Review Detail

Dumbness is a Dish Best Served Cold (Dear Dumb Diary: Deluxe)

Middle Grade Fiction 165

Notebook Novel and FOOD

July 21, 2016 (Updated: June 29, 2026)

Overall rating

3.0

Plot

3.0

Characters

N/A

Writing Style

N/A

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

3.0

Jamie Kelly is back (in this full color edition) and ready to help her friend Isabella, who is worried about her family finances because her father has lost his job. Jamie is sure that working with Isabella and Angeline the group can come up with a fabulous, food-related money maker, and eventually decide that colored paper plates with divisions for how much of each food group one should eat would be a great idea. Jamie underestimates how much hope Isabella is putting in the plate idea, and eventually lies to her that they have someone who wants to put the plates into production. This causes quite a rift, but Angeline manages to come up with a soda based salad dressing that saves the day.

Good Points

While Jamie never really outgrows her snarky, frenzied demeanor, she does have the best interests of Angeline in mind, and tries very hard to help her friend. The appeal of these books rests in the frenetic pace and sheer goofiness of the situations-- Jamie lets out loud burps, has a friend named Dicky Flartsnutt, and illustrates her fantasies about principal training that includes coffee balloon fights.

Readers who have outgrown Park's Junie B. Jones and her antics or Danziger's Amber Brown will love Jamie sometimes misplaced exuberance and will be thrilled with the full color art. Along with Marissa Moss' Amelia books, Barstow's Ellie McDoodle and Ignatow's The Popularity Papers, the Dear Dumb Diary series is an easy choice for readers who like goofy notebook novels.