Nobody's Perfect. I'm as Close as It Gets

Dear Dumb Diary #15

by Jim Benton

Whatever you do, DON'T read Jamie Kelly's bestselling diaries!

The bestselling Dear Dumb Diary series is a hilarious hit! Now Jamie Kelly's diaries have a fresh look and a fun twist. Dear Dumb Diary Year Two is still laugh-out-loud funny -- but everything is another year dumber!

As Jamie continues to grapple with middle school's Big Questions, she drops even more snarky gems of wisdom like, "Everybody knows that the more you love somebody, the less you try to look nice for them," and "People don't appreciate how much willpower it takes to do the wrong thing."

(But Jamie STILL has no idea that anybody is reading her diary. So please, please, please don't tell her.)

Genres: Humor, Middle Grade, Childrens, Diary, Young Adult, Fiction, Realistic Fiction

124 pages, Paperback

First published December 15, 2012

About the author

Benton 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.

Reviews

[Shugufa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this:)!! OMG it's so funny every part I read I start laughing and everyone around me looks at me like what happened/ what's wrong with u!! Great book!!:)

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series is my guilty pleasure. I laughed out loud on the train when I was reading this one. I so wish these books had been around when I was in middle school.

[Edward Creter · Rating 5 out of 5]

YESSSSS!!!! Stinker is back!!!! Welcome home, boy! This one has a deeper plot that finally...FINALLY...takes on the issue of the cafeteria meat loaf (yeccchhh!) once and for all! Jamie Kelly still has a best friend in karate mistress (at 13) Isabella, still has the Stinkable One for a frenemy, and still has a crush (mildly) on Hudson Rivers (the 8th cutest boy in her grade, which makes me ask...who's on first?) and now she's finally ha enough of the infamous meat loaf served with ugly panache from Ms. Bruntford the Cafeteria monitor (a monitor is also a lizard creature. I invite readers to do the math on THAT!) so she may have come up with the ultimate plan for REVENGE! With help from Isabella and her so-so friend Angeline, the Reese Witherspoon of preteen "hotness" (if you can call it that), she will steal into the teacher's lounge (a teacher stronghold from which no one comes out ALIVE!!!), rub coffee grounds into her armpits (for that rich aromatic smell, THE best part of waking up!), and challenge the status quo (her uncle the assistant principal, whose status is so quo!). But does she even know what she's about to pull? Has Jamie actually outsmarted herself by outwitting the teaching staff of Mackerel Middle? WITHOUT EVEN TRYING??? The suspense!!! The action!!! The stinkage!!!! (Again, welcome back, Dogg!) It's all going DOOOOOWN! See ya in volume four of the sophomore year!

[Bunny]

** Originally posted www.bunnycates.com **



My Thoughts:
This is the continuation of the Dear Dumb Diary series. I think it is geared toward those younger readers who grew up reading Dear Dumb Diary, and aren't ready to give up on the series even though they’ve out grown it. They get to keep reading it, and see the character grow right along with them. If that makes sense.

This book is so cute. It follows middle schooler Jamie Kelly and is written through a bunch of journal entries. I normally HATE books written as a journal, but I love it in this series. I think it allows kids to connect with the main character better, and see/feel like “that could be me”.

In Dear Dumb Diary Year Two #3: Nobody’s Perfect. I’m As Close As It Gets. Jamie learns valuable lessons about ones “Permanent Record” and the bad things that can happen if/when you try to game the system. She also learns that maybe ALWAYS going along with whatever your friends say, even though you know it is probably wrong, is probably not the best thing to do.

In Conclusion:
I loved this book. I thought it was entertaining and as a mom, I loved that there were lessons to be learned. My daughter loved it too, she read the book in like 20 minutes.

Mom Notes:
These books are aimed at middle grade readers. and even though they are a continuation of the first series I don’t think they have to be read in order.

Recommended for middle graders, say ages 8+

For Students and Parents:
ATOS Book Level: 5.1
Interest Level: Middle Grades (MG 4-8)
AR Points: 2.0

[Teresa Scherping Moulton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Middle-schooler Jamie Kelly finds out, for the first time, that she has a Permanent Record. Worried about her future prospects, she sets out to join as many extra-curricular activities as possible, spurred on by her friend Isabella who always has a scheme up her sleeve. Meanwhile, a mystery threatens the entire school - why do they serve the cafeteria meatloaf if it tastes so terrible?!

I thought this book was funny and quirky and had a sweet ending. I liked the way Jamie's lessons and assignments in school were substantive, affected the way she thought, and could even teach the reader something. Although some jokes were a little tasteless (like making fun of fat people or nerds), for the most part Jim Benton's combination of deadpan and outrageous humor is pretty entertaining. I'd read some of his Franny K. Stein books in the past, and this humor is similar but for an older crowd. This is the first Dear Dumb Diary book I've read, and I didn't start with the first one just because it wasn't checked in at the library. Overall, this was a quick read and I enjoyed it.

I would recommend this book for fourth to seventh graders (maybe younger but they might not be able to relate to the middle school issues). I would compare it to Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf (meatloaf seems to be a common theme), The Agony of Alice, or any of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid/Dork Diaries/Popularity Papers/etc.

[Heenly Pelayo · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you know me well, you know I've always loved dear dumb dairy books. Year #2 is great although the the first year is better. This book is so true best friends do compete against each other at who's better at least some do, me and my best friend (one of them) are exactly like this. I loved this book, well obviously, but I really do love Jamie Kelly's "daires". And I love the author, he being a boy can put himself into girl-like situations! I've always loved dumb dairy books and this is just one more to my collection to love! I recommend this book to anyone, because really anyone will love it!

[Brivasarano · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really interesting, but this book was funny too! One of the main idea was that people didn't think that she wasn't smart. So she tried to prove that she was smart, by doing things like science. There was some weird things that I couldn't understand and it made no sense. But after all it was a pretty good book. I would recommend this book to girls ONLY but, if your a boy and you want to read it go ahead! I would recommend this book because it sort of solves how to get revenge with your enemy! :)

[Fiona Burgos · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book, Jamie Kelly finds out that she has a permant record, and no extracurricular to make it look good. Because of this, Jamie and her best friend, Isabella, sign up to a bunch of clubs, and then end up andoning them. While in the process of doing this, she starts asking the teachers and making them think, "Why do they serve the meatloaf at school if it taste horrible?", and," Why does the meatloaf taste so bad?".
I love these books so much, they're are my favorite. This book makes me laugh all the time, I would totally recommend this book to kids in middle school.

[Traci · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is why I enjoy these books: this entry is all about Jamie trying to make her future "perfect" - and she ends up solving the mystery of the inedible cafeteria meatloaf. Sounds like a Scooby-Doo caper, I know, but it's very nicely done. The reason the meatloaf is so awful? Well, I won't tell you that, but I will say that it all makes sense, and Benton uses the issue to point out that teachers are people, too.

[Darlene Farley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is about Jenny and her friends trying to find out why no one likes the meat loaf that is served every Thursday

[Lauren Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Dear Dumb Diary:Nobody's Perfect. I'm As Close As It Gets" by Tim Benton is a hilarious book. This book is the diary of Jamie Kelly, a girl whom's life is quite interesting. This peticualar book of the series is about Jamie thinking about her future, by joining multiple clubs and trying to keep her permanent record clean. I laughed so many times during this book and I am sure that anyone who reads it will to! I recommend this book to anyone who loves laughing!

[asadig3 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jamie Kelly wants to have a perfect future. But she found out she was never in any extracurricular activities! So she makes a scheme to join a bunch of activities and never show up. Then, some people are curious about what she's up to. Dear Dumb Diary Year 2 #3 is a story about loss of innocence (breaking rules).

[Alliyah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like I said in my last two reviews of two other Dear Dumb Diary books that I only really read them for the humor so when I saw the title of this book (Nobody's Perfect. I'm As Close As It Gets) I knew it would be funny.

[Jen Garner · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can see why kids like it, it can be funny. Not really what I want my kids reading though. This book portrays lying, sneaking around, and manipulating authority figures as if those things are what kids are supposed to do. Children's books shouldn't glorify bad behavior...

[Phebe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good light-hearted book and I would highly recommend it! It's really interesting a pretty good if you want a light book to read quite quickly(for example I finished in much less than a day). P.S. It's 121 pages.

[Colette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very funny and over exaggerated, but in good way. I love Jim Benton's books and can't wait for the next in the series.

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. My girls like hearing them.

[Anika · Rating 5 out of 5]

l always give books like this five stars cause its funny, with funny pictures of course.

[eve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jim Benton always delivers the smart, snarky, sassy humor I've loved since the first book of Dear Dumb Diary and all throughout his It's Happy Bunny books.

[Alexandra Huerta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that this book is funny and ha some plot twists that make out even more funny and fun and theres another reason to it for it to b dumber and laughing out loud laughter

[Morrigan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't like this one as much as the others. Felt like the storyline was weaker somewhat and lacked "Laugh out Loud" moments

[Alizabeth W]

i dint really like it but i still read it.

[Ck · Rating 3 out of 5]

An okay book in the series, not the funniest but still a few good laughs.

[Cerena · Rating 5 out of 5]

With Isabella's help (or lack of it), Jamie tackles a difficult problem: Why does the cafeteria serve them meat loaf? It begins as a conversation starter to prove to Isabella that she is intelligent, but as Jamie continues with her research, she discovers there's more to the meatloaf than she thought. Jamie really had the upper hand in this book, usually she's the one accidentally making the mess and trying to clean it up, but this time she was just the supervisor. This whole situation definitely proved her intelligence, and I think there is a lot to learn from her tirades, especially the ones about nature because they really do make a lot of sense.

[Courtenay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of all Benton's books, so far this one had me laughing out loud the most -- maybe it tickled my funny bone. 4 Stars instead of 3-3.5. I especially chuckled at the spider web in her folder, the lazy surgeon / self-stitching, and the narrowing eyes (so cliche) until they're virtually closed and Jamie weaving around unable to find her way. Hilarious, his sense of humor!

[Jonathan Ortega]

it is a good story I want to read more.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another funny book in this series! The topics this time are meat loaf and extracurricular activities!

[Valeria · Rating 5 out of 5]

So funny! Never gets old.

[Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good

[JJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a really funny book and I enjoy the arrogant feeling that Jamie has