The Misadventures of Max Crumbly is the spin-off series of Dork Diaries written by Rachel Renée Russell. It is about Maxwell "Max" Crumbly's life in middle school, which he chronicles in his journal, which he calls The Misadventures of Max Crumbly. The series is also written in diary format just like Dork Diaries. The series currently has 3 books in it.
Characters
Maxwell "Max" Crumbly: The main protagonist of the series. He was first homeschooled by his grandmother until his parents agreed to send him to a public school nearby, South Ridge Middle School. Max is a kind person who is loyal to his friends but he is often a coward when it comes to Doug bullying him. His father is a comic book addict and auto repairman, and has comics worth a lot of money. His mother is a nurse and coddles her children heavily. He also has a secret crush on Erin, but in the books, he tries to deny it.
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. He is the only person in the series that has asthma and requires an inhaler. Max has bladder issues and has a secret crush on Erin. Max is fully aware about Brandon Roberts having a secret crush on Nikki Maxwell. He likes to rap about his daily life when no one hears him.Like Nikki, Max is also a talented artist. Max's biggest goal in life is to become a superhero. It is revealed in the first book of The Misadventures Of Max Crumbly that his full name is Maxwell.
Oliver: Oliver Crumbly is Mrs. Wallabanger's grandson and possible crush of Brianna Maxwell. He is the same age as her and he reminds Nikki of Brandon Roberts. Oliver seems to be shy at first but he eventually opens up when he starts talking. Oliver has a puppet called Mr Buttons, made out of a sock and loose buttons, but when lost him during his and Brianna's 'play date' he was very upset about it. Although Brianna didn't like Oliver at first they are now considered friends and possible crushes. He even made her a crumpled up, yet cute valentine. In The Misadventures Of Max Crumbly, Oliver scribbled his ABC's all over Max's Air Jordan sneakers with a permanent black marker. He is also Max's brother and his sister is Megan. Oliver has bangs and light-colored hair. His hairstyle is similar to Marcus's. He has a nice smile and wears Mr. Buttons everywhere, like Brianna does with Miss Penelope. He also appeared in the Dork Diaries series.
Mrs. Wallabanger: Mrs. Wallabanger is the Maxwell family's neighbor. She is also Oliver's and Max's grandmother. She has trouble hearing and she also appeared in the Dork Diaries series. She also has a Yorkshire Terrier dog named Creampuff.
Doug Thurston aka Thug: Doug Thurston aka Thug is the main antagonist in the series. He is considered rude, crude, unpolite, and a bully by the main character, Max Crumbly, in the book series. Not much is known about Doug besides the fact that he is always mean to Max and repeatedly tries to make Max's life miserable. His character is analogous to MacKenzie Hollister's in the Dork Diaries series. He has a blatant crush on Erin Madison, the female counterpart of Brandon Roberts, in the Max Crumbly book series. Doug does everything he can to embarrass Max in front of Erin and desperately tries to woo her in order to gain her affections, but Erin does not return his feelings. Doug is depicted with straight hair, possibly black, and a unique eye shape. His eye shape has never been seen on another character, hinting that he may be Asian. Doug's specific appearance, such as eye and hair color, is not touched on by the books.
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.
Erin Madison: Erin Madison is the female protagonist of The Misadventures of Max Crumbly. She is mentioned in one of Nikki’s blogs. Erin Madison is one of the most popular girls at South Ridge Middle School, being that she is highly intelligent and headstrong. Despite her popularity, Erin seems to show genuine concern and is kind towards Max Crumbly. She is very well-spoken and speaks her mind no matter what others think. Max Crumbly has a crush on her but it is still unknown whether she returns those same feelings. Doug "Thug" Thurston also has a crush on her, but she is not impressed by him at all. 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".