Да се престорим, че това не се е случвалo - книга 1

Dear Dumb Diary #1

by Jim Benton, Мария Демирева (Translator)

ПЕРФЕКТНИТЕ МОМИЧЕТА СЕ ПРЕВРЪЩАТ В ПЕРФЕКТНИ ВРАГОВЕ

Този дневник е собственост на Джейми Кели от основно училище „Макъръл“. Тя е готова на всичко, за да не се превърне в поредната жертва на официалния създател на прякори Майк Пинсети. И за да впечатли Хъдсън Ривърс (осмото най-готино момче в класа по скалата за популярност на най-добрата й приятелка Изабела).

Има само един проблем – красивата й съученичка Анджелин. Тя е толкова перфектна, че думата „перфектна“ не е достатъчно перфектна за нея. Джейми обаче е убедена, че зад ангелската усмивка на Анджелин се крие злоба и жестокост. И че е неин дълг да разкрие на света истинската й същност...

Genres: Childrens, Middle Grade, Humor, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Contemporary, Comedy

109 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

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

[Darla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jamie Kelly had me laughing out loud more times than I can count. Such hilarious observations and her artwork is a hoot. Her deathly fear of being nicknamed for life (consider the example of what happened to Butt Buttlington) is a running theme. Also her complicated relationship with packing a lunch vs. eating the cafeteria lunch leads to some hilarious situations. Not a five-star read as there are a couple of cringe-worthy moments -- perhaps that is just the fact that the book was written early in this century. This is a great pick for kids who enjoy lots of illustrations and prefer a diary format. Will be looking up Book #2 to see what happens next for Jamie and the other characters. Will she ever get the attention of the hunky Hudson? What will Angelina do next? Will Isabella's chapped lip problem return? And more. . .

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hahahaha! This was hilarious and a quick read. I'm a huge fan of the Georgia Nicholson diaries for teens and this series reminds me a bit of them, although aimed at the younger set. It's basically about middle schooler Jamie Kelly, who vents to her "dumb diary" about school, boys, her dog, her family, and most of all, her arch-nemesis, the perfect Angeline. Supplementing each diary entry are these humorous illustrations (drawn by our heroine) that had me laughing out loud.

As a kiddo librarian, I would probably caution against recommending these to kids who have very cautious or overprotective parents, simply because words like "dumb" and illustrations depicting the blubbery jowl fat of her obese lunch lady probably won't go over very well in those particular households. But those who grew up on and have outgrown smart-mouthed characters like Junie B. Jones will feel right at home with this series.

One of my favorite lines: "He's like a doughnut that secretes its own glaze." ~Jamie Kelly, in reference to her sticky baby cousin Eddy

[April (Aprilius Maximus) · Rating 2 out of 5]

BOOK #21 READ FOR BELIEVATHON ROUND 2.

I reread this book for my rereading childhood favourites video!

representation: yeeeahhhhh, none from what I read.

[trigger warnings are listed at the bottom of this review and may contain spoilers]

★★

DNF on page 26 of my reread. As much as this book series influenced me so much as a kid in terms of keeping my own diaries and reading more books, it just doesn't hold up today. It has some of the worst fat-shaming I've seen in a middle grade and I'm v sad about it. Defs won't be passing this one on to my children, that's for sure lol.

trigger warnings: TERRIBLE fat shaming, slut shaming, potentially racist content?

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

My third-grader had belly-laughs as she read this book. It's not one that I would have selected for her, but we all have our guilty-pleasure reads.

Lines I liked:
"By the way, you know how the name for Angeline's hair color is 'Gloriously Heavenly Sunshine'? The people at the dye company named the one that matches mine 'Groundhog'" (22).

"I was so glad that my hair was back the way that nature had inflicted" (23).

"Mr. Evans said that I pretty much need an A on my mythology report or my grades would be with the mermaids. 'You know,' he said, 'Below C level.'" (27).

"Stinker ate my mythology report. [...] Here's how I know he was doing it to get back at me: He only ate the words. He left the paper margins in his bowl like pizza crusts (66).

[Olivia Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided to read this book because it fits into one of the categorys on the bingo board. This book fits into the category: Your own choice. This category is interesting because you get to read watever book you want to so there is a better chance you will enjoy it. My favourite quote from the book is: “This means that I don't have to run faster than the psychotic-maniac-vampire-cannibal, I just have to run faster than whoever is with me when the psychotic-maniac-vampire-cannibal starts chasing us.” What i learned from this book was that people arent always what you think of them. An interesting character in this book was Isabella because she is Jamie Kellys best friend but she seems that she is hidding a lot from her and is not telling people about some of her situations.

[max theodore]

you know looking back on these books from my current homosexual viewpoint. i think the girl rivalry here was definitely like. at least a little gay

ETA: these books hate fat people a lot. like a lot. however they are unfortunately also really enduringly funny. try to tell me jamie doesn't have the wildest crush on angeline

[Gabriella · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a girl named Jamie who has an enemy.The enemys name is Angeline.Angline was mean to Jamie.For example Angeline started to throw meat loaf in the cafeteria.But Jamie got in trouble for it.While Jamie was getting in trouble Angeline was wiping her hands off from the meat loaf.But is it true that Angeline is really that mean. I recommend this book because you can make connections to the book if you have an enemy of your own.Also it is very funny and very dumb.

[Criss · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up mostly for "research," because I'm working on a diary-format novel with a character who starts out in middle school/junior high. I was disappointed by the slut-shaming and fatphobia in this book, and by the MC's stereotypical girl-hate. There really is no plot, other than "I'm jealous of Angeline and I hate her but I love her" and suddenly in the last few pages half a bazillion things happen, plot twist! after plot twist! after PLOT TWIST!!

The MC's voice is funny (though her personality/viewpoints are irritating). Another thing that bugged me as I was reading was I felt she seemed too "old" for a middle school student. It doesn't say how old Jamie is (that I remember?) but there are some things that indicate she's in the lower middle school grades (6th), but some of her banter, turns of phrase, expressions, and thought processes seem to be more high school aged. There's nothing "inappropriate," it just seems more "advanced"/"experienced" than a girl who would put warnings on the front page of her diary with drawings of severed heads thinking that's actually going to detract people from reading.

My main objection is the actual content, though: the cafeteria lady is gross because she's fat, the most horrible thing imaginable is for Isabella to wear her grandmother's "horse-butt-sized" pants, pretty girls are man-stealing b!tches and the most important things in life are boys and being pretty and having pretty hair. Is this really the best we can do for our female readers?

[Rachel Q]

MY OPINION:
This book is pretty nice for me because Jamie seems to be a crazy girl.. this book also makes you laugh.. ! :D


SUMMARY

Jamie Kelly is a girl that has a diary.. and she writes crazy stuff about people and makes some drawings (not really just the author LOL!)Jamie's qualities are clever.. Jamie's hair dye name is "Groundhog".
Her eye color is green and her crush is called Hudson Rivers. Her bff is called Isabella. Angeline is a clever girl too..she has a nice hair. Her hair's name is "Golden Heavenly Sunshine". Jamie is obviously jelous about that..The conflict is ANGELINE .. she doesnt let JAMIE get into Hudson !!!... JAmie REAALLYYYY likes HUdson but, Angelines beauty is too much!


-Rachel

[lagan · Rating 3 out of 5]

it's like a grown man who never went to public school wrote a book from the point of view of a middle school girl. oh wait. that's what it is. i recommend reading it out loud on the floor of the children's section of barnes and noble to your friends, like i did.

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book because it is funny and silly,and because its like a girls diary

[Nikita · Rating 5 out of 5]

iconic. this series changed society. it was a formative player in my childhood. jamie is my hero.

[Ruthie Dearden-Watts · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's quite a funny book. it's nice and easy to read.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this series! It is one of the few that still makes me laugh out loud as I read it!

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jamie Kelly is in eighth grade and keeps a diary about her life. She writes about a popular girl, her dog, her best friend, her mom's cooking, and her messy messy cousin. As she writes, you can see that her life isn't fun and games.
Dear Dumb Dairy is a funny book because of the way Jamie writes and thinks. Its also has funny pictures that show what she talks about, which is kinda funny. And don't worry about school, try to enjoy the book.
I like this book because of its funniness and weirdness . My favourite part is when she writes about that popular girl's hair being cut off. There is nothing I don't like about this book. Enjoy "Dear Dumb Dairy"!

[Kally · Rating 4 out of 5]

Антон (9г.): Книгата беше много смешна. Имаше кражби на... коса!
Имаше едно момиче, което харесваше едно момче и правеше най-смешната физиономия, която съм виждал - имаше картинка в книгата. В цялата книга имаше много картинки.
В книгата се разказва за едно много шантаво момиче, което си пише дневник. Там тя описва живота си.

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I basically just read this for nostalgic purposes. I remember absolutely loving this when I was in Primary School, and while I din't find it as amazing as I did when I was younger, I really enjoyed it. I'd definitely recommend this for younger audiences, like maybe 8-12 year old girls.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much funnier than I expected. Why weren't these as big as Wimpy Kid?

[Vitória · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esse livro (assim como os demais da série) formou meu caráter, e me fez ser quem sou hoje. Obrigada por tudo, Jamie Kelly.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

jamie your obsession with angeline is actually romantic (this is the gayest thing i've read in my entire life)

[Aurora T · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a girl named Jamie and she is friends with another girl named Isabella.Isabella is always get in trouble but Jamie is always going off in to her own world. she is always taking the the blame for other people’s mistakes including Isabella’s. The main thing that this book was about is Jamie wants to steal her cousin’s permanent record Angeline but when she finally remembers to take the record!😀😀. But two days later when her cousin arrived she lost it!!! The next day she was making her lunch and there was only one spoon of strawberry jelly left in the jar and her cousin was highly allergic to strawberries and Jamie look in the fridge to look for juice and when she looked back the strawberry jelly on her sandwich Was gone (she thought that her dog stinker did it).but when she got to school they where about to give her cousin back to her aut and then he ran inside the school and then Jamie started to case after him then hen he finally got in to her class Angeline helped her on her Paper becuse her dog ate her homework and then she found Angeline’s permanent record in his avengers backpack she returned it to the pricapols office.this was a really funny book i really liked it


By Aurora age8

[Zyl · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book starts the entire "Dear Dumb Diary" children's series. This book introduces the main character, a very spunky and opinionated girl, and her friends and family, who appear in the series multiple times as well. The stories have barely any plot, and probably really has no value in society, but considering it's written for children, then it's passable with two stars. I read this series when I was younger and the experience still feels fresh. I remember enjoying it a lot because the author used simple words and laughable phrases. However, it was the illustrations that really caught my eye. The "doodles," as I call them even still, made my reading experience enjoyable. It felt like I really was reading a girl's diary, albeit one with illustrations perfectly childish and a story if you squint real hard. I also loved the introductions, and those first few pages probably were my favorite parts.

[Kathleen Behrendt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book in the popular series for girls, Dear Dumb Diary. The main character, Jamie Kelly, wants to be part of the popular group. She will do just about anthing to achieve that goal - including stealing the permanent file of the most popular girl in school, Angeline, to try and find some dirt about her. The writing is very funny, and just a little sassy. There is just enough gross humor (ex. the page 65 drawings of her beagle Stinker and his fascination with his butt) to possibly entice boys to read the series. The drawings nicely complement the text. The eye-catching titles help sell the series.

I would recommend this book to middle school girls who are looking for a funny, fast read as well to readers who enjoy reading books in a diary format. The author, Jim Benton, also is the writer of the Franny K Stein series and Happy Bunny.

[Hayleam · Rating 1 out of 5]

This bok was terrific because it was so interesting and it also painted a picture in my mind!!!!!!This book would always keep me guessing!!!

[Andy John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I když je to pro mladší čtenáře, můžu říct je to chytlavé, vtipné a čtivé. Opravdu jsem se pobavila.

[Gracelyn Parenti · Rating 4 out of 5]

sins = absolved
middle school love of this book = reignited

[İrem · Rating 5 out of 5]

çocukken en sevdiğim kitaplardan biriydi bu.. bi akrabamıza vermiştik ve geçen gün geri geldi seri.. ben de rereadlemek istedim koskoca halimle dmdmdmd o duygularla hatırladığım için de beşten başka bi puan veremezdim açıkçası

[zo ✧‧₊˚ · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book was so nostalgic. i remember i got so inspired by this book when i was 10, i wanted my diary to look and sound exactly like this 🥹 it’s also still as funny as i remember it lmao

[Kris · Rating 2 out of 5]

The only reason this book gets two stars is because I loved this series as a kid.

[A]

Literally the gayest thing ever written. Maurice - sobbing. Giovanni's Room - having a seizure. The Color Purple - found dead in Miami