Wimpy Kid Wednesdays: The Long Haul

Kinney, Jeff / November 5, 2014

I will be honest and completely honest. This book was a slightly bit boring so I didn’t have too much to say about it. But here is what I will say.

The whole plot with different languages was kind of funny, and it is sad to see it being recycled in No Brainer, which I will have reviewed soon and I think is the worst book in the series. Speaking of worst, I think Susan is the worst in this book. She forces the family to do everything she wants and only cares about the happiness of Manny. But I also think she is a bit of a good character in this one..

Ugh I cannot believe I said that.

In her desperate attempts to make this educational and fun, she is in deep just a sweet mom who cares about the happiness and learning of Greg and Rodrick.. at least in THIS book. She sucks in the rest, like always.. Anyways, her trying to make it educational is good, but she’s doing it in the wrong way.

My issues is that some of the scenes are unrealistic, specifically Manny and the pig. It’s weird to see a pig doing such humane things. So that is not the most relatable part. Not to mention running into The Beardos a GAZILLION times. This happens every time.. it’s like fate. In Rodrick Rules (the movie) Greg and Holly SOMEHOW go to the same church. In Dog Days (the movie) Greg and Patty SOMEHOW END UP AT THE SAME TENNIS COURT. HOW. WHY?! WHEN!

 

Anyways, this is a kinda-not-really relatable way of showing that not everything will go right spending time with family, especially on a road trip.

Wimpy Kid Wednesdays: Hard Luck

Kinney, Jeff / November 6, 2013

This has everything a classic Wimpy Kid book should have - Greg hating literally everything!

Hard Luck is a continuation of The Third Wheel, now with Rowley having a girlfriend and Greg being left out. Greg tries to do ANYTHING for better luck, and suddenly finds a Magic Eight Ball. In this book, The Heffley family lose a ring that had been in the family for generations and spend most of the book trying to find it.

What I like about this book is how overused it is. The plots in The Wimpy Kid series always feature Greg’s luck being nonexistent, while someone close to him [friend or family] has it all. This formula is used in most books and Jeff Kinney still manages to change it up. That’s what makes me love the Wimpy World. Same but different!

Did I say it was perfect, though? The plot with Meemaw’s ring is pointless as it doesn’t contribute to the Hard Luck part of the story. It just takes up half of the book and is a waste of the story. When someone says Hard Luck, I don’t think of finding a ring that’s been in your family for generations, I think of HARD LUCK.

Despite Abigail having to be part of this book, she’s a horrible character. She’s like Greg, just worse. She gets Rowley to carry her stuff, and doesn’t even let him have any opinions. Not only that, but at the end of the book she does something HORRIBLE.  She’s one of those 11 year old females who are completely against boys and their immature instincts, actions and likes. Which is ridiculous. Let someone be themselves. Jeff Kinney did a wonderful job at making me hate someone.

This book is a good use of your money but not one of the best. This is a  ‘read-when-bored’ or ‘buy-because-the-other-book-was-out of stock” publication.

This book deserves a 3 cheese rating.

Happy 10th anniversary to the book “Diary of a Wimpy Kid 8: Hard Luck”.

Wimpy Kid Wednesdays: Third Wheel

 Kinney, Jeff / November 14, 2012

Okay, so, as you might have guessed from me taking my time to design and set up a logo, a schedule and a whole blog dedicated to reviewing the entire Diary of a Wimpy Kid book and movie series, I am a big fan of the entire Diary of a Wimpy Kid book and movie series.. but I’m not so sure about The Third Wheel.

So my first issue with the book is that it is not very.. relatable. The target audience for Diary of a Wimpy Kid is.. let’s be honest. This book doesn’t appeal to 14 year olds. It appeals to 8-12 year olds. And I don’t think third graders will have an expierence with a middle school prom.. or middle school.. or a prom..

Secondly, there is no character development at all. There is nobody in this book who degrades or improves their character, they just stay the same horrible jerks or good characters they are. Speaking of characters, Greg is the worst one.

Valentine’s Day is about spending time with someone you LOVE. And Greg doesn’t LOVE any of the girls at his school. He just has a crush on them because they’re cute, but doesn’t actually know anything else about them. So he classifies himself as a good choice for most of the girls, but when one girl rejects him, he goes to another one. And this goes on for 5 percent of the book. Not to mention how he doesn’t think Rowley has a CHANCE of getting a Valentine, which is pretty stupid.. you will NOT believe the way Greg makes Abigail (who he eventually goes to the dance with) not become interested in him.

Nevertheless it is a funny unrelatable book. This definetly is not on my top 5.. but you do you, I guess.

Wimpy Kid Wednesdays: Movie Diary (Story of all 3 Movies)

Jeff Kinney / July 25, 2022

In 2022 I begged my parents for this book as a Christmas gift. They were thinking about getting me Diper Overlode instead, but luckily they got me this book. AND I LOVE IT SO MUCH!

This book is an informative and of course hilarious way of diving deep in the world of movie-making, and in this case it was the first 3 Wimpy Kid movies.

With new original drawings and things that the essential Wimpy Kid fan needs to know about the production about the film, this is the best book in the series, sure way better then Cabin Fever. My only problem is that the book has too much info on the first movie. In 2011 the book  was again re-published with new pages about the second film, which is the favourite addition to the film franchise of MANY of the Wimpy Kid fans. But the thing is, it feels like a scam because there were only 19 pages about the second movie. There is a lot more we do have to know about the second film and the book doesn’t cover much of it.

I thought about thinking of getting the 2011 edition for the Rodrick Rules section until I figured out it was only 19 pages longer. The 2012 edition is 254 pages, and the 2010 edition is 199.

Anyways, this is essential, okay? The best book I’ve ever read. EVER.

Wimpy Kid Wednesdays: Cabin Fever

 Jeff Kinney / November 16, 2011

CABIN FEVER was released 2011, the same year the best Wimpy Kid movie was released. Not because of that am I saying that this is the best book, but it is because of the story. How simple it is – Greg starts a newspaper, a Holiday Bazaar and is now stuck with his family trying to promote it. So a pretty complicated outline, but it’s worth it for the amazing hilarious book and punchlines. This book explains that not everything will go right during the holidays in a funny and relatable way. You might not like Wimpy Kid, but you need to read this book.

Wimpy Kid Wednesdays: Do It Yourself

by Jeff Kinney / June 1, 2011

kay, so you might be thinking “Why would he review a fill-in book?” Because the 2011 re-release has 26 pages of comics. The comics are written by Rowley, Greg, Fregley, and we also get to see continuations to other comics from the first book in the series.

The book itself is very fun, but my only issue is that there should be more activities, to keep you occupied for longer, like with Big Nate. And definetly more comics, like Dumb Teachers. Anyways, the comics are pretty funny, and give you a sense of humor of the students at Greg’s school. I will say Fregley has a funny style.

 But the highlight of the book is the prototype of Rowley’s diary (which would then turn into it’s own book in 2019). It shows how bad of a friend Greg is and how innocent and gullible Rowley is. It’s just not some comics for fun, it gives us more depth on the characters.

Enough said, these are funny comics, but sometimes bad (like Girls Rule and Skaters).

Wimpy Kid Wednesdays: Ugly Truth

 by Jeff Kinney / November 10, 2010

Plot Summary: Greg Heffley goes through puberty and his uncle goes through his fourth wedding.

So, I’m getting really close to puberty and from what I’ve heard, it’s a pretty crappy expierence. Well, the Ugly Truth makes it sound amazingly funny.

Jeff Kinney was thinking about ending the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series on the fifth one, the Ugly Truth. And if he did, I would just say it would have been a solid ending.

See, the book series has a running gag of making getting older suck and that the ugly truth is that school is not as easy as some put it out to be. this book is 217 pages dedicated to that. It would’ve been an honestly understandable way to end it but I am glad that it didn’t.

This book is essentially a Part Three to The Last Straw, and it is the best one out of them.

Many people like saying that Greg is a bad person but in this we get to see how many jerks are at his school, and in his own extended family. We get to see more in the history of Greg and his extended family, and this is why I love it. So much.

The Ugly Truth is one of the best books I’ve ever read. And you should read it too. However, there is something missing, and I don’t know what..