Hi Burdened By Bothersome Book Thief,

THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!!! 🙁

At least, the part where she writes in YOUR diary! That is NOT COOL and we WILL deal with that. But first…

It’s hard for me to be upset that your cousin loves Dork Diaries. 🙂 It seems like it could be a fun way for you guys to connect. BUT you don’t want to have to lock up your books every time she comes over. I get that.

I think there are a few things you can do.

First of all, have you TALKED to her about this? I mean…that seems kind of obvious, but a LOT of the letters I get are about problems that could be solved if people just TALKED to other people. So…maybe talk to her about how much you love your Dork Diaries books and it’s important to you to keep them at your house, and that your diary is private, etc etc.

But I also wonder if maybe she’s quite a bit younger than you are? Because writing in someone else’s diary seems like SUCH an immature thing to do. (Or like exactly the kind of thing Brianna would do.) So if she’s a lot younger, could you talk to your aunt or uncle? Or whatever older family member comes along with her on these visits? Not to tattle, but to explain to them that you love these books and want her to be able to enjoy them when she visits, but you’re feeling upset about how she writes in them and tries to take them home.

Second, either get some bookplates or just straight-up write your name inside the books that belong to you. (Bookplates are really just stickers that go inside books that say “This book belongs to ________.”) She might be more hesitant to steal your books if your name is clearly in them, and it might help sort things out if she tries to claim the book doesn’t belong to you or something.

Third, can you work with her parents/your parents to get her own OMG Dork Diary, and maybe some of the other books? Like for holidays or her birthday? I love sharing books, but this girl clearly needs some to call her own. Then maybe she’ll lay off yours!

Finally, I really don’t want you to have to hide all your Dork Diaries books when she comes over. Assuming she’s not a toddler, you should be able to get this worked out. And maybe there’s some reason she doesn’t have access to cool books at her house. I dunno. But, I do think it’s fair that when she’s visiting, you take your OMG Diary with you to school or hide it somewhere secure. Because that is YOUR private place to share your feelings, and she shouldn’t be writing in it or even LOOKING at it!

I hope that helps! 🙂

Are you protective of your books? How do you feel when other people want to borrow them? Have you ever had someone try to write in YOUR diary? Tell us in the comments!