Review Detail

The Scott Fenwick Diaries: A Novel

Middle Grade Indie 860

Perfectly Relatable Tween Romance

September 25, 2025 (Updated: June 15, 2026)

Overall rating

5.0

Plot

5.0

Characters

5.0

Writing Style

5.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

In this sequel to Worldwide Crush, Millie is back home and settling back into school. Topmost in her mind is Scott Fenwick, a super cute boy who seems as interested in her as she is in him! There are passed notes, lingering glances, and Scott even talks to her! Of course, interrupting her constant need to document every interaction she has with her crush in her diary are all of the annoying things real life throws at her. Her grandmother Cheryl (who is delightful) is still staying with the family while her retirement condo is being renovated, and helps a lot with Millie's younger brother Billy. Her great grandmother Phyllis is in an assisted living facility, but likes to be taken out to Target (which takes FOREVER) and is also trying to fix Millie up with another of the residents' grandsons, Kendrick. Her best friend, Shauna, is worried that her father will move back from California with his new wife, and things will be weird. Still, Millie manages to think about and dissect every small action Scott takes. What does it mean that he wants to hang out with her after school? Her friend Tibbs is his neighbor, and manages to arrange some opportunities for the two to hang out, like an elaborate plot for Millie to get a ride to Hebrew school from Scott's mother so that she can be in the back seat while carpooling with Tibbs. Scott's mother is super cool, but wants to check with Millie's parents before she drops Millie off, but invites her to Scott's Bar Mitzvah. This sets a lot of planning in motion, and Millie has to negotiate with her parents so they don't embarass her. There's also an unfortunate incident where Phyllis, who is staying with the family as well, let's Millie's dog, Pringles, out, and he suffers an injury. Throughout all of this, Millie is eddying in a maelstrom of emotions surrounding her relationship with Scott, and wondering if she is doing everything she is supposed to.

Good Points

Millie's obsession is completely realistic, and her experiences will resonate with tween readers who are navigating similiar new relationships. While I personally prefer romance books to have a secondary plot so that there is something for the main character to do besides obsess about a love interest, my students are fine with Millie's type of thinking and rethinking of events, because their souls have not, in the words of my older daughter "shrunken in the wash and given you a wedgie" like mine apparently has. The notebook, complete with acrostic odes to Scott, the machinations to "accidentally" meet Scott, and the sweet moments like when he doodles a heart on the bottom of her tennis shoe will give readers reassurance that their own crushes are not unusual, and may have a happy ending, just like Millie's.

I love how involved Millie's family is with her life, because many books don't show enough of how irritating family can be! Younger siblings require a lot of care, parents have unreasonable expectations like singing tunes from The Sound of Music at the school talent show, and grandmothers can be helpful, but also embarrassing. The negotiations Millie conducts with her parents about their behavior at the Bar Mitzvah are brilliant. My favorite quote where Millie describes her mother's behavior perfectly sums up my entire experience with my younger daughter's teen years: "She loves me so much that she's doing her best to ignore me, just like I asked. It feels good."

Teachers and librarians who are my age (i.e. a little younger than Grandma Cheryl) will appreciate all of the shout outs to popular culture of our youth, and I HIGHLY recommend the podcast that Nilsen does with Caroline Cochrane and Michelle Newman, The Pop Culture Perservation Society. Nilsen, who is also works in a school library, not only remembers her own tween years vividly, but has a good feel for what has changed and what has stayed the same for girls who are tweens now.

Romance books always circulate well with my students, and readers who enjoyed Angela Darling's Crush books or Suzanne Nelson's Wish books will adore having a ringside seat to Millie's romance with Scott. While this is a sequel, it could also be read alone, although readers won't want to miss all of the references to the fictional pop culture sensation that was Rory Calhoun, especially since Millie frequently quotes his songs.