A review by wizardingwisteria
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

lighthearted medium-paced

3.0

I remember reading this in elementary / middle school and thinking it was so funny.  This series had such a moment in the early 2000s.   The book hasn't aged much, but I definitely have.  I certainly did not find it as funny this time around, but I'm not in the target audience anymore so I can't really be upset about it.

I didn't realize how little of a plot the book actually had.  There is no one over-arching goal Gregg is trying to reach and there is no grand lesson that he learns.  I decided to read this again after re-watching the movie recently and it really shows how stiff the book is compared to the plot of the movie.  Book Gregg doesn't seem to learn anything by the end.  Movie Gregg had at least some redemption.

I also didn't realize how big of a jerk Gregg was written out to be.  I'm glad that the movie re-wrote him a bit because he is so much more cold and selfish in the book.

Despite its flaws, I still really love the format of this.  I think that was one of the big reasons the series took off in the first place.  The hand written font with the simple drawings and smooth writing style made reading this a really enjoyable experience, even on the digital version.

This is a good book to go back to for nostalgia sake, but I can't see myself recommending this today

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