Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Diary of a Wimpy Kid, by Jeff Kinney

A #1 New York Times Bestseller, I had to find out what this book was all about it. I had heard good things about it, but mainly all from the younger audience, and for good reason. Recently, I have been reviewing young adult novels that could be also enjoyed by someone older and/or has a more sophisticated taste for literature. This is not one of those books; kiddies, you can keep this one to yourselves. It is perfect for younger readers, but adults should be weary to expect too much. And since I assume no younger readers are checking out this book review blog, I can focus this review to you more "refined" readers.

Greg Heffley keeps a journal because it will make things easier for him when he is rich and famous. Instead of answering questions about his past from numerous reporters, all he will have to do is show them his journal and be on his way. Right from the start, Greg has dreams of becoming well known and popular. This may seem like a stretch since Greg figures himself to be 52nd or 53rd most popular and his best friend Rowley is “probably hovering right around the 150 mark.” Greg uses his diary to describe life in middle school, even though he has said, “Just don’t expect me to be all ‘Dear Diary’ this and ‘Dear diary’ that.” Lucky for us, without Greg’s entries we wouldn’t know what was going on with his plans. From Halloween pranks to the school play to wrestling to safety patrol to the newspaper comic strip, Greg is constantly trying to put himself out there and move up in the rankings. However, when Rowley gets the job as the newspaper cartoonist and starts to become more popular, Greg is jealous and things fall apart. By the end of the novel, Greg must find a way to fix the friendship strained by the social pressures of middle school.

Described as “a novel in cartoons,” I would classify Jeff Kinney’s work as a very wordy graphic novel for children. Greg’s words are only made more entertaining by the number of cartoons and doodles he adds to his daily entries. Since this novel is taking place over an entire school year, there are several different short storylines going on, all of which are mildly entertaining, but only few work to weave together an actual novel. It seems more like a collection of short stories instead. The novel starts with a plan to become popular this school year, but this plot line does not resurface until towards the very end of the novel. It’s like Greg went through his school year and then finally remembered his plan when there was only a month left of school. Again, these shorter segments are mildly entertaining (with much credit due to the cartoons), but that is not enough to save the novel as a whole. It did not flow well enough to be given the title of a novel. I would rather have read Greg’s tales as individual stories than try to weave them together on my own. Jeff Kinney’s novel is very successful, but I believe it is because it is perfect for younger readers who need shorter segments in order to remember and comprehend what is going on.

My previous young adult novels, I believe, can be read by any age, but Diary of a Wimpy Kid may only be enjoyable by younger readers for its formatting and type of humor. I can see how they would enjoy this book, and I totally understand why it would become a bestseller, but I would never tell another adult to read this book without the purpose of being able to relate better to the younger generation. Some parts were interesting, but in all, this is overwhelmingly a novel for young readers only. With the content and its use of cartoons, this would be the perfect book for a younger reader unexcited by books and reading to slowly adjust to love them.

(Brief Summary: Kids- enjoy it! Adults- give it a try, but beware.)

“The greatest gift is a passion for reading.”
- Elizabeth Hardwick