Dork Diaries 8 – Tales from a Not-So-Happily Ever After

Rachel Renee Russell's Tales from a Not-So-Happily Ever After is a funny diary story for 10 year olds about a girl who gets knocked out playing dodgeball and wakes up inside a fairy tale.

What happens

It's April Fool's Day, and Nikki's morning is a disaster before she's even left the house. Her little sister Brianna has pinched her alarm clock again. Worse, Brianna's peanut butter, jelly and PICKLE sandwich somehow ends up stuck to the front of the new sweater Nikki spent two months saving for.

Nobody tells her. She walks down the school corridor thinking everyone's admiring her outfit. They aren't.

Then it gets worse. MacKenzie, her number one enemy, is delighted. Brianna has flattened Nikki's phone battery playing games, so she's missed Brandon's texts about a place at summer camp. And in PE, MacKenzie throws a ball straight at her face.

When Nikki comes round, she's at Fairy Tale Land Middle School. Munchkins who eat nothing but munchies are thanking her for landing on the Wicked Witch of the West (who looks EXACTLY like MacKenzie). Her fairy godmother is Brianna in a princess costume, and her wand's playing up even with new batteries in it. To get home, Nikki needs a pass from the Wizard of Odd.

Is it a dream, or did she really bump her head that hard? Nikki isn't sure, and that's half the fun.

As it's her diary, you're right inside Nikki's head, and it's a LOUD place to be. She's furious with Brianna one minute and admitting she was way more annoying at that age the next. Every familiar story gets turned sideways, so readers who know their fairy tales will love spotting who's who. Goldilocks has a lot to say for herself.

It's a later book in the series, and it helps to know the gang already. Nikki has a crush on Brandon and she mentions their first kiss, which happened in an earlier book. It's all very sweet and giggly, but some parents might like to know it's there.

What to read next

If your reader is new to Nikki, start with the very first Dork Diaries book, where she's about to begin at a new school and her mum hands her a diary instead of the phone she'd been nagging for.