The fifth chapter book in the popular Monster High Diaries series, featuring Cleo De Nile!
Dear Diary,
Oh my Ra! My mom is coming home! She's been trapped in a tomb this whole time! I hope the tomb was filled with creeperific gems and creepy-cool artifacts. Otherwise I can't imagine how my poor mom coped. I am going to throw the most awesome welcome-back party for her. I know this might be hard to believe, but I'm a little worried about whether the party will be glamorous enough for her. Oh, what am I saying? OF COURSE it will be! I'm just the ghoul for the job!
Nessi Monstrata is the author of the all new Monster High Diaries series. When she's not writing about the Monster High ghouls, Nessi enjoys going out to eat with ghoulfriends, shopping (shoes are her weakness!), and watching romantic comedies on TV.
First up, let's get this straight. I'm not crying, you're crying. Yeah, let's go with that. Anyway, one of the big things in MH is the fact that Cleo's mother has been MIA for a good long while. If one goes by the doll diaries, it pre-dates Cleo's mummy status (I believe). That doesn't seem to be quite the case here, but it's been a long time.
Alas, right off the bat on page one, I'm thrown right out of things because when I think Ancient Egypt, I don't think of mother-daughter rom-com movie dates. Not even if you go all MH and call them "boovies" instead. I'm well aware that maybe this will only bother me, but it's also possible someone else will be bugged and we can complain together.
That aside, I really liked the book. Thing is, I'm not sure how much is due to the book itself and how much is due to wanting Cleo to have her mother back and being happy for her. But the book definitely shows that while Cleo is a diva, she's a diva with a heart of gold. There are multiple examples that show Cleo thinking nothing of helping a friend and it's never really out of character and I dig it.
I like Cleo's mom and I wonder how she and Nefera will get along.
I wouldn't say I'd start your MH reading here since I think the payoff for Dedyet de Nile's return is greater if you have more invested in Cleo prior to this, however it's a good little book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Cleo's mother has been missing for many years and it turns out she's coming back. Cleo expects her mother to be unchanged, with total emphasis on appearance, fashions and posh parties.
People change over time, though, and Cleo has to deal with the many changes her mother has undergone and, at the same time, figure out what type of welcome-home party would be best with Nefera going for an all-posh party while Cleo starts to think some thing less spectacular could be in order.
It's another really good moralistic book about accepting people as they are and understanding that people can change over time.
She couldn't be more excited about it but upon her arrival, Cleo learns this isn't the mother she remembers.
Are they too different to get along now?
Like with the other diaries in this series there's a big focus on family and friends. Learning how to navigate and balance relationships.
Cleo is really known for putting on a confident mask-she is the school's queen bee- but reading this book you really get inside her head and see what goes on in there.
Again, zero complaints about this book!
Edit: actually, I disliked that this marked the end of the OG Monster High
Cleo's character was always interesting to me in the movies, but I also always wanted more of her backstory from the doll diaries, and thankfully this book fulfills both of these and more.
We get a look into how Cleo's relationship with her mother, as well as her own inner thoughts in regards to her friends and expectations from her family, and their dislike of Deuce. We also get to see Cleo's nice side, which was often neglected in most MH G1 media.
It's a quick read, and I highly recommend it to any MH fan, especially Cleo fans.
Pensavo meglio. Nulla di eccezionale, se paragonato al film I 13 Desideri. Cleo è insopportabile come poche, infatti ho sempre preferito Nefera, ma come sempre, non le danno mai lo spazio che merita. Carino il messaggio finale, ma si vede che è troppo "americano". Una stellina, salvo solo la copertina con Nefera. Nessuna immagine della madre delle ragazze, nulla di nulla.
I am not the intended audience for these books but I can't resist a book w/ a great cover and the Monster High covers intrigue me. This is an o.k. book for the right age group with a good message. Primary message being sometimes people change and that's ok. Our likes, world views, priorities can change over time but the heart stays the same and we should love the person like always.
Lovely Short story for kids, such a quick and fun read!! I've always loved monster high and reading this book made me connect with my inner child. Brought so many good memories and I had a lovely time reading about the characters I once loved
Cleo is missing her mother. She hasn't seen her sense before the Boo World. They were attacked by intruders, and they g cave years ot separated. Later the next day they find a letter from her mother. Her mother was in the home of the De Niles for years then she found a way out. When she went to look for her family she found explores that asked her to go on a adventure with them. When they went into the tomb the cave caved in, and they were stuck. When people went to explore that cave years later they found Cleo's mother. Now she coming home. Now when Cleo's mother comes home she'll go on an adventure to find what truly matters about a person.
Cleo And The Creeperific Mummy Makeover PLOT: After many years after the Denile's escape from Egypt, Cleo, Nefera, and Ramses receive news that Dedyeta will be returning. Cleo has memories of her mother when she was a little girl of this beautiful, glamorous, stylish, Royal that loved her gowns, jewels, and balls. But the mother that returns to her is nothing like that. There seems to be no traces of her former self after spending time away from her family on an architectural dig. Now it's up to Cleo to either *fix* her mother or throw her the welcome home party that shows she accepts her white tee, jeans, ponytail, and all.
MY THOUGHTS: I liked this! I think Cleo's come so far from when we were first introduced to her in the books and webisodes that initially made her out to be a bitchy, royal, pain in the ass. Every time she stepped outside herself to help Frankie, Draculaura, Clawdeen, and Lagoona I thought WOW! Is the same character? I also found it hard to believe that even dressed down that Dedyeta can be anything in looks other than gorgeous. She probably has that I can pull off a simple tee and jeans and make it look like she belonged on the cover of Royal magazine thing happening. The message was perfect as well that people change. But that doesn't mean we have to love them any less. If we love them we shouldn't try to change them but accept the person they've become. Unless the change is for the worst. But people don't stay the same. MAN did I have to learn that the hard way!
RATING: 7 Accepting people's differences from your own whether they have more or less is a very crucial lesson to always keep in mind. And sadly people don't always accept you as the person you are and what you do or do not have.
Well, after two reasonable two good books in this new series... I found one bad one. This one just focused too much on the message. While it is an important message it shouldn't take over the story and feel like the book is just a promotional thing for it. In this one the message is that one should take the other as they are, even if they are changed like Cleo's mum. Inside she is still the same mum, she just has different interests, and you should be happy she is back. Not just Cleo's mom and her change and how we should accept her pops up plenty, but also from friends and other monsters. Cleo should accept Deuce, Lagoona and her boyfriend are good together, and so on. At the end everyone just tells Cleo how awesome she is, which is sweet, but again pushes that message some more. Instead of thinking how cool it was I was just rolling my eyes as it felt way too forced. Which is a shame. I still have one more book of this series on my Kindle, and I will give it a shot, hopefully it is good again.
This is my favorite book of this little diary series. First off, this book really understands late-series redeemed Cleo! Right from the get-go in this book, you see her heart of gold and her loyalty for her friends. In so many of the other MH books, Cleo is treated as a very boring and cliché mean girl. Unlike the parents in the other diaries books, here Cleo’s mom has a rather large role. We get to know her quite a bit, and she’s now my favorite parent in the series by far. And, mild spoilers, but Dedyet wears wrinkled casual clothes, and even no makeup! She likes and prefers this, and by the end of the book everyone respects this. I thought it was really nice to see a character like that here, especially when Monster High has always been such a fashion series, trying to make everyone as girly and glam as can be. As someone who loves Monster High but isn’t into fashion itself, finally seeing a character “like me” felt really nice, and I hope it did the same for others too.