Dork Diaries is a series of books written by Rachel Renée Russell. These books tell about the daily problems that 14-year-old Nikki Maxwell faces. There are 14 books in this series, with a 15th releasing sometime in 2022. In the diaries, Nikki writes about her annoying parents and little sister, the problems she has with a popular girl named Mackenzie Hollister, and her crush Brandon Roberts. Her best friends are Chloe and Zoey. Over a million people around the world read these books, and all of the books have won the New York Times Bestselling Series award.   A spin-off of the series was also written by Rachel Russell, which is called The Misadventures of Max Crumbly and it focuses on Maxwell "Max" Crumbly, the character introduced in Tales from a Not-So-Perfect Pet Sitter (the 10th book of the Dork Diaries series) and, also written in diary format, his life in middle school. A film based on the Dork Diaries series is also in development and Summit Productions is involved in it.

Plot 
In the first book, Nikki Maxwell had always wanted an iPhone so she could become a popular girl at school, she got a telephone but in her locker. Before she starts eighth grade, Nikki hoped her mom bought her an iPhone as a back to school present. She becomes very disappointed that her mom got her a diary instead. So when she starts eighth grade on a scholarship her dad got her due to his bug extermination contract with the horrible!!! school, she doesn't want anyone to know she only attends the school due to her dad's extermination contract. She is devastated to have a locker next to the most popular girl in school, Mackenzie Hollister, who makes nasty comments about other girls. So when she goes to class one day, Mackenzie hands her an invitation to her big birthday bash. Nikki thought she was going to be invited to the party, but Mackenzie wanted her to pass it to her best friend, Jessica, who sits behind Nikki. Then Nikki finds out about the school's annual art competition, in which the grand prize is $500. She went to the office to fill out a form, but she fills out a paper to sign up to be a Library Shelving Assistant. Nikki eventually does sign up for the art competition, and enters a watercolour she painted in art camp. The day the art is due, her painting is destroyed by her dad's van. So her friends and crush team up to make an art project from pictures of tattoos Nikki did with her lucky pen. Her art wins the art contest, and Nikki is excited to receive the $500. 

Series of books

Characters

Nikki Maxwell: Dorky, writes in diary. Cute crush, 2 BFF's, pretty decent artist, experiences bullying a lot. Goes to Westchester on an extermination scholarship. Her real name is Nicole.

Brandon Roberts - Nikki's crush, volunteers at Fuzzy Friends, secretly likes Nikki too. His grandma, Betty, is owner of Fuzzy Friends.

Zoeysha E Franklin- Short name, Zoey, her dad is executive media producer (allows her to meet all celebrities). Mom is an attorney. She and Chloe are Nikki's BFF's.

Chloe C Garcia- Has Latin origins, her dad is an author and owns big library (allows her to read all novels). She and Zoey are also the back-up singers of Nikki's band, Actually, I'm Not Really Sure Yet.

Mackenzie Hollister- bully, spoiled brat, rich, lip-gloss addict, always wears designer clothes and shoes, blonde hair extensions. Like Nikki, she also has a little sister (who is named Amanda) and she is a lot like Brianna. In the 10th book of the Dork Diaries series (Tales from a Not-So-Perfect Pet Sitter), Amanda becomes Brianna's best friend at her ballet class. Mackenzie is also the leader of the CCP (Cute, Cool, and Popular) clique.

Brianna Lynn Maxwell 
 Nikki’s bratty little 6-year-old sister. Brianna is afraid of the tooth fairy because Nikki told her the tooth fairy collects children's teeth to make dentures for old people. She has a friend named Miss Penelope (which is her own hand with a face drawn on it with an ink pen). She thinks Brandon has cooties.

Jessica Hunter 
 The second highest-ranking CCPs at WCD and Mackenzie's best friend. She also dislikes Nikki and is more than super mean to her. Jessica has blonde hair and loves the color pink. Her last name (Hunter) was revealed in Dork Diaries 3 1/2: How to Dork Your Diary.

Violet Baker 
The most popular girl out of the most unpopular people. When she signs up to run for chairperson of WCD's Halloween dance, she loses to MacKenzie Hollister and signs up for clean-up committee instead. When Mackenzie quits, Violet becomes head of the entertainment committee. She has a huge iTunes collection and is in a wheelchair. She appears in the second and third book. In Dork Diaries: Tales From a Not So Talented Pop Star, it is revealed Violet plays the piano. She is the pianist in Nikki's band, Actually, I'm Not Sure Yet.

 Theodore L. "Theo" Swagmire III 
 One of the unpopular boys in WCD and one of Nikki's friends. He has a big crush on Mackenzie. He was later really happy to hear the bit of news that Mackenzie's date was the lead singer of the band (as he was the lead singer), especially when he wanted to ask Mackenzie but was sure she would reject him. He is known for being the school nerd, and in Dork Diaries: Tales From a Not So Talented Pop Star, it is revealed he plays guitar. He is lead guitarist in Nikki's band, Actually, I'm Not Sure Yet. He hopes to one day go to Hogwarts. He now has a crush on Zoey Franklin because they went together as dates to the Sweetheart Dance in Dork Diaries: Tales From a Not-So Happy Heartbreaker. They held hands, slow-danced, and may have even kissed at the dance.

Marcy Simms
Nikki meets Marcy through her post as Miss-Know-It-All. Marcy sends an anonymous letter to Miss Know-It-All, saying that she's new, being bullied by some other girls, and can't find friends. Nikki tells her to hang in there, and keeps a look out for the new girl. She soon finds Marcy, and invites her to Brandon's birthday party, where Marcy has a great time. Marcy is Mackenzie's assistant fashion director for the newspaper, but is bullied by Mackenzie, and is deemed to be unfashionable by the latter. Marcy wears sports glasses and has short hair.

Marcus

Marcus is a recurring character in the Dork Diaries series. He is the guitarist of Nikki's band, Actually, I'm Not Really Sure Yet. He appears in Dork Diaries: Tales From a Not-So Talented Pop Star and Dork Diaries: Tales From a Not-So Happy Heartbreaker. He appears to be a shy, nice, and thoughtful character in Dork Diaries and is also known as one of the smartest people in school along with Theodore L. Swagmire III. He also has a crush on Chloe Garcia and the both of them went on a date at the Sweetheart Dance in Dork Diaries: Tales From a Not-So Happy Heartbreaker. They held hands, slow-danced, and took a keepsake picture together. They also may have kissed. Nikki Maxwell, Brandon Roberts, Zoey Franklin, and Theodore L. Swagmire III are all Marcus’ friends.

Tiffany Davenport

Tiffany is the secondary antagonist of the Dork Diaries series. She is a student at North Hampton Hills International Academy, along with her BFFs, Hayley and Ava. She debuted in Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So Friendly Frenemy. She is Nikki's enemy, and Mackenzie's frenemy. Her mother found out in book 12 that she was a cyberbully, and forced her to do community service doing the summer (which Tiffany really disliked). André is her stepbrother.

Andre: Andre is the stepbrother of Tiffany. He was introduced in Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Secret Crush Catastrophe (the 12th book of the Dork Diaries series). He is one of the main antagonists in the newer books but turned into a protagonist in the story. André strongly rivals Brandon Roberts and tries to undermine his relationship with Nikki Maxwell as well as the popular ship Nandre. He is also the first and only friend of Nikki to call her Nicole.