Dork Diaries 2: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl

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Language can be very powerful. Nikki and her friends decide to embrace the label “dork” when naming their band “Dorkalicious.” What happens when someone claims what might be considered a negative label, like “dork,” with pride? Guide was written by Michele Gorman, author of Getting Graphic! Comics for Kids and Getting Graphic! Using Graphic Novels to Promote Literacy with Preteens and Teens.

This whole book is about Nikki’s missing diary. What would you do if your diary went missing? Where would you look? Who would you blame? Even if you don’t keep a diary, imagine you discovered that everyone at school suddenly knew one of your biggest secrets. How do you think that could happen? How would you respond? During their New Year’s Eve sleepover, the three girls play Truth or Dare. Which do you think takes more courage, sharing some information or doing some deed? Why? Why do you think this game remains popular over time?

Nikki doesn’t approach her mom about the video problem, her dad about the bug problem, or her friends about either problem. In the previous books, Nikki has also kept her problems to herself—even though her friends constantly prove loyal and helpful. Why doesn’t Nikki share her problems with others? Find three examples in the book that support your answer(s). Have you ever felt completely overwhelmed by the task ahead of you? What would it take for you to step up to a challenge that previously seemed impossible? What techniques can make a large task more manageable? It is the only Dork Diaries book that has been published with two different illustrations on its cover.

Nikki discusses some of her fears in Dork Diaries 3. What was your biggest fear when you were little? What about now? Nikki feels that her bedroom should be her own private space. At school, she, Chloe, and Zoey use the janitor’s closet for their meetings. Do you have your own bedroom or another special space that feels like it is all your own? If so, who makes up the rules for this special place? If you could have complete dominion over your space, what would be your top three rules? Nikki loves Lady and the Tramp and easily imagines herself in the classic romantic spaghetti dinner scene. What’s your favorite movie from childhood? How could you imagine yourself in a scene? Describe the setting and any friends you would cast beside you. Would you tweak anything from the original script, or would it play out pretty much the same in your life? Having nothing better to do on the night of the dance, Nikki reluctantly agrees to serve on the dance clean-up comitee with her best friends, Chloe and Zoey, as well as help out a ballet class Halloween party for her little sister, Brianna.In Nikki’s own words, she was trying to “do it ALL” on Halloween, including paint faces at the ballet class Halloween party, attend the Halloween dance with Chloe and Zoey dressed as a bag of trash, and attend the Halloween dance as Brandon’s date, dressed as Shakespeare’s Juliet. Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you took on too much at one time? Were you successful? How would you do it differently if you had to do it over again? Why do you think Nikki’s parents decide to deliberately create Family Sharing Time? Does your family do anything like this? Nikki suggests her family do an extreme sport, like bungee jumping, together. What are some activities that you think would be good for Family Sharing Time? Why? While Nikki is working as an LSA during 5th hour, she gets a call from her parents saying she has to go to a funeral for Wilbur Roach, the former president of the company Nikki's dad works for. At the funeral, Nikki gets an unexpected case of the hiccups. Tired of Brianna waking her up in the middle of the night to help her go to the bathroom in fear of the tooth fairy being in there, Nikki decides to make her own fairy repellent so she can keep the tooth fairy away. She sprays Brianna's whole room. When their parents see this, Nikki says there was a really bad pest, assuming a bug, leaving them none the wiser. Do you think the “thank you for the oatmeal” note Nikki’s mom leaves is sincere, or is she trying to let Nikki know that she is on to her deception but forgives her? Either way, Nikki is very relieved that she’s not in trouble. Have you had a close call where you thought you were busted but ended up being just fine? What happened?

Nikki writes that she is not jealous, because “How juvenile would THAT be?!” Her denial seems a bit too passionate to be believed, though. Do you ever get jealous even though you know you shouldn’t? How do you deal? Several times when Nikki is writing about a conversation from earlier in the day, she includes her own very honest and blunt reply, then explains, “But I just say it inside my head, so no one really hears it except me.” When is it good to self-censor? When would it be better to speak up? How can we learn to tell the difference? Nikki Maxwell is torn between two incredible parties in this second installment of the #1 New York Times bestselling Dork Diaries series! Several times in this book, Nikki initially discounts her friends’ assistance and then is pleasantly surprised by the help and support they offer. For example, Nikki finally shares her problem with Chloe and Zoey and feels so relieved to have their help. When Nikki finally pays attention to the gift Brandon is trying to give her, it turns out to be really sweet and helpful. Have you ever discounted a friend's assistance at first and later accepted it? What happened? How did you feel? I’m adjusting to my new school and hanging out with my BFFs Chloe and Zoey. And, get this! My crush, Brandon, has asked ME to be his lab partner—a seriously awesome development.Nikki imagines what she could do with a love potion...with unfortunate side effects. Meanwhile, Brianna tries to scare Nikki with her toy spider until it's revealed that a real spider is in Nikki's room. Chloe goes Dumpster diving in search of Nikki’s diary. You’ve probably heard the saying that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. If you cleaned out your old “junk,” unwanted gifts, and outgrown clothes to sell or donate, what kinds of things would you get rid of? What would you be delighted to spot at a garage sale or discarded at the side of the road? Why do you think Nikki writes, “Make sure you write in your diary every single day” even if you lose the original diary and have to write in a spare notebook? Why is keeping a diary important? Nikki’s mom always wanted to be a ballerina, so she signed up both her daughters for lessons, even though neither of them wanted to attend ballet classes. Have your parents ever forced you to do something you didn’t want to do? How did you respond?