Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth, by Jeff Kinney (Amulet Books, 224 pp, 2010, $13.95HB, ages 8-11, grades 3-7) 5th in a series of 31. Review by Skye Anderson.
Local Author Hits Big!
Jeff Kinney was born and raised in Maryland and graduated from the University of Maryland so we can all claim this prolific author (31 Wimpy Kid books) and bask in his spotlight even if he now lives in New England. Not only does he write books but he also illustrates them, too!
Our middle school hero Gregory is looking for another best friend as school starts up again in September. We laugh our way through his shenanigans with older brother Rodrick and younger brother Manny as we remember what our siblings were like at that age.
Friday Night Lock-In
Kids and adults (even teachers and principals) try to understand and get along with each other but just keep missing as they pass in the night. For example, during the Friday night sleep-in at school to raise money for the music department, each activity had a price-tag along with it but the activities just bombed for the almost-grown-up kids, having been planned by adults for kids, not by kids for kids.
When Mom Goes Back To School
Mom goes back to school, resulting in chaos in the household and the necessity to hire a maid who thinks she is being paid to watch TV. She has nothing to do since Mom, like many of us, cleans the house the night before she comes! And the family has to cook, learning the hard way to remember next time to remove the saran wrap before microwaving the burgers.
Families! Extended Families!
And then we have an uncle's third wedding (or is it the fourth?) bringing all the extended family together for another weekend of chaos.
The Ugly Truth
Just what the ugly truth is, the reader will have to find out for himself (or herself since the Wimpy Kid books appeal to middle school girls just as much, if even only to give them more ammunition to compare themselves to the boys who are always getting in trouble).
Author Kinney has an uncanny talent for remembering just what kids are like. Even adults will love this book!
An Unlikely Story
Our author owns a bookstore called An Unlikely Story and I bet he stocks all the Wimpy Kid books including The Third Wheel.
For more Wimpy Kid books, start with reading this review.
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