The Vlogger Diaries: Confessions of an Internet Sensation - Softcover

Tim Collins is the author of Wimpy Vampire, Cosmic Colin, and Dorkius Maximus.

Gr 5–8—Like many teenagers, Olivia believes the key to social success is through social media—so when her family moves to a new town, she decides to start a vlog (a video blog). After one practice run, though, Olivia realizes that she is not a natural performer: "I just wasn't very photogenic. Or microphone-genic. Or anything-genic." Her workaround is to pay Emma, one of the most popular girls at school, to be the face of "The Destiny Channel." Things go smoothly at first, and Olivia is thrilled about the almost-overnight response to her vlog. She becomes obsessed with the comments about "Destiny's" beauty routine and relationship troubles and begins inventing drama to attract more viewers. Olivia's plans unravel when Sebastian, a boy at school who has his own vlog, discovers their secret. When "Destiny" is invited to be on a local television talk show, Olivia's game comes crashing down in dramatic fashion. Like many notebook-style novels, this is designed to be a fast read. Various fonts, lots of white space, and amusing line drawings will appeal to reluctant readers. Olivia gradually discovers that being oneself is the best way to make friends. Side stories about Olivia's mom starting her own vlog and a star turn for Olivia's cat, Loki, add lighthearted humor to the story. VERDICT An additional purchase for collections where the "Dork Diaries" are popular.—Shelley Sommer, Inly School, Scituate, MA