand alone but fans will clamor for all the books in the series. Recommended for purchase by public libraries on the basis of this is what ten year old girls will want to read.
August 27, 2014
The first year of Jamie Kelly's dear dumb life caps off with a bravura performance! This one has Jamie thinking VERY highly of three things: she, herself and her! And why not: it's her birthday! So she decides to take the word of her overtly sexy art teacher Miss Anderson and do a poster for her fave band she calls FATAALD, a scuzzy Nirvana-like quartet of pissy-handsome rockers. Except: Jamie's buds Isabella and Angeline have latched onto the FATAALD fan train! It's a FATAALD ATTRACTION on so many levels! So she tries other artists NOT her parents' favorites. Mom likes 80s rockers in their 40s (at least when they popped up in 1987! Steve Winwood, anyone?), Jamie-Jame likes James Fire, a newer hottie a la Jesse McCartney, and a Mexican singer named Aplo. (Not to be confused with ALPO, which this hombre seems to resemble at times) but no: Isabella likes HIM, too! So Jamie does the honorable thing: she lies. She spreads rumors of Aplo hangin with a songwriter who penned "Ain't No Koala Back Girl". (Oh. Sure! "Koalas eat bananas! B-A-N-A-N-A-S!" Thanks for screwing with Gwen, people!) Anyway, great end for the first year...except there's HARDLY ANY STINKER! Oh where, oh where has that little dog gone? Eh, well, there's always year two! Now to close: "I'm feelin Koala good so let's just keep on dancing!" Sorry, couldn't resist!
October 1, 2017
The book I decided to read is Dear Dumb Diary, Me!( just like you, only better). It is written by Jamie Kelly. This book is fiction. I think the genre of the book is Realistic Fiction because it has events that can easily happen in real life. I chose to read this book because It sounds interesting. Also I like book which has different events happening in them like this book.
This book is a teenage girl and a few weeks of her life. This book takes place in many different places but mostly school and the girls home. The central character is the girl named Jamie, she is the own writing everyday in her diary. The characters challenge is not let anyone bring her down. Jamie because stronger and better as a person. The general plot is that people copy Jamie and she HATES it. I don’t want to say what she does or it will spoil it all for you.
This story didn’t give a emotion which was the same my emotion kept on changing. The plot was exciting and believable. The characters ARE real. The were many funny parts but no scary parts. My favorite part was when she started doing her plan so that people will stop copying her. I didn’t like that the book had kinda of only one event happening I think it should have had at least 3. I don’t think any of my friends would like this book so I wouldn’t recommend it to them. I think the reading age is 8 -14. My rating for this book is 8/10.
This book is a teenage girl and a few weeks of her life. This book takes place in many different places but mostly school and the girls home. The central character is the girl named Jamie, she is the own writing everyday in her diary. The characters challenge is not let anyone bring her down. Jamie because stronger and better as a person. The general plot is that people copy Jamie and she HATES it. I don’t want to say what she does or it will spoil it all for you.
This story didn’t give a emotion which was the same my emotion kept on changing. The plot was exciting and believable. The characters ARE real. The were many funny parts but no scary parts. My favorite part was when she started doing her plan so that people will stop copying her. I didn’t like that the book had kinda of only one event happening I think it should have had at least 3. I don’t think any of my friends would like this book so I wouldn’t recommend it to them. I think the reading age is 8 -14. My rating for this book is 8/10.
October 11, 2013
I thought that this book was a great but fast read. It talks about how one girl just wants to be different but is misunderstanding the nice person, who Jamie thinks is mean. Angeline is nice, pretty, popular, and smart, and Jamie is jealous of her so much that she thinks she is mean. In art, they have to make band posters as a project. Jamie is so exited to make a poster of her favorite band until Angeline and everyone makes a poster of the exact same band. Jamie has to choose another band that she doesn't like as much. But the same thing happens AGAIN!! She does this with two other bands until Angeline tells her that she was copying of her to get Jamie to be popular. Jamie's birthday is coming up, and instead of getting loads of stuff about HER favorite band, she get loads of stuff with her LEAST favorite band on it. (ex. Kitty litter, bags, water, t-shirts, pants, I think you get it now.) She even gets tickets to her favorite band's show! Jamie is happy in the end, and gets to see her favorite band in person. But she still doesn't like Angeline, and I don't think she ever will. So overall this was a good book about a misunderstanding through a person's diary.
May 21, 2016
This is by far the worst book of the Dear Dumb Diary series that I have read. I realize that I'm too old to be reading these books, but they were a hilarious part of my childhood. I know Jamie is ridiculous, but the books are always an enjoyable read to just breeze through in a day. I could always count on them for that, no matter how many times I would reread them.
Jamie is usually a know it all, if a little obnoxious, but it was just taken way too far in this book. You would think that she would get just a little bit better as the series goes on, but she really thinks that the whole world revolves around her in this one. It's terrible. I feel like Jim Benton abused teenagers' love of music in this book too. Absolutely unacceptable. Still totally recommend the series, but maybe skip this book.
Jamie is usually a know it all, if a little obnoxious, but it was just taken way too far in this book. You would think that she would get just a little bit better as the series goes on, but she really thinks that the whole world revolves around her in this one. It's terrible. I feel like Jim Benton abused teenagers' love of music in this book too. Absolutely unacceptable. Still totally recommend the series, but maybe skip this book.
June 18, 2015
All the dumb diaries series book are so funny and creative. Jamie the main character always being so funny and read this book to have a laugh. Jamie, making fun of her mother, teachers, and her enemy Angeline who she was so jealous of that Angeline was so popular, so beautiful, and have such beautiful hair. Not that, Angeline always show off in front of Jamie which Jamie doesn't like and as time past, Angeline was sort of like Jamie's enemy.Every single person have been jealous of someone before or went through problems in school before but it is also the best for you if you don't give up and think yourself as the best. Just like Jamie, she make something terrible into something good or funny that make herself and the readers a laugh!
July 13, 2011
When an author can come up with a band's name that can't be written down because it's the sound of the sigh that teenagers often make when dealing with their parents or other adults who can't possibly understand, you can expect the rest of the book is going to be amusing.
What I really like about these books (besides how funny they are) is that there's a point to the story, too. It's not just a collection of funny events (though I'd probably still read it if it were that), but, secretly, a kind of lesson as well.
Now I need to figure out if I accidentally skipped #10 or if I have to wait until the next one comes out.
What I really like about these books (besides how funny they are) is that there's a point to the story, too. It's not just a collection of funny events (though I'd probably still read it if it were that), but, secretly, a kind of lesson as well.
Now I need to figure out if I accidentally skipped #10 or if I have to wait until the next one comes out.
September 29, 2013
I didn't think about anything! I CANT BE ABLE TO READ THIS BOOK! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
September 19, 2011
i dont know why i keep reading these books. i think i'm just trying to finish the series, except jim benton just keeps writing more books. jamie is so narcisisstic and annoying. half of the book makes no sense, since shes basically admiring herself, and based on the pictures and her dumb actions, there doesnt seem to be much to admire.
December 7, 2014
This book when Jamie does things with music and bands. She continues to dislike Angeline but not as much as she had in the past. People copy Jamie and It highers her self esteem making her think shes the nicer or better one. This book discuses differences and peer pressure in her school. I'm my opinion, this book wasn't the best in this series but its still funny like the rest of her books.
November 13, 2015
i think this book was 4 stars because its good but is sorta boring not really the type of book i like to read but good because it teaches a little lesson witch is always good in books. ok this book is about Judy thinking everybody is coping her then it turns out it is a gift and if you want to know what i mean READ THE BOOK!!!!! lol
February 24, 2012
I deal with kids and teenagers all of the time and this was a little too close to home with the "I like this band but not if you like them" and megalomania type of attitudes. I thought it was very clever.
January 21, 2013
My daughter (7y.o.) seemed to enjoy this book even though she didn't understand a lot of the jokes. I found it pretty modern, average, pulp (what, and there's 13 more in the series?!) until perhaps the end, where it was slightly less obnoxious.
March 25, 2013
Finished this one in French. A funny read as usual. It struck me that adults get stuck in the same desire for social conformity as children. Jim Benton did a great job with this series and it translates easily.
December 5, 2013
Jamie wants to be unique. But people started copying her, make her think she's better. So she tries to change up everything about herself so people stop copying her, but then they keep copying! Me! (Just Like You, Only Better) is about differences and teenage peer pressure.
May 22, 2015
I liked it, but I usually only read Dear Dumb Diary books for the humor of it. Though sometimes I read them, because I read them since there the only thing on my book shelf I have to read. But I would have to say that Isabelle is my favorite character!
April 7, 2016
jamie kelly is a 6th grader and her best friend is isabella she is crazy when jamie kelly is drawing her favorite band everyone decides to copie her it was just a misunderstanding .jamie kelly thought she was gunna have a horrible birthday but she had the best one ever! she got to go to concert
November 4, 2011
I love dear dumb diary I can't wait till the next one comes out. This is my Favorite one out of all now !
February 21, 2012
Amara: This was a good book full of fun and adventure. Liked It!!
August 29, 2012
it was good
Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews