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A review by situationnormal
Dawn: Diary One by Ann M. Martin
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.25
An interesting departure from the main BSC series. Am I excited about a series about Dawn and her California friends? No, not really. Is Dawn a bit more bearable in this book than she usually is in BSC books? Absolutely.
All of that aside, I know these are middle school kids and Dawn's book started the series because she's the tie back to the original series, but what an uncompelling start. While Dawn's friends (particularly Sunny) are actually going through some horrific things, Dawn's diary filled with her deepest thoughts is mostly concerned with...being a freshman (essentially) instead of top of the school? Maybe I'm too far removed from middle school now but I had a difficult time feeling for any of these characters, and while I'm sure they'll be fleshed out in their own books, I'm not sure I learned anything about any of them or even much about Dawn.
But, hey, it's the first book. And I liked it better than most Dawn books, so that's a win!
All of that aside, I know these are middle school kids and Dawn's book started the series because she's the tie back to the original series, but what an uncompelling start. While Dawn's friends (particularly Sunny) are actually going through some horrific things, Dawn's diary filled with her deepest thoughts is mostly concerned with...being a freshman (essentially) instead of top of the school? Maybe I'm too far removed from middle school now but I had a difficult time feeling for any of these characters, and while I'm sure they'll be fleshed out in their own books, I'm not sure I learned anything about any of them or even much about Dawn.
But, hey, it's the first book. And I liked it better than most Dawn books, so that's a win!