- Illustrated Chapter Books
- Ages 8–12
- Comedy
Cringe Club
Book 1 of 3 in Cringe ClubView the full series
A laugh-out-loud tween comedy told entirely through group-chat messages, doodles and lists, as Kennedy King survives a mortifying first term at a new secondary school by turning her most cringe-worthy moments into a private chat with her best friends.
- Best for8–12
- FormatIllustrated
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Comedic
- Conversational
- Epistolary
Tone
- Funny
- Irreverent
- Warm
- Silly
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
When Kennedy King is uprooted from the countryside to London after her parents' divorce, the one silver lining is that Mum finally lets her have a phone so she can keep messaging her old besties, Devon and Liv. Then comes her disastrous first day at Hellington High (aka HELL), which leaves her with an embarrassing nickname, an instant arch-enemy in Harmony Bliss, and a form tutor with a suspicious cupboard. To cope, Kennedy sets up a group chat: Cringe Club, where she and her friends share their epic fails, small triumphs and the daily indignities of Big School. Told completely through messages, emojis, lists and Wotto's scribbled doodles, it reads like snooping on someone's real phone. Warm, fast and very funny, it's a brilliantly relatable start to a series about fitting in, hanging on to friendships across distance, and learning to embrace your cringe. Perfect for fans of Lottie Brooks, Dork Diaries and Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
Pitched at 8-12s reading independently, with the group-chat format and short, funny bursts making it especially friendly for reluctant readers. The secondary-school setting and lightly-handled divorce give it most resonance for the 9-12 end.
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- Best fit · 8–12
- Read aloud · 8–11
- Independent · 8–12
Prose load
Light
Visual support
High
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Workable
Works well for
- Reading together
- Reluctant readers
Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.
Bedtime suitability
2 / 5 · Better outside bedtime
Sensitive-child
4 / 5 · Good fit
Graphic intensity
1 / 5 · None
Best for
- Funny school stories
- Reluctant readers
- Starting secondary school
- Friendship stories
Avoid if
- Wants gentle bedtime
Particularly good for children who are…
- Moving to secondary school
- Making friends
- Moving house
- Parents separating or divorcing
- Being bullied
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
It reads exactly like snooping on someone's phone: all messages, emojis, lists and doodles. Kennedy's mortifying first term at Hellington High is stuffed with epic fails, an arch-enemy called Harmony Bliss, and the safe, hilarious refuge of chatting it all through with her besties.
- Friendship and belonging
- Being understood finally
- Trickery and cleverness
Why parents love it
A comedy writer's ear for the absurdity of Big School makes this fly off the page, and the chat-and-doodle format is catnip for reluctant readers. Under the laughs it quietly handles a house move, a parents' divorce and the fear of not fitting in.
- Shared humour
- Quick to read
In the series
Cringe Club.
3 books · open the series →
About the creators
About the creators.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Where to go next…
Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.
More like this…
Books that share themes and topics with this one.
