Rachel Renee Russell Books in Order
Find every Rachel Renée Russell book in order, plus Dork Diaries and Max Crumbly summaries, series background, and friendly guidance on the best place to start.
Last updated: December 22, 2025
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Publication Order
21 books
Tales from a Not-So-Bratty Little Sister
by Rachel Renee Russell
2024
On the edge of starting high school, Nikki suddenly ends up stuck in bed and offstage while her little sister Brianna swipes the diary. Through Brianna’s chaotic entries, readers see Nikki’s world, her friendships, and a health scare from a younger sibling’s viewpoint.
Tales from a Not-So-Posh Paris Adventure / I Love Paris!
by Rachel Renee Russell
2021
Nikki, Chloe and Zoey finally get to visit Paris on tour with the Bad Boyz, performing and sightseeing in the city of her dreams. Lost luggage, hectic schedules, and MacKenzie as a chaperone’s intern turn the glamorous trip into a very dorky adventure.
Tales from a Not-So-Best Friend Forever
by Rachel Renee Russell
2019
Nikki joins her band as they open for teen sensation Bad Boyz on tour, a chance she has always wanted. Sharing close quarters with her BFFs, her crush, and scheming roommate MacKenzie, she must protect Fuzzy Friends and her friendships when fame complicates everything.
Masters of Mischief
by Rachel Renee Russell
2019
Still stuck in the aftermath of foiling school burglars, Max Crumbly and tech-savvy Erin find themselves hiding in a "Dumpster of Doom." As they dodge both thieves and adults, Max’s overactive imagination and improvised heroics are all that stand between his school and disaster.
Tales from a Not-So-Happy Birthday / Birthday Drama!
by Rachel Renee Russell
2018
Nikki imagines an over-the-top poolside luau for her birthday, but her parents’ strict budget forces a major reality check. Determined to make her dream party happen, she cooks up money-making schemes with Brianna and her BFFs, with plenty of surprises along the way.
Tales from a Not-So-Secret Crush Catastrophe
by Rachel Renee Russell
2017
With summer coming, Nikki is torn between exciting new plans and time with Brandon. When a charming visiting student starts hanging out with her, she has to untangle mixed feelings, jealous friends, and the risk of breaking someone’s heart.
Middle School Mayhem
by Rachel Renee Russell
2017
Picking up right where Locker Hero ends, Max finds himself stranded above a pizza in the school cafeteria, surrounded by three thieves. With Erin controlling the security system from home, he races through classrooms and corridors to outsmart the burglars before dawn.
Locker Hero
by Rachel Renee Russell
2017
Max Crumbly leaves homeschooling for South Ridge Middle School and quickly runs into Doug "Thug" Thurston, a bully who keeps shoving him into his locker. One long weekend trap turns into a night adventure through vents, burglars, and booby traps Max never planned on.
Tales from a Not-So-Friendly Frenemy
by Rachel Renee Russell
2016
An exchange program sends Nikki to an elite school for a week, only for her to discover that MacKenzie is already ruling the halls. Between new friends, old enemies, and a contest with a Paris trip on the line, Nikki has to face bullying from a new angle.
Tales from a Not-So-Perfect Pet Sitter / Puppy Love
by Rachel Renee Russell
2015
Nikki and Brandon discover a box of abandoned puppies outside the pet center and cannot bear to leave them. Hiding seven noisy dogs from parents, teachers, and MacKenzie pushes Nikki’s creativity, her friendship with Brandon, and her stress level to the limit.
Tales from a Not-So-Dorky Drama Queen
by Rachel Renee Russell
2015
This time the diary falls into MacKenzie Hollister’s hands, and she happily takes over the story. Writing from her own point of view, MacKenzie rewrites past events, plots a transfer to a new prep school, and reveals just how far she’ll go to protect her image.
Tales from a Not-So-Happily Ever After / Once Upon a Dork
by Rachel Renee Russell
2014
After a dodgeball accident on April Fools’ Day, Nikki dreams herself and her friends into twisted versions of classic fairy tales. The fantasy adventure replays her real-world crushes, rivalries, and fears, proving that happily ever after rarely goes as planned.
Tales from a Not-So-Glam TV Star
by Rachel Renee Russell
2014
A reality TV producer wants to follow Nikki and her friends as they record their song and visit a ski resort, turning Nikki into the star of her own show. Cameras, tight schedules, and MacKenzie in charge quickly turn stardom into a nightmare.
Tales from a Not-So-Happy Heartbreaker
by Rachel Renee Russell
2013
Nikki dreams of asking Brandon to the Valentine’s Day dance, but mixed signals, a blizzard, and MacKenzie’s lies leave her heart feeling stomped on. While helping Brianna with her own holiday chaos, Nikki has to decide what real courage in a crush looks like.
OMG: All About Me Diary!
by Rachel Renee Russell
2013
This guided journal lets readers create their own dork diary alongside Nikki Maxwell, with daily questions, funny prompts, and artwork sprinkled throughout. It is designed for kids to record favorites, secrets, and big feelings in the same chatty style as the series.
Tales from a Not-So-Smart Miss Know-It-All / Dear Dork
by Rachel Renee Russell
2012
Worried about what MacKenzie’s gossip column might spill about Brandon, Nikki joins the school newspaper and secretly becomes advice guru "Miss Know-It-All." At first it is fun, but soon her inbox explodes and her answers create drama she never expected.
Tales from a Not-So-Graceful Ice Princess
by Rachel Renee Russell
2012
A charity ice-skating show could save Brandon’s beloved animal shelter and boost Nikki’s grades, if only she could stay upright on skates. With Chloe, Zoey and even Brianna involved, Nikki faces freezing practices, MacKenzie’s sabotage, and one very public performance.
Tales from a Not-So-Talented Pop Star
by Rachel Renee Russell
2011
When a big talent show promises prizes, a TV appearance, and a scholarship, Nikki forms a band with Chloe and Zoey. As MacKenzie schemes to steal the spotlight, Nikki risks her friendships, her secret scholarship, and her nerves to step onstage.
How to Dork Your Diary
by Rachel Renee Russell
2011
When Nikki misplaces her diary, she starts sharing tips on how to keep one, from what to write about to how to protect it from snoops. Packed with prompts, quizzes, and doodle spaces, this activity book helps readers turn their everyday life into a story.
Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl
by Rachel Renee Russell
2010
Nikki hopes her crush Brandon will invite her to the Halloween dance, until she hears MacKenzie brag that she is already going with him. Stuck on the cleanup crew and helping at her sister’s party, Nikki juggles three events and her feelings in one wild night.
Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
by Rachel Renee Russell
2009
New girl Nikki Maxwell starts eighth grade at fancy Westchester Country Day on a scholarship her exterminator dad arranged, and instantly feels like a misfit. Through her diary she chronicles mean-girl attacks, new friends, an art contest, and her first real crush.
Where should I start?
If you want to meet Nikki Maxwell from the beginning: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life → Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl → Tales from a Not-So-Talented Pop Star
If you love friendship, school drama, and crushes: Tales from a Not-So-Graceful Ice Princess → Tales from a Not-So-Smart Miss Know-It-All / Dear Dork → Tales from a Not-So-Happy Heartbreaker
If you prefer a boy hero and extra action: Locker Hero → Middle School Mayhem → Masters of Mischief
If you like interactive journals and activities: How to Dork Your Diary → OMG: All About Me Diary!
If you want the latest adventures in the series timeline: Tales from a Not-So-Best Friend Forever → Tales from a Not-So-Happy Birthday / Birthday Drama! → Tales from a Not-So-Posh Paris Adventure / I Love Paris! → Tales from a Not-So-Bratty Little Sister
Author bio
Rachel Renée Russell writes funny, diary-style stories about kids who feel out of place, including the hit Dork Diaries books and their spin-off, The Misadventures of Max Crumbly.
Russell grew up in Saint Joseph, Michigan, a small lakeside city, as the oldest of five children. She shared a crowded house with two younger sisters and twin younger brothers, and that noisy, close-knit crew later helped shape the chaotic, loving families that show up in her books.
In sixth grade she wrote and illustrated her first book as a homemade birthday present for her twin brothers. That project showed her how much she enjoyed turning everyday mishaps into stories with drawings and jokes, even if she did not yet see writing as a real career.
She went on to study at Northwestern University and then law school. A harsh creative writing class pushed her toward a more conventional path, and for more than twenty years she worked as a bankruptcy attorney while raising her two daughters, Erin and Nikki. Legal briefs paid the bills, but she kept scribbling story ideas on the side and never quite let go of the dream of writing for kids.
By her early fifties she had weathered a demanding career and a painful divorce, and she decided to give children’s books a serious try. Watching her daughters struggle with bullying and popularity in middle school, she began imagining a girl who felt like a total misfit but slowly learned to be proud of being different. That girl became Nikki Maxwell.
The first Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life was published in 2009 and quickly found readers who saw themselves in Nikki’s crushes, friendship drama, and embarrassing parents. The series is told through Nikki’s handwritten diary, doodles, comics, and lists, and many of the zany episodes grow out of Russell’s own memories mixed with stories from Erin and Nikki.
Her younger daughter, Nikki, illustrates the books, and Erin helps shape the plots, so each volume is a family project. Over time the series has grown to more than a dozen titles, sold over 55 million copies worldwide, and been translated into many languages, but at its heart it is still one insecure, creative girl trying her best to survive middle school.
Russell later created The Misadventures of Max Crumbly, another illustrated diary series, this time about a boy who wants to be a superhero but mostly ends up locked in his locker, crawling through air vents, and teaming up with a savvy classmate to outwit bullies and bumbling thieves. The Max books share the same mix of cartoon humor, school chaos, and small acts of bravery that made Dork Diaries so popular.
Today Russell lives in Northern Virginia with a very spoiled Yorkie who often sneaks into her workday, and she still thinks of herself as a proud dork. When she is not drafting new diary disasters, she likes reading middle grade books, growing purple flowers, and tackling oddball craft projects with a glue gun and glitter.
Across all her work she returns to the same themes, showing kids that you can be anxious, awkward, and still worthy of friends, love, and big dreams. Her stories invite readers to laugh at the mess, keep a journal of their own, and let their inner dork shine.
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