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Dear Dumb Diary #13
School. Hasn't This Gone on Long Enough?
FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. The best-selling author of Franny K. Stein presents the first installment of Jamie Kelly's second year of diary entries that record her renewed struggles with school, grades and ""Big Questions.
134 pages, Library Binding
First published January 1, 2012
124 people are currently reading
2183 people want to read
About the author
Jim Benton
284 books611 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 74 reviews
May 21, 2013
This was very funny! It dealt with school issues in a non-cliché laughable manner. I really enjoyed it, and will soon read more from the series.
September 13, 2012
"School. Hasn't This Gone on Long Enough?" is about a young girl who is struggling with math. She also struggles with being herself and figuring out that she should do things for herself and not always to impress and/ or compete with others. She is constantly bragging about herself making her seem cocky, but then we see moments of insecurity. The whole book is coming from her point of view and it is her writing in her diary. She talks in a very modern teenage valley-girl manner. She is very sarcastic and honest, since, well, it is her diary and no one is supposed to read it besides her. She is brutally honest throughout the whole book. The situations she talks about are realistic ones for young girls. This makes her very easy for young girls to relate to.
I think this book is aimed for kids in grades 4-6. She uses some complex words that most 4th, 5th, and 6th graders probably will not know, but at that age they are comfortable using context clues or using other resources to figure out the definition. Girls and boys around this age are more than likely experiencing some of the exact same situations that she is in. Kids around that age would be engaged in how she deals with those complicated and tough situations.
Each of the pages in the book were decorated. The pages looked like a school kid's notebook or diary. They were random doodles. Then there would be pages with drawings, sometimes a series of drawings, that are showing what is going on at that point in the story. The illustrations give the reader an idea of what the story at that point may look like, but they also leave a lot of details up to the reader.
I loved this book. Even though the book is made for a younger age than I am, I was very entertained. She was pithy and dynamic. I really liked that when I was reading the book and reading about what problem she was going through at that moment, I was thinking back to when I was that age and going through similar situations. This book was so easy to relate to which is what made me love the book so much. I thought it was so uniquely written; using diary form and being total realistic. I thought this was a fabulous read.
Benton, Jim. Dear dumb diary year two School, hasn't this gone on long enough?. New York, N.Y.: Scholastic, 2012. Print.
I think this book is aimed for kids in grades 4-6. She uses some complex words that most 4th, 5th, and 6th graders probably will not know, but at that age they are comfortable using context clues or using other resources to figure out the definition. Girls and boys around this age are more than likely experiencing some of the exact same situations that she is in. Kids around that age would be engaged in how she deals with those complicated and tough situations.
Each of the pages in the book were decorated. The pages looked like a school kid's notebook or diary. They were random doodles. Then there would be pages with drawings, sometimes a series of drawings, that are showing what is going on at that point in the story. The illustrations give the reader an idea of what the story at that point may look like, but they also leave a lot of details up to the reader.
I loved this book. Even though the book is made for a younger age than I am, I was very entertained. She was pithy and dynamic. I really liked that when I was reading the book and reading about what problem she was going through at that moment, I was thinking back to when I was that age and going through similar situations. This book was so easy to relate to which is what made me love the book so much. I thought it was so uniquely written; using diary form and being total realistic. I thought this was a fabulous read.
Benton, Jim. Dear dumb diary year two School, hasn't this gone on long enough?. New York, N.Y.: Scholastic, 2012. Print.
September 21, 2017
This story is about a girl named Jamie Kelly. In this story Jamie is failing math. Her dad is mad at her and since she cant use kung fu on her math teacher ,she is going to have to work extra hard in math. With the help of her friends of course. my favorite character is Jamie. She is funny and very good at art. If you funny books this book is for you
January 23, 2014
It's finally year two... and Jamie isn't looking forward to anymore school. Jamie grapples with school, grades, and middle school's Big Questions this month. She really needs to pull her grades up, or else... torture... To make matters worse, her grades wont be coming up by themselves (Jamie hasn't fully realized this yet). Don't miss even more of her words of wisdom like, "If someone is really, really intelligent, it would be polite if they would ugly it up a bit before they left the house."
(Jamie STILL has no idea that anybody is reading her diary. So please, please, please don't tell her.)
I picked up this book because I read the other books in the Dear Dumb Diary series and they were all very funny and had an unexpected twist ending (that was also funny). This book did not disappoint. The twist ending was there and I had a good laugh at all of Jamie's incorrect assumptions and mistakes.
I finished this book because I knew from experience that in the end, everything would turn out differently than however you assumed it might. I just knew that Jamie was taking things the wrong way and assuming the wrong things.
I would recommend this book to Raechell because it is funny and Raechell loves to laugh. The ending is always unexpected and surprising.
(Jamie STILL has no idea that anybody is reading her diary. So please, please, please don't tell her.)
I picked up this book because I read the other books in the Dear Dumb Diary series and they were all very funny and had an unexpected twist ending (that was also funny). This book did not disappoint. The twist ending was there and I had a good laugh at all of Jamie's incorrect assumptions and mistakes.
I finished this book because I knew from experience that in the end, everything would turn out differently than however you assumed it might. I just knew that Jamie was taking things the wrong way and assuming the wrong things.
I would recommend this book to Raechell because it is funny and Raechell loves to laugh. The ending is always unexpected and surprising.
November 3, 2018
Jamie Kelly, a middle school girl, is failing at math. She’s also been getting emails from an old friend, Emmily, saying that she’s been getting straight A’s in math, even though Emmily isn’t very smart. This, combined with Jamie’s jealousy of her worst enemy, Angeline, and the fact that she could be sent to summer school, makes her want to do better in math. Her best friend, Isabella, helps her study for the math test as they teach each other a few words for the vocabulary bee. Jamie gets eliminated from the vocabulary bee for getting a definition wrong, but passes the math test the next day.
“School. Hasn’t This Gone On Long Enough?” is part of a wonderful series named Dear Dumb Diary, written by Jim Benton. As I read the book, many questions popped up in my mind, all of which had surprising answers revealed in the end. I also really enjoyed the characters, jokes, and illustrations. The vocabulary quiz at the end is nice, too.
This story is entertaining, surprising, and hilarious. I recommend this book to anyone who prefers short books over long books or anyone who just wants to read something funny.
“School. Hasn’t This Gone On Long Enough?” is part of a wonderful series named Dear Dumb Diary, written by Jim Benton. As I read the book, many questions popped up in my mind, all of which had surprising answers revealed in the end. I also really enjoyed the characters, jokes, and illustrations. The vocabulary quiz at the end is nice, too.
This story is entertaining, surprising, and hilarious. I recommend this book to anyone who prefers short books over long books or anyone who just wants to read something funny.
July 26, 2019
Reading this book as a young adult made me realize that Dear Dumb Diary is a series that has honestly shaped me into the person I am today. It really explains why my sense of humor is equivalent to that of a middle schooler.
September 17, 2016
1.5 stars.
I didn't enjoy it. Lack or originality, color and fun.
I didn't enjoy it. Lack or originality, color and fun.
July 15, 2025
There's a clever twist that took me completely by surprise. But all the clues are there.
December 19, 2016
Dear Dumb Diary is a paperback series published by Scholastic in which Jamie Kelly, a middle schooler, documents her secret thoughts and feelings about everything from the mean girls in her class, to cute boys, to what she learns in school. The first year of Jamie's diary came to an end with Book 12, Me! (Just Like You, Only Better). Now it's a new year, and School. Hasn't This Gone on Long Enough? is the first book of Dear Dumb Diary Year Two.
I hear a lot of adults in my library lamenting the fact that books for kids sometimes feature characters with bad attitudes who don't behave themselves. The books are often called "junk" and parents try to limit the number of "junky" books their kids borrow. Dear Dumb Diary has certainly fallen into this category for some families. After reading this book, however, I really feel comfortable in saying that these concerned adults truly have nothing to worry about. Jamie is not just a whiney, self-centered pessimist who looks upon the world with disdain. Sometimes she is that, but even when this is her outlook, there is a wit to the writing in these books that makes them worth reading. Jamie's diary - at least this volume - says all the things I wished I could say out loud when I was in middle school. She observes the stupidity of some of her classmates, discusses the unfairness of one particular classmate's constant perfection, and denounces math, a subject that always tortured me and many other kids when I was in school. And because it's a diary, the reader knows that Jamie, like most of us, doesn't actually make any snappy comebacks to anyone's face. As far as Jamie knows, all of her writings are secret, and the fact that she keeps these things in a secret diary shows the reader that, deep down, she's no tougher than any other average middle school student.
By far, the most outstanding feature of this book is Jamie's voice. Her sarcasm is so well-written, and so funny, and Jim Benton has no trouble writing a believable female character. Jamie reminds me of at least one seventh grader I have known, and her sense of humor is spot-on for kids in their early teens. There is also some educational value to this book, believe it or not. In addition to Jamie's struggles with math, she also learns a number of vocabulary words throughout the story, in preparation for a class competition, the definitions for which are provided right in the text. The illustrations, too, add another layer to the story. Jamie's cartoonish depictions of both things she experiences and things she imagines add a Diary of a Wimpy Kid-esque quality to the book, and also drive home quick punchlines much more effectively than text alone.
The primary role of these books is definitely for entertaining their readers. They're not guidebooks on how to live, nor are they staggering works of genius. They are, however, clever, smart, and authentic, and late elementary and middle school readers - especially reluctant ones - could do a lot worse. I think the books are definitely fluff, for the most part, but they're free from curse words, innuendo, and sexual references, there's minimal talk about kissing and dating, and Jamie's attitude is just as much a coping mechanism for her as it is for real middle school students. I really recommend jumping in on Jamie's adventures for this second year, whether you joined her for the first year or not.
I hear a lot of adults in my library lamenting the fact that books for kids sometimes feature characters with bad attitudes who don't behave themselves. The books are often called "junk" and parents try to limit the number of "junky" books their kids borrow. Dear Dumb Diary has certainly fallen into this category for some families. After reading this book, however, I really feel comfortable in saying that these concerned adults truly have nothing to worry about. Jamie is not just a whiney, self-centered pessimist who looks upon the world with disdain. Sometimes she is that, but even when this is her outlook, there is a wit to the writing in these books that makes them worth reading. Jamie's diary - at least this volume - says all the things I wished I could say out loud when I was in middle school. She observes the stupidity of some of her classmates, discusses the unfairness of one particular classmate's constant perfection, and denounces math, a subject that always tortured me and many other kids when I was in school. And because it's a diary, the reader knows that Jamie, like most of us, doesn't actually make any snappy comebacks to anyone's face. As far as Jamie knows, all of her writings are secret, and the fact that she keeps these things in a secret diary shows the reader that, deep down, she's no tougher than any other average middle school student.
By far, the most outstanding feature of this book is Jamie's voice. Her sarcasm is so well-written, and so funny, and Jim Benton has no trouble writing a believable female character. Jamie reminds me of at least one seventh grader I have known, and her sense of humor is spot-on for kids in their early teens. There is also some educational value to this book, believe it or not. In addition to Jamie's struggles with math, she also learns a number of vocabulary words throughout the story, in preparation for a class competition, the definitions for which are provided right in the text. The illustrations, too, add another layer to the story. Jamie's cartoonish depictions of both things she experiences and things she imagines add a Diary of a Wimpy Kid-esque quality to the book, and also drive home quick punchlines much more effectively than text alone.
The primary role of these books is definitely for entertaining their readers. They're not guidebooks on how to live, nor are they staggering works of genius. They are, however, clever, smart, and authentic, and late elementary and middle school readers - especially reluctant ones - could do a lot worse. I think the books are definitely fluff, for the most part, but they're free from curse words, innuendo, and sexual references, there's minimal talk about kissing and dating, and Jamie's attitude is just as much a coping mechanism for her as it is for real middle school students. I really recommend jumping in on Jamie's adventures for this second year, whether you joined her for the first year or not.
April 18, 2012
Reading someone's diary is an invasion of privacy. You must avoid the temptation at all costs. You wouldn't like it if someone read your private words and thoughts. Jamie Kelly let's readers know right away that she will know if they've flipped through the pages of her diary. She considers herself to be a smart girl, even a genius. Jamie likes to share thoughts on how she hates math. She doesn't like how math always seems to have issues to be solved and it causes her to make hideous math faces. Jamie's parents are aware that she is having trouble with math. Jamie's friend Isabella is good at math. Isabella will help Jamie with her math, and in exchange Jamie will help Isabella with language arts. Which by the way, is Jamie's favorite subject. Jamie has the same issues as any other middle grade student you would know. She has funny things to say about her teachers and her diary shows readers in drawings and quirky notes and scribbles. And just like any other middle grader Jamie has problems with the schools beauty queen. Her name is Angeline and she even makes dorky look adorable. The thing that really irritates Jamie is that according to Isabella, Angeline is really smart with or without the glasses. Jamie has lots of worries and issues, but her real dilemma begins when Isabella and Angeline talk about spending the summer in the soon to be built pool that will be ready for the summer at Isabella's. Jamie could be in summer school if she doesn't find a way to conquer her math issues. Middle grade readers will love the quirky antics and rants by Jamie as she muttles through and tries to find her way day by day. Hilarious illustrations show readers exactly what she is thinking and feeling. Benton does an excellent job of placing readers into the life and mind of a middle grade girl. Benton's tales from Mackerel Middle School will have readers anxiously following Jamie as she makes her way through her vicarious life. The back of the book has a quiz asking readers if they are vocabulicious. This series is great for getting kids engaged in reading.
September 5, 2016
Middle-schooler Jamie Kelly has been sharing thoughts in her diary for a year now. In this first segment of her diary, year two, she discusses and doodles about math grades, friends, teachers, parents and the threat of summer school, among other random topics.Jamie loves language arts but struggles in math. Her best friend, Isabella, spends a lot of time at Jamie's house and enjoys razzing Jamie's parents. The girls also hang out with Angeline, whom Jamie considers nice but not especially bright. When Angeline starts appearing more intelligent by out-scoring Jamie in language arts, wearing glasses, etc., Jamie begins feeling insecure about her own abilities. To make matters worse, the girls' other not-too-sharp friend Emily emails to say she's getting amazing grades at her new school. Jamie is already questioning her own intelligence when she comes across a pamphlet about summer school on her family's kitchen table.Out of desperation, Jamie lets Isabella tutor her in math. Jamie is thrilled when she manages to pass an important test. Then she learns her dad promised Isabella $10 if she could find a way to motivate Jamie to improve her math grade. Isabella's scheme included more than tutoring. She found sneaky ways to make Angeline and Emmily appear smarter than Jamie. Isabella knew if Jamie felt less intelligent than her not-so-smart friends, she would want to prove herself.
October 1, 2012
School. Hasn't This Gone On Long Enough? is a book about a young girl who is struggling through another year of school. Jamie is having problems with math and is relying on her friend to help her. But the catch is that all the people in her life are in on a plan to help her improve her grades with her knowing. Which does work in the end.
I had a hard time reading this book. I had to continually go back and reread pages because of the pictures. I was very distracted and kept finding myself looking only at the pictures and not the whole story. But I did enjoy Jamie's character. She was very funny and honest.
This book would appeal to young girls. Probably 3rd to 8th grade. Although it is any easy read the older girls will still enjoy the content. The pictures will entice the beginning chapter book readers and keep the engaged in the story. It is more of a girly book because the main character is female and this is a diary about her life. It contains a lot of feminine talks that would not really interest the boys.
Benton, Jim. Dear dumb diary year two School, hasn't this gone on long enough?. New York, N.Y.: Scholastic, 2012. Print.
I had a hard time reading this book. I had to continually go back and reread pages because of the pictures. I was very distracted and kept finding myself looking only at the pictures and not the whole story. But I did enjoy Jamie's character. She was very funny and honest.
This book would appeal to young girls. Probably 3rd to 8th grade. Although it is any easy read the older girls will still enjoy the content. The pictures will entice the beginning chapter book readers and keep the engaged in the story. It is more of a girly book because the main character is female and this is a diary about her life. It contains a lot of feminine talks that would not really interest the boys.
Benton, Jim. Dear dumb diary year two School, hasn't this gone on long enough?. New York, N.Y.: Scholastic, 2012. Print.
September 24, 2012
Jamie Kelly is an average girl that is trying to find herself. She isn't good at too many things, except Language Arts. She doesn't like people that are too pretty... like her cousin (by marriage) Angeline, or that are too smart or too good at anything. Jamie is having trouble in math ("what do we need math for anyway?"). This month in her diary we find out how Isabella, her best friend, 'tricks her' into raising her math grade. Jamie realizes that its not too bad to be smart.
I think the Dear Diary books would be ideal for third through fifth grade. These would appeal to young girls that are going through the same transitions and have the same thoughts that Jamie has.
Benton, Jim. Dear dumb diary year two School, hasn't this gone on long enough?. New York, N.Y.: Scholastic, 2012. Print.
I think the Dear Diary books would be ideal for third through fifth grade. These would appeal to young girls that are going through the same transitions and have the same thoughts that Jamie has.
Benton, Jim. Dear dumb diary year two School, hasn't this gone on long enough?. New York, N.Y.: Scholastic, 2012. Print.
September 9, 2014
Jamie Kelly, Isabella, Angeline, and, yes (YES!) Stinker the Odorifous Dog--they are back!!! Dancing in the streets will commence! In this starting point to her second year of high (and low) adventure, Jamie is actually outsmarted by bubble-headed bleach blond Angeline when Ange aces her in a math test. The UNTHINKABLE!!! Can Jamie right what was wrong (IE: her life) and redeem herself? How many times must she find redemption? After 12 forays into her middle school world, you'd've thought she'd learn by now! But wait: BFF Isabella has one more trick up her sleeve to show Jamiekins the error of her ways! (I think.) This number 13 is a lucky number for Dear Dumb Diarists of all ages and it's good to see our friends again!
March 19, 2012
I find these books more and more entertaining. I know that my daughter (who is now in middle school) doesn't behave like any of these caricatures of middle-school girls, but there are some similarities. The nearness of the descriptions is part of what makes these books entertaining.
I particularly like this one because of the mystery around the whole situation. A lot of people are behaving strangely and Jamie doesn't know why.
I also really like how the author is able to reveal things to the reader without Jamie figuring them out.
Most of all, though, this book is funny.
I particularly like this one because of the mystery around the whole situation. A lot of people are behaving strangely and Jamie doesn't know why.
I also really like how the author is able to reveal things to the reader without Jamie figuring them out.
Most of all, though, this book is funny.
Read
June 29, 2012Audience: Grades 3rd through 6th. writing teachers. Girls going through transition.
Appeal: This book is great for writing teachers so that the students can see that writing in a diary doesn't mean you have to write a novel, but can be about anything and everything. This book can help girls see that transitional times isn't just them the everyone gets confused and needs help whether is mental, but also with schooling.
Appeal: This book is great for writing teachers so that the students can see that writing in a diary doesn't mean you have to write a novel, but can be about anything and everything. This book can help girls see that transitional times isn't just them the everyone gets confused and needs help whether is mental, but also with schooling.
October 16, 2012
SCHOOL. HASN'T THIS GONE ON LONG ENOUGH? Is a book about a younge girl who is struggling through another year of school. Jamie Kelly is having trouble in math, she sees math as being a pointless subject that no one needs to learn. Jamie learns in the end that math isnt as bad as she thought, and that you can achieve any goal with modivation.
I can relate to this book because I too struggle in math, Language Arts is my favorite subject.
I can relate to this book because I too struggle in math, Language Arts is my favorite subject.
November 1, 2018
Dear Dumb Diary year two is about a girl named Jamie Kelly. She is going back to school and has a lot of problems with their friends. When Jamie has a test coming up for math she does not do so good and her grades come down a lot form that score. Jamie's friends offer to help Jamie but them dich her. Jamie is not that happy but after a while she relizes that her friends did it to help her.
May 27, 2015
I like this book because Jamie Kelly tells me funny stuff that is going on in her school and home. I like the characters that are in the story especially Isabella. Also Jamie Kelly has some expressions in the story. I love the Vocabulary quiz topic. I think my school should do it someday.
March 20, 2015
This story is about how friends can come together and how much they can care about each other. The main characters are Jamie, Isabella, Mr. Henzy. This book is set up like someone who is writing a diary. There are some pictures.
January 31, 2016
I've read Dear Dumb Diary ever since the series began, and I've loved it ever since. Although the jokes may not be as good and the plot may not be as interesting as they used to be, Dear Dumb Diary is a good book to read when in a playful mood.
February 2, 2017
Awesome
The reason I love this book is because it has so many feelings and emotions and in one part of the story they keep switching from feelings to emotions and it's amazing. So that's why I love this book!
The reason I love this book is because it has so many feelings and emotions and in one part of the story they keep switching from feelings to emotions and it's amazing. So that's why I love this book!
March 19, 2018
I love this series! <3<3<3 Jaime Kelly has gone on to seventh grade, an ENTIRELY new year of dumbness! Her dogs still reek, her hair is still horrible(Her words! Not mine), and Angeline's still prettier then her, but she's determined to make this the dumbest year yet! Two thumbs up!
June 4, 2018
Of all the Dear Dumb Diary books, I like this one the best (so far). The girls are growing up, building strong friendships and helping each other - without so much of the Isabella angst and full-on troublemaking. Gotta love Stinker, Stinkette and grossnasty, but they barely appeared in this one.
April 6, 2012
Funny!
March 18, 2012
this was cute :) nice book!
April 8, 2012
i loved this book it was a exciting book. i couldn't wait to get it from my school library.
April 21, 2012
I didn't really like it was much. It's mean. Thats why I hate Happy Bunny too. There are soooo many insults. I would not recommend to anyone, only bullies.
June 29, 2012
So hilarious! I can't believe that it's a boy writing this!
September 14, 2012
Just as funny as ever, and just as moody towards Angeline.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews