Author: Jeff Kinney224 pages—Ages 8 and up
Published by: Harry N. Abrams
Summary (from amazon.com):
Life was better in the old days. Or was it?
That’s the question Greg Heffley is asking as his town voluntarily unplugs and goes electronics-free. But modern life has its conveniences, and Greg isn’t cut out for an old-fashioned world.
With tension building inside and outside the Heffley home, will Greg find a way to survive? Or is going “old school” just too hard for a kid like Greg?
Pre-Thoughts:
My brother was the one that got me into the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, and since then I’ve read all of them. I had originally thought that they sounded stupid and childish (that was when I was in my “I’m so sophisticated” stage), but once I read them I was hooked. The books were just so silly and funny, and even though they don’t really have a storyline, per say, I still found them to be absolutely entertaining. When these books first got out, they were a completely novel. And unfortunately, as time goes on they get a little less stunning and a little more repetitive. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy them though, because I still do. For the few hours I read them I can still find myself chuckling to Greg’s antics. So, I guess my only hope is that I will still enjoy the 2-3 hours that I spend reading this book (which I have full confidence that I will).
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Here’s an example of the style of illustrations used in the series.[/caption]Post-Thoughts:
The good news is that I was right about how I would feel about this book. The even better news is that the book did not disappoint me. I bought the book the day it came out and I in all honestly I wanted to sit down right then and there and just finish it, but unfortunately I had stuff to take care of and it didn’t work out. However, the next evening had a chunk of time so I decided to sit down and read. As I predicted, the book was standard. There were definitely some funny moments and there was the usual parental hypocrisy (like the Girl Scout troops selling cookies). The way Greg deals with the ridiculous situations he gets in are still there in addition to his almost complete disregard for his “friends”/fellow human beings.
As usual with these books, there wasn’t really any character development for Greg (or anyone else in the story). The story itself was scattered as usual, and the back of the book didn’t really describe what happens in the story. Pretty much the first half of the story is the story revolving around the city turning off electronics to try to get them to connect more. The second half of the story is about Greg going on a school trip to the mountains and the shenanigans involving the supposed madman in the woods.
There really isn’t much to say about this book other than it will provide you with 2-3 hours of mindless entertainment (which can definitely be a good thing). Overall, I would highly recommend this book to all fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and to those who have never tried one before (though you might want to start with one of the earlier ones…in my opinion they are more refreshing).
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Covers from some of the other books.[/caption]
Cool review. I also still read the Wimpy Kid books - the setting the author has created is almost addictively laidback and fun. I always feel like the last page comes too quickly - especially considering the fact that there's never any character development or real plot progression - but it's probably better it finishes sooner rather than later. Reading the Wimpy Kid books is simply pleasant - I think that's the best way to describe it - not exceptional, but an consistently enjoyable read throughout.
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