Book Review: Diary of a Wimpy Kid (The Getaway)

Has it really been nearly 12 years since Jeff Kinney put out his first Diary of a Wimpy Kid book? I just put down his twelfth book — Diary of  Wimpy Kid: The Getaway — and thought to myself: I remembering reading the first of these dozen books out loud to my oldest son, now in college, when he was nine years old, and my youngest son is in seventh grade and was only two years old when the first one came out. The middle child was in there, too.

Yikes!

When I brought home The Getaway this past week, I wondered if my youngest would want to read it or would he be too old for it now? Well, he was adolescent cool about it, but said he’d “take a look,” and then read it in one sitting in about 30 minutes.

These books are still light and funny — short on depth and long on humor and gag jokes — and the adventures move along. The Getaway is no exception, as Greg Heffley and his family head off on a holiday cruise to a beach resort that sparks a week full of disaster, right from the airplane flight to the resort where they are staying.

Funny ensues.

As always, Kinney’s artwork is hilarious, without being too mean to his characters. And there is a gentle vibe under the surface of his jokes. I appreciate his books for what they are. And just look at the bookshelves to see the Kinney Effect in action. Tons of books have copied his style of storytelling of cartoon and text. Some of these are good, but many are just pale imitations.

Overall interest by my students seems waning in The Wimpy Kid series (no mad rush to order them via Scholastic books, as in the past), but I can tell that Kinney is still having a blast as he is writing and illustrating his stories. There’s something to be said about the infectious energy of a book like this. And I had to pass one of my copies to a student, who begged me to be able to read it over the long weekend.

So, there’s that.

Peace (going away),
Kevin

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