By Jenny Valentine (author) , Hannah McCaffery (illustrator) Part of the The Unfamous Diaries of Daisy Brewster series
"Driven by drama and humour, this is middle grade diary-format fiction at its most exuberantly engaging."
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May 2026 Book of the Month
Part of Jenny Valentine’s fabulously funny The Unfamous Diaries of Daisy Brewster series, The Drama Queens reveals Daisy’s on-going struggles with having to share her room (and family) with her mega-celebrity cousin Maxxy Bloom (AKA “Princess Hollywood”). Though Maxxy’s arrival was “a big, horrible, uninvited shock”, Daisy had been taking solace from the temporariness of the situation until, “CORRECTION!
All that has changed. Uncle Robert has gone back home to Los Angeles WITHOUT HER, and Maxxy has moved in with us properly while she makes her next TV show and gets even more famous”.
Daisy’s frustrations at having to put up with Maxxy’s diva-esque behaviour are exacerbated by her mum always standing up for Maxxy, no matter how rude or lazy she is. What’s more, Mum is spending all her time on set with Maxxy. What’s a girl to do?! In Daisy’s case, she throws herself into playing the role of Blousey Brown (“A showgirl.
OOF. It’s so glamorous”) in her drama club’s production of Bugsy Malone. “Sometimes when I’m in a situation, I find myself thinking, What would Blousey Brown do?”, Daisy confesses to her diary, which comes in very handy when a number of “situations” arise.
At once aspirational and relatable, and excellently illustrated, The Drama Queens , and the Daisy Brewster series as a whole, is perfectly-pitched for pre-teens who love stories, and shows, about friendship, celebrities, and drama.
The sparkling new series of middle grade diaries continues in The Drama Queens!
Read the full description
Perfect for fans of Lottie Brooks and Dork Diaries, with a celebrity hook. Daisy is back at school, but her super-celebrity cousin Maxxy is STILL sharing her room while filming for a new TV show. And it's all anyone can talk about! Daisy's mum is always at the film set with Maxxy, her dad is always busy with work, and her brother Leo is being a teenage tyrant.
The only thing keeping Daisy calm are her drama club rehearsals. With only a few weeks to go before the big opening night, Daisy is pouring everything into her performance.
But with Maxxy being a total DIVA, sudden strange feelings towards her floppy-haired co-star Olivier, a HUGE SPOT appearing on her chin, and gossiping girls desperate for Maxxy's attention, Daisy will have to channel her inner method actor to keep the show on the road.
Drama, BBFs, secrets and theatrics await!
Jenny Valentine is an award-winning writer for Young Adults. Her first novel Finding Violet Park won the Guardian prize in 2007 and since then she has written many books, including Broken Soup and Fire Colour One, as well as young fiction series Iggy and Me. Her work has been published in 19 countries. In 2017 she was the Hay Festival International Fellow, spending the year meeting and learning from teenagers all over the world. She works to empower and give a voice to young people. She lives all over the place and has two daughters.
A Q&A with Jenny about her first novel, Finding Violet Park
Cool name! I owe the showbiz name to my husband!
This is your first book, have you always wanted to be a writer girl and how did you make it happen? My mum bought me a notebook when I was about nine that looked like a novel on the outside. I had to put the title and the author on the front and then fill it with a story. I knew then. I am not sure exactly how I made it happen - I put the work in I guess.
What was your favourite book as a teen girl? Such a hard question! I read a lot and I always wish I had made lists of all the books I loved. One that stands out would be The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.
For people who haven't read your book yet - Finding Violet Park , what's it all about? It's about a boy who finds an old lady's ashes in a mini cab office and decides to find out who she was. He learns a lot of other things while he's doing it.
Lucas is a great narrator, what made you write from a boy's perspective? No idea! He just jumped out, fully formed, in about the second sentence. I'm not sure I had that much choice in the matter.
Secrets are a big part of the book, what's your biggest secret? Good try!
If the book had a soundtrack, what would be on it? Well, Lucas listens to all his Dad's old records so there'd be some early David Bowie, some Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Ella Fitzgerald, maybe Rolling Stones. Then there'd have to be some piano pieces for Violet to play, Rachmaninov gets played at Lucas's granny's. Then Lucas's own choices might be Sufjan Stevens, Will Oldham, and a song from my husband Alex Valentine's record TARDIS HEART. It's called SORROW and as soon as I heard it I said I'd want it in a soundtrack if I was ever lucky enough to get one.
Apart from your own, what's your favourite book for teens? Holes by Louis Sachar. I love that book. I think it's perfect.
What's the best thing about being a writer? Finding the exact word you've been searching for.
Do you have a writing routine, Jenny? Tell us about it¦ Well it's very un-HELLO! I drink coffee, I have a walk by the river with our dog, I sit down and I re-read some of what I did the day before. Then I get going. Sometimes I look up and three hours have gone by, sometimes it's like getting blood out of a stone. I think it helps to have no routine at all, just to go with it, see how it's working.
What's next in the world of JV? I'm working on my next book. It should be out next year. I can't tell you what it's called yet because I don't know. I'm very indecisive.
The colour pink. Discuss. Let's see...bubblegum, fake fur, rose petals, cold noses, underwear, marshmallows, candy floss, lip gloss... how am I doing?!
Brilliant Children's and YA Books to Read this Summer
Jenny Valentine - LoveReading4Kids Guest Editor of the Month
Hari Kumar, Ultimate Superstar: The Big Scoop
Hari Kumar, Ultimate Superstar: Going for Gold
The Overthinkers' Club: Happy List
Advice from a 12-Year-Old Nobody
The Unfamous Diaries of Daisy Brewster: The Frenemies
5 stars, I loved this book because it’s very funny and easy to read. There are lots of funny doodles on each page. I like the main character Daisy.
5 stars, I loved this book because it’s very funny and easy to read. There are lots of funny doodles on each page such as love hearts, flowers and strawberries. I liked the main character Daisy because she has a crush on Olivier and it’s exciting to see if he’s going to like her too. Daisy’s cousin, Maxxy, is a famous actress. She can be a bit mean, but in the end she’s nice.... Read Full Review
If I had to choose my favourite part, I couldn’t as it was all good!
OMG! How do I start?! I really enjoyed reading this wonderful book. It was very funny. Daisy is my favourite character. She is kind and easy to relate to. If I had to choose my favourite part, I couldn’t as it was all good! Every time I turned a page I just had to turn another. I rate her series 4.9 only because she doesn’t have any more books for me to read.... Read Full Review
A beautiful book, perfect for those who enjoy humour and performance.
Excellent for developing young readers aged 9+. Follow Daisy Brewster through her story as she learns to manage her diva cousin Maxxy Bloom who’s a hollywood star, a crush on her co-star Olivier Doyle, a distracted family, and acting in her drama class’s Bugsy Malone. The amazing illustrations by Hannah McCaffery real capture Jenny Valentine’s writing, together they make the book come to life. I couldn’t put this book down when I was reading it at home.... Read Full Review
Aralynne Monksummers
The sparkling new series of middle grade diaries continues in The Drama Queens! Perfect for fans of Lottie Brooks and Dork Diaries, with a celebrity hook.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed The Unfamous Diaries of Daisy Brewster: The Drama Queens and determined it is suitable for children aged 9-10 years old
The Unfamous Diaries of Daisy Brewster: The Drama Queens features in the following genres: Featured Books for 9+ readers, Books of the Month, Books Reviewed by our Reader Review Panels, Recommendations, Stories about Family and Friends, Funny, Romance / Relationship Stories, School Stories, Drama / Performing Arts, Personal Social Health Economic (PSHE), Children’s / Teenage fiction: Friendship stories, Classic Literature, Children’s / Teenage fiction: General, modern and contemporary fiction, Children’s / Teenage personal and social topics: Emotions, moods, feelings and behaviours, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Children’s / Teenage: General interest
Paperback. £7.19, down from the £7.99 cover price. In Stock.
The Unfamous Diaries of Daisy Brewster: The Drama Queens was written by Jenny Valentine and published by Simon & Schuster Children's an imprint of Simon & Schuster UK
The Unfamous Diaries of Daisy Brewster: The Drama Queens has 206 pages
Yes it is part of The Unfamous Diaries of Daisy Brewster series
£7.19, reduced from £7.99. In Stock.
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