Tales from a Not-So-Graceful Ice Princess (Dork Diaries, #4) by Rachel Renée Russell

Tales from a Not-So-Graceful Ice Princess (Dork Diaries, #4) Reviews

• 
  [S] Bibliophage

  I applaud Nikki for having the guts to enter that ice skating competition to help her crush and friend Brandon. Nikki's brave enough to enter even if she lacks the skills even if it makes her looks silly. What I like about this series is that teaches teens and readers to be audacious to reach for their dreams/goals.
• 
  Theresa ♫

  BEFORE THE BOOK HAS BEEN OPENED/READ/PURCHASED
  
  Wait, wait, wait.
  
  So . . . I was at the store . . . just browsing through the books that they had . . . and I stumbled across a bunch of copies of this book . . . and my first reaction was:
  
  OH MY GOD, THERE'S ANOTHER ONE?!?!?!?!
  
  NO ONE TOLD ME THIS! Absolutely no one. When I finished the first book, no one said, "Hey Theresa, there's a 4th book, you know."
  
  AND WHY NOT?! I should know about this! I mean . . . I am a
  
  HUGE, GIGANTIC, HYPERLY SQUEALING fan of Nikki Maxwell's adventures.
  
  So if there's a 5th book, someone better tell me!
  
  Then again, if I knew about the 4th book directly after I finished reading the third one, I would have waited for the 4th book in AGONY. So . . . the agony was avoided for now.
  
  BUT JEEZ, I seriously wish I knew about book number 4 sooner!
  
  So. My review for this lovely, lovely installment of Dork Diaries AWAITS! (Jeez, I can't wait to read it. I should have bought a copy, but alas . . . I have no money.)
  
  I need to read this book. This is definitely happening within the next month because if it doesn't . . .
  
  I'm afraid heads might roll . . .
  
  
  (As of July 29, 2012) AFTER THE BOOK HAS BEEN CHECKED-OUT FROM THE LIBRARY AND READ
  
  Let me just say that Nikki Maxwell is
  
  ONE. HUGE. DRAMA QUEEN.
  
  I know. I know. I'm such a hypocrite. Because . . . . I'm a drama queen TOO!!!!!! Y'know, except I say "Oh my god!" instead of "OMG!". If you met me about 3 years ago, you would have met my "OMG" self.
  
  If:
  
  1. You get bugged by the use of "OMG".
  2. You get bugged by dramatic pessimism.
  3. You get bugged by the voice of your average, overly dramatic teenage girl.
  
  THEN this book is not for you. Seriously.
  Because I know a bunch of people that get SO ANNOYED by the use of "OMG" and "LOL" and "TTFN" and whatever other acronyms there are that they would KILL SOMEBODY.
  And me being the very cautious and caring reviewer, I don't want anyone getting hurt because you got annoyed by the overflow of teenage girliness in this book.
  
  Anyway, I LOVE the teenage girliness in this book, mostly because, well, as cliche as it SEEMS and as many girls that walk this planet that go around shouting "OMG!" every fifteen seconds, there aren't many books like this.
  I mean she's a fourteen year old girl.
  I've read books about fifteen-eighteen year old girls who don't go "OMG". They just narrate with descriptions and loooooong words and melodramaticness.
  
  Nikki doesn't. There's no purple prose here--SHE JUST GETS RIGHT TO THE POINT.
  And I LOVE IT.
  
  
  Example: A hot guy walks by the main character.
  
  Melodramatic, Typical Paranormal-Romance Lead Girl (ew.): He was so beautiful as he walked down the hallway, he seemed to glide like an angel. His muscles flexed gracefully as he walked towards the door. His skin glistened as he reached for the door knob, and he twisted it so slowly and angelically that I almost fainted. (Please note that this particular lead girl was describing a shirtless guy opening a door.)
  
  Nikki Maxwell: LIKE OMG! This totally hot, shirtless guy went to open the door and I almost FAINTED from how gorgeous he was!
  
  See how much time you save with Nikki Maxwell?
  
  And seriously. No teenage girl can be as melodramatic and descriptive as the paranormal-romance lead girls that I read about.
  
  
  Well, this is just another opportunity for me to bash on paranormal romances. (I . . . dislike them.)
  
  
  Anyway, the way Nikki words her words made me LAUGH. She made jokes along the way, and they were actually FUNNY!
  Not the cheesy kind where there's the drum set in the background that goes "Bah-dump-pah!" and there are crickets chirping.
  
  
  Oh, and yeah, the happy ending was pretty predictable. There's been one in every Nikki Maxwell book so far, but somehow, I sorta don't mind.
  
  This book was a FAST READ. Even though there are 344 pages (which would have taken me AGES to finish if this was a regular small print novel), I finished it within three days.
  Maybe it's the pictures that take up the room, or that the words also take up a lot of room so there aren't as many sentences on each page and stuff.
  Plus, the voice and the plot just had me STUCK on the book. I didn't want to stop reading!
  
  
  You see, my dear fellow review readers, I really like voice.
  EMOTION IN YOUR WRITING. That's what writing needs.
  
  I mean if the character only sat back and just . . . OBSERVED (like, only describing her surroundings and what things look like, but NOT giving out her thoughts and opinions), it's BORING to READ.
  One of my best friends was reading The Hunchback of Notre Dame and there were TWO WHOLE CHAPTERS just to describe a cathedral.
  
  Descriptive Chapter Number One: "Notre Dame"
  Descriptive Chapter Number Two: "Birds-Eye-View of Notre Dame"
  
  NO JOKE.
  Of course my best friend skipped them.
  And besides, don't all cathedrals look the same?
  
  
  And of course, your average paranormal romances (ew).
  The lead girl usually falls for a very hot guy, right? So she DESCRIBES the hot guy over and over and over and over and over. And yeah, she might give her opinions about how hot the guy is.
  BUT IT DOESN'T GET TO THE POINT!
  It's like, "OH. MY. GOD, can you just MOVE ON WITH THE STORY! The guy is hot. YOUR POINT IS MADE!"
  Even with all those descriptions, I still can't imagine a guy THAT HOT.
  
  
  Oh, and this story had your typical high school characters in them.
  
  NIKKI MAXWELL Your average teenage girl with that "OMG" habit, a family she can be embarrassed by, and no. She's not a super model.
  
  CHLOE AND ZOEY Lead girl's best friends. You can't go to high school without those, right?
  
  MACKENZIE The evil yet super-model girl, and enemy of the lead girl.
  
  BRANDON Yes, the one guy that the lead girl has a crush on.
  
  
  It all seems really cliche, but I haven't found a lot of books with this kind of character build.
  So the cliche idea isn't so cliche after all. VERY INTERESTING.
  
  Oh, and Nikki's reactions to things are also pretty cliche-yet-not-cliche. SHE FREAKED OUT ABOUT EVERYTHING.
  She worried about people's thoughts about herself, and the worst things that might happen.
  
  I mean I think she's the kind of girl where if a guy said, "You look really pretty today," she'd say, "WHAT?! SO I LOOKED UGLY YESTERDAY?!"
  
  
  Anyway, overall, if you're not freaked out by your average teenage girliness and you want a good laugh from a book, this book is the one you should put on your to-read list!
  
  
  FOUR SPARKLY SPARKLY STARS.
• 
  Ashley

  I really enjoyed this book. It is my favorite one so far in the series, but there were a few things I would have changed. It had the best plot out of all of them currently published that I have read, however it was a little predictable. It was fun to read and I couldn't put it down, and I am glad I bought it. I will probably read it again and it is fun if you're looking for a quick read. I would say it is the girl-version of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" and much more enjoyable for me and the illustrations are cute and funny. Overall, I really liked it!
• 
  arabela

  I read this when I was a child, and it instantly became one of my favorites at that time.
• 
  Lai Valenzuela

  Book Description:
  
  Nikki Maxwell isn't at all surprised to find out that her crush Brandon volunteers at a local animal shelter. He's such a sweet guy - of course he wants to help those adorable puppies! Then Brandon tells her that the shelter is in danger of closing, and Nikki knows she can't let that happen. Especially when she discovers a shocking secret about Brandon that makes keeping that shelter open more important than ever. So Nikki and her friends Chloe and Zoey enter an ice skating competition to help raise money for the shelter, but (big surprise) Mackenzie has to stick her nose in and cause trouble so that she can be the one to swoop in and save the day. No way will Nikki let that happen: She'll just have to come up with some extra creative ideas this time!
  
  My Review:
  
  This book is truly amazing! Nikki is doing a holiday on ice show and the charity is called fuzzy friends since its in danger of closing down. Brandon volunteers there, so that's why she is helping. Mackenzie is mad that nikki, chloe, and zoey got it first, so she goes out of her way to sabotage their act. When u read this book, u'll figure out some secrets about brandon......
  
• 
  Mariela Romero

  I thought this book was funny of how girly the characters sounded. The genre of this book is fiction. I really liked how Nikki was willing to do anything for her crush, Brandon. I thought it was cute.
  
  Nikki and her friends were going to do make a performance for a charity to win ten thousand dollars, but they didn't know who they could sponsor. Their routine was fine, just that Nikki wasn't such a good skater and they fact that they couldn't find someone to sponsor was a bit more worse. But things took a bit of a twist when her crush, Brandon asked her to help him with some puppies at an animal shelter and obviously she said yes, so when she went with Brandon to help him out, she had such a good time. She later then found out that the owners of the shop were going to close and Brandon was upset. Nikki later then found out why he was so upset, it was because The owners were Brandon's grandparents and if the place closed they would have to move and Nikki wouldn't ever get to see Brandon ever again. So Nikki tried getting her act together to help Brandon out, but when it was close to performance her group's outfits disappeared and they went out as clowns and well ... they ended up doing their routine like clowns and they were falling. The thing is that everyone loved it and they ended up winning the ten thousand dollars for charity. Everything turned out fine for her and Brandon.
  
  I thought this was really funny because of Nikki's enemy, MacKenzie, how she was being really prissy and thought she was better because she was "popular". I think a lot of girls can relate to this because there's always that one chick trying to get in between you and your crush , like um no honey booboo child.
  
  I liked this book very much and i would rate it a 8.5 out of 10 because it was funny and a pretty decent book. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to have a fun time reading or for fun.
• 
  Heidi

  While the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series is by far the most popular series in my school library, Dork Diaries is also very popular. I must confess that I find Dork Diaries more enjoyable. Maybe it's because I don't find Greg very likeable, maybe because I can relate to a girl main character better. But I think that it is most likely because Nikki personifies so well the dramas of middle school. I have to laugh at how horrified she becomes at things that I no longer would even blink at, but which really are so important to kids at that age. I also like Nikki and her friends because they are real with talents and weaknesses who often make poor decisions and then have to live with the consequences.
  
  In this particular book, Nikki and her best friends are putting together an ice skating routine to help save an animal rescue organization. But then Nikki tries ice skating and discovers that she has trouble just standing up. She decides to try to get out of the charity event and then finds out that her crush, Brandon, has a special connection to the shelter and she must do something to help. At the same time, Nikki's nemesis Mackenzie does everything she possibly can to make Nikki's life more difficult.
  
  With plenty of drama as well as humor, I couldn't help but cheer Nikki on as she struggles with her challenges both at home and at school. Girls especially will find much to enjoy in this series. The humorous illustrations add the perfect touch. I highly recommend this series to middle grade readers looking for something beyond Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
• 
  Anna

  Τελικά οι μικρές αδερφούλες μπορεί να είναι μεγάλος μπελάς, να δημιουργούν τα χίλια μύρια προβλήματα (ιδίως όταν η διαφορά ηλικίας είναι μεγαλούτσικη - μιλάω από προσωπική πείρα), αλλά είναι αξιολάτρευτες και αναντικατάστατες!!! Μπορεί οι τρόποι τους να προκαλούν αμηχανία, ενίοτε ντροπή, αλλά πάντα αντιμετωπίζονται με πολύ γέλιο όταν η κατάσταση ηρεμήσει!!! Άσε που στην τελική μπορεί να φανούν και χρήσιμες!!!!
  
  Στις μικρότερες αδερφούλες λοιπόν!!!!!
• 
  Ann

  Try thinking about entering an ice skating competition when you can't even balance on ice! Doesn't it sound dreadful to you?
  
  Sadly, Nikki has to skate for an animal shelter to let it stay open. Even worse, she finds out an unbelievable fact that affects Nikki and Brandon's relationship! Nikki is determined to stop the animal shelter from closing, and the only way to prevent the shelter from closing is to skate and raise money.
  
  This may sound like a very easy task to accomplish, but actually, it is extremely hard. Especially when you have your arch enemy planning to cause disastrous trouble! Nikki faces so many conflicts in this book and has so many ideas that can hide her terrible skating skills.
  
  I really recommend this book to you if you have enjoyed the former Dork Diaries books❤️
• 
  Nozomi❦ [hiatus]

  Nikki
  Is
  The
  Literal
  Meaning
  Of
  Second
  Hand
  EMBARRASMENT
  😭
  most of the time I'll be Like WHAT. THE.HELL NIKKI?!
  She just makes me want jump of my roof :(
  But it wasn't that bad
  Since Brandon afcors was included ♡U♡
  Well that's about it the books as good yes, some scenarios were just embarrassing T-T
• 
  Kayleigh

  Up until this book, I'd thoroughly enjoyed this series and found it to be a fun, light, and easy read. As I continued to turn the pages, getting deeper into the story, I found myself being irritated by Nikki and her family.
  
  In one chapter, the mother left fourteen year old Nikki and her six year old sister home alone to bake who knows how many Christmas cookies to hand out to friends and family. Therefore, Nikki not only had to babysit her troublemaker sister but manage not to burn the house down as well (the cookies burned so bad, a window had to be opened to release the smoke). I just couldn't believe it. At another point, Nikki started reading a book (Moby Dick for middle schoolers? Really?) she had a project due on, the night before. Which, by the way, the author never returned to this, leaving it hanging as to whether or not the teacher approved of what Nikki came up with (a video of her sister in the bath pretending to be a whale). There were just a lot of unrealistic things (i.e., ice skating for gym class) and I felt the story was all over the place. There were way too many ideas and I found myself forgetting what the point of the entire thing was.
  
  The plot was a cute one and I'm disappointed it wasn't executed as well as it could have been... but here's to hoping the next one will be better.
• 
  Kelly

  I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE Dork Dairies. I read almost all of them. This is one of my favourites. When will Nikki and Brandon get together?????
  
  This book is full of drama and fun just like all the other Dork Dairies. I love those heart stopping moments Dork Dairies gave me. And there is many of those heart stopping moments in this book. I like excitement and thrill so whenever something terrible happened to Nikki, I'm anxious to see what's going to happen or whenever Mackenzie set Nikki up again.
  
  Set aside all the drama in this book, there's also LOVE in Dork Dairies. Nikki has been crushing on Brandon for forever, from the first book till now and the next. I think Brandon have a crush on her as well!!!!!!! SO WHY WON'T THEY GET TOGETHER??? I've been waiting forever!!!! I thought they would get together at this book, but NO they did not.. T^T Please let them get together!!!!
  
  All in All, Dork Dairies is a smashing good series and this book is a smashing good book. I will be looking forward to more of Dork Dairies!!! :3
• 
  Sophie Crane

  I am a BIG fan of dork diaries and it is my goal to read every single book. They are really fun and interesting to read as it is written in first person as a diary which makes a good change. In this book from the fantastic series, Nikki Maxwell finds out that the Fuzzy Friends adoption center may be closing. To make matters worse, Brandon, her crush, volunteers there and would have to stop if t closed down. But, her school is holding an ice skating competition and she decides to enter with her BFFs Chloe and Zoe as they are giving out a free $3000 to any charity. Will she succeed? Find out in this exiting story. I really love these books and highly recommend them for 8+
• 
  Chloe Resendez

  So far, this book has been the most emotional. It is just sad to see Nikki all stressed out about ice skating, and it doesn't help that Mackenzie is there to put her into even more stress. Although, the book does end in a really good ending. I cannot wait to see what happens next!!
• 
  Summer Trahan

  
  
  How do I read it on here?? HELP
• 
  Yelania Nightwalker

  En resumen: Me encanta esta serie. Nikki es un personaje agradable, carismático, interesantísimo. Estar dentro de su cabeza, vivir las cosas a través de sus ojos es fascinante. Se nota el crecimiento del personaje después de 4 libros. A sus 14 años, Nikki es una chica divertida, más segura de sí misma y con un gran sentido de compañerismo y altruismo. Una gran enseñanza la que deja esta historia.
  
  Reseña cortesía de
  The Itzel Library
  
  Lo primero que debes saber es que cada uno de los libros tiene una historia diferente que no se conecta a la anterior, lo que hace que los puedas leer de manera independiente. Siempre recomendaré que se lean los otros libros porque seguro que vas a divertirte de lo lindo.
  
  Nikki tiene 14 años, le encanta dibujar, tiene una familia de lo más excéntrica y está enamorada de Brandon. Es divertida, muy amable, insegura (aunque se nota el crecimiento que ha tenido su personaje a lo largo de ya 3 libros anteriores), muy inteligente, carismática, dulce y noble. En esta ocasión les ha tocado participar en el evento de patinaje donde nuestra alocada protagonista demostrará sus más que pésimas habilidades de patinaje. Pero todo es por una buena causa, pues el equipo ganador conseguirá el dinero para la causa a la que estén representando. Junto a Chloe y Zoey, Nikki intentará que el refugio de animales al que Brandon sirve de voluntario, no cierre sus puertas, pero ganar la competencia les costará más que una buena congelada...
  
  Cuando recibí el libro, no se imaginan lo que me sorprendió ver que era un libro bastante grueso. Los anteriores eran bastante delgaditos, sin embargo a lectura pasa volando. Es un libro muy ágil, lleno de imágenes divertidas y pensamientos mucho más divertidos e inspiradores. Nikki nos demuestra una vez más, la calidad humana que tiene. A veces uno no se da cuenta lo mucho que puedes ayudar a alguien sólo por interesarte por sus problemas, por intentar ayudar sin esperar algo a cambio.
  
  Una princesa de hielo muy poco agraciada no es un libro cualquiera. Sus páginas están llenas de amistad, altruismo, diversión, lealtad y realidad. Es una serie que no me cansaré de recomendar para chicos y grandes.
  
  *El material fue enviado por la editorial a cambio de una reseña honesta. Nuestros comentarios se basan únicamente en nuestra lectura, no percibimos ningún tipo de remuneración por ellas.
• 
  Eman

  My 13 year old niece gave me this book which is #4 of a series she adores. I said to my self.. Let's give it a try and see what teens are reading these days.
  
  It's a fun light book of a 14 years old girl named Nikki Maxwell who keeps a diary to write down all her daily dorky adventures. I could relate to the main character even though I'm an adult, mainly because it reminded me of my early teen-hood, especially the clumsiness part.
  
  Besides, I couldn't stop picturing Nikki's lil sis Brianna as my youngest niece, they are both MEGA naughty and pain in the butt, yet still loved from the bottom of our hearts.
  
  I enjoyed the diary look of the book with all those fun illustrations. Do I want to read the other volumes? Totally! They are like fun snacks that each can be read in one day.
• 
  Meredith W.

  I thought that this book was totally awesome and hiliarious! It is about a girl named Nikki who is totally a dork. There is an ice-skating contest and Nikki signs up to try and save a business where a boy named Brandon works, who she totally likes. The business is called Fuzzy Friends and she is doing this so Brandon won't have to move.
  
  The only problem is that she doesn't even know how to ice skate. Her little sister, Brianna, is annoying, but she kind of helps Nikki at the end of the book. I recommend this book to kids who are 12 and under because I don't think older ones would be to interested in reading this book so much. But other than that, I loved this book. It made me almost laugh my head off!:):):):):):):):):)
• 
  Eden

  Nikki isn't surprised to learn that Brandon volunteers at an anima shelter and is happy to volunteer with him. But Brandon tells Nikki that the animal shelters is going to have to close down. Nikki wants to do whatever she can to help the shelter stay open, even if it means having to try and skate on ice.
  
  I really love this series - It's so fun and I find myself laughing whenever I read a book in this series. Nikki is just a great character. Sure, she can be a bit dramatic, but she's a really caring person overall. And her family is just too funny sometimes.
  
  I can't wait for book number 5.
• 
  Jen

  This book was super adorable!!! I liked it a lot!!! Very humorous, cute, and happy!!! I have not read any of the other books like this, but I really like it, and hope to read more in the future!!! It's very similar to Dear Dumb Diary books, and is like the female version of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but I think that these books have less pictures and are pretty thick... A lot longer it seems, but worth the time to read it:):):)
• 
  Victoria

  My little sister got this book and I read it just because. I have to tell you, it was PERFECT for someone her age (8-11) but it was a little bit annoying for me. I liked the drawings though!
  
  The book that I read had this title: Dork Diaries: Tales From a Not-So-Graceful Ice Princess
• 
  Karen Arendt

  Charming new book in the Dork Diaries series. Full of good friends (and enemies) and one cute boy! Girls will enjoy this installment in the series.
• 
  Ayline Hoyos

  i think this book was good and funny. i didnt really know how did nicki get away all those time she had to perform in front of that lady
• 
  lily:)

  Book four of the Dork Diaries series- Nikki's on a skating competition. Mackenzie tries to sabotage... It's interesting... Just very girly.
• 
  Sadiebug

  I thaught that this book was good but it was to off topic. it barely talked about the skating and more about the family events. the skating is like a background idea. the title is very misleading.
• 
  Joanna Marie

  because friends help and look out for each other and that's what nikki did :D but she's still annoying for always degrading herself and for being so selfish.
  
  enjoyed reading this one haha.
• 
  Jenny (knasentjej)

  Here you can read my review in Swedish:
  https://jennyjag.wordpress.com/2015/1...
• 
  Rossy

  This book is funny and interesting because it is about how the girl faced the problems and it is kind of absorbing. The girl liked a boy, Brandon and help him a lot.