by Jeff Kinney
Published by Puffin
The opening of the story got me interested straightaway because it was direct and straight to the point: ‘Mum suddenly announced. Pack your bags, we’re going on a road trip’ so I was very keen to read on and find out how the road trip went.
The events followed on easily as the story was being told as diary entries. It seemed to ebb and flow, in that one moment it was calm and then manic; calm again then frantic. There seemed to be a pattern with the family moving from one disaster to another.
A bit like a jigsaw, all the various things that happened during the story (pieces), seemed to join together at the end and link back in to create the overall story (picture).
Greg Heffley is the main character; a child aged between 11 and 14, he doesn’t like his life because his family constantly annoy him. He tells the story and shares his thoughts through diary entries and flashbacks to previous experiences. By telling the story in this way, it makes you feel sympathetic towards his life.
I really enjoyed reading this book as I didn’t know what was going to happen next and to whom. I think the author used his own life experiences, perhaps both as child with his parents and as a parent with his own children to create a story.
I felt a mixture of emotions when I read the book as sometimes it made me laugh and sometimes I had sympathy for Greg. The book taught me that some people act differently to others and we should try to be accepting of all types of people.
Overall, I would give this book 4.5 stars out of five and would recommend this as an easy read to others.
Review by Jamie Holder, Year 7, The Malling School.