In the end, not only did we outsmart them, but we booby-trapped those three MENACES and then left them at school for the authorities to find. On the one hand, the writing is great. My kids laughed out loud, cheered, and gasped at all the right spots. They were hooked, begging for 'one more chapter' each time I'd go to close the book for the night. At the end of each chapter we'd make our guesses on what could happen next, and see if we were right when we did read it. There’s only ONE thing more HUMILIATING than being TRAPPED at my SCHOOL in a NASTY Dumpster in the middle of the NIGHT. And that’s being trapped with ERIN MADISON, a cute computer whiz and the SMARTEST kid in the entire school. And . . . NO! I’m NOT crushing on her! Written in journal format and peppered with humorous illustrations, Max's (mis)adventures are sure to be a hit’ Booktrust

I really enjoyed the book. I thought it was very funny, interesting and creative. One thing that I did not really like about the book was that Max’s family was never really involved. I don’t think I would change anything in the book besides involving the family a little more. Besides that, the book was awesome. My oldest said up until the last chapter it was a 5 star read. After the to-be-continued, it dropped to a 2 star. He didn't like that he'd been excited 'for nothing'. But they didn't. Nothing got resolved. NOTHING. My kids, who were on a high wondering how Max would solve the problem, crashed when it ended with a 'to be continued'. They were very upset. We'd been reading this book for nearly a month, and there was no resolution. No end to the story. One of them even said they'd felt 'ripped off'. Erin has disobeyed her parents for no technology after 9 PM which made them angry. But sometimes, she is on good terms with her mother ,who helped her make the ice princess costume.So yeah, I am not impressed with this book, and very disappointed. I had hoped for a new series to enjoy as I didn't enjoy the other series by this author any more (it just kept being the same story over and over again with meh characters). Wouldn't recommend this book. Max has an older sister named Megan, who often annoys him, a younger brother named Oliver, who has made a few minor appearances in the Dork Diaries series, and a cousin named Wilbur, whom Max often receives hand-me-down clothing from. But I’ll let you in on a secret. Getting bombed by an angry bird is NOT cool. It’s just . . . NASTY!! I knew middle school was going to be really hard, but I never expected to be BURIED ALICE in a DUMPSTER full of ROTTING GARBAGE, wearing an ICE PRINCESS COSTUME and BIKER BOOTS!"

Okay, that FUNK-TASTIC stench I’m smelling is actually the Dumpster, not my life. But STILL . . . ! So if you’re the type who gets FREAKED OUT over this kind of stuff (or comic book cliffhangers), you probably shouldn’t read my journal. . . .Megan: Megan Crumbly is the sister of Max and Oliver Crumbly and Oliver, and is one of the characters in The Misadventures Of Max Crumbly series. She stared at Max when Max stared at her. She helped Max with his papers when he dropped them. She was impressed by one of his pictures and told him to paint for the school play "The ice princess". Since I am a librarian at an elementary school, I know firsthand how popular Dork Diaries are, and how both girls and boys love them. We agreed to book one in this new series as our nightly read, as the kids liked the cover, and it 'sounded fun'.