Dork Diaries 10 – Tales from a Not-So-Perfect Pet Sitter

Rachel Renee Russell's Tales From a Not-So-Perfect Pet Sitter is a Dork Diaries story for 10 year olds about seven secret puppies and one very nosy enemy.

What happens

Nikki Maxwell is over the moon. Her arch-enemy MacKenzie Hollister has moved to a posh new school, and Nikki's life is finally going to be PERFECT. And drama free!

That lasts about as long as a cupcake. MacKenzie turns up at the CupCakery, with Nikki's pink cupcake squashed in her hair, just as Nikki and her crush Brandon are having a moment.

Then, outside the animal shelter where Brandon volunteers, the two of them find a golden retriever called Holly and a box of seven wriggly puppies. The shelter is full until Sunday. So they come up with a plan. Nikki and her friends will take turns looking after all eight dogs at home.

There's just one snag. Nikki's mum has already said no (and she only asked about one dog). So Nikki decides to hide them all in her bedroom. How hard can it be? Her little sister Brianna finds out within about five minutes, and the sofa cushions don't survive the evening.

It's written as Nikki's diary, so you're right inside her head. She shouts in CAPITALS, she exaggerates wildly, and she's forever yelling things that she only says "inside my head". Her rant about how unfair her mum is (Brianna got to keep the class fish for a whole weekend!) will probably sound very familiar at your house.

This isn't the first Dork Diaries book. Nikki mentions plenty of earlier drama with MacKenzie, and her friendships with Chloe, Zoey and Brandon are already in full swing. She fills you in as she goes, though, so a new reader won't be lost for long.

One small thing for animal lovers. Brandon is upset because not every shelter in the city has a no-kill policy. It's only hinted at, but a child who worries about animals might ask what it means.

If your reader enjoys a funny, dramatic narrator with big feelings about everything, Nikki is excellent company.

What to read next

If they'd like to go back to where Nikki's diary began, Tales from a Not So Fabulous Life has her starting at Westchester Country Day, desperate for a new phone and getting a blank diary from her mum instead.