Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Plot

As Greg Heffley is getting ready for his first day of middle school, he is teased by his teenage brother Rodrick, because his mom bought him his supplies for school. He has a little brother, a toddler named Manny, who is "spoiled rotten" because he gets everything he wants and also gets away with everything he does wrong. His father, named Frank Heffley, does not encourage Greg's way of life - playing video games all day - rather than going outside and playing sports.

During the first day of school, Greg is immediately rejected and is forced to sit with another outcast named Fregley, from whom Greg tries to keep "a safe distance". He is initially unsure whether best friend Rowley Jefferson will be able to fit in. However, Greg, in his delusions, remains positive as he strongly believes that he can, nay, that he will become popular. He tries to change Rowley, who Greg considers immature. Greg and Rowley decide to take part in wrestling at school, although Greg quits after losing a match against Fregley. On Halloween, Greg and Rowley go trick-or-treating, but are challenged by teens who spray Greg and Rowley with a water-filled fire extinguisher. Greg tries to threaten them by saying-"We're calling the cops", but the teenagers start to chase them. The two friends escape and go to Greg's grandmother's house until the teens leave.

After getting few presents for Christmas, Greg decides to play a game with Rowley in which Rowley must ride a bike while Greg tries to knock him off. On one of Greg's tries, the ball gets under the front wheel, which causes Rowley to fall off and break his arm. When Rowley goes to school with a plaster cast, the girls take care of him (carrying his books, feeding him food) which makes Greg jealous. After Rowley's arm heals, he and Greg decide to enroll in the safety patrol program in which they walk younger kids to their homes.

One day, as Greg is walking the kids by himself he chases the young children after scaring them with a stick with worms on it. A neighbour contacts the school and tells them about Greg's unusual behavior. The principal suspects Rowley, as Greg was wearing Rowley's jacket. Rowley is suspended from the safety patrol. Greg later decides to confess the truth, but a vindicative Rowley proceeds to sell Greg out and get him fired, resulting in their friendship breaking off.

Greg tries to befriend Fregley to make Rowley jealous, although he is uncomfortable around Fregley. Resorting to auditioning for the school play (based on The Wizard of Oz) Greg lands the role as a tree, while Patty Farrel is cast as Dorothy, the protagonist of the novel. During the show's opening performance, Rodrick brings a camera to film the play. Greg becomes too nervous to sing, confusing the other "trees" who also fail to sing. Patty gets frustrated and angers Greg, who throws props at Patty, and then everyone gets in the fight, ending the play in chaos.

Feeling desolate from being blatantly rejected by everyone, Greg is surprised and a little happy to see Rowley approaching him at recess, until, he discovers that he's only there to demand back his CD. Annoyed, hurt and infuriated, Greg refuses, claiming "FInder's keepers." To which Rowley responds, "You didn't find it. I left it at your house." "Well then, losers weepers," Greg shoots back. "That's not even a real thing!" Rowley challenges, and this mild banter escalates quickly into a fist fight (albeit a rather awkward one). In the midst of their 'pathetic' non-fight, the teens from the previous halloween episode are drawn to the chaos crowding around Greg and Rowley tumbling around in the dirt. When the leader of the teen gang scares away the rest of the students, they force Greg and Rowley to eat the legendary "cheese", a moldy piece of cheese that has been left on the grounds of the school for years. Rowley is the first to eat the cheese - except when it comes to Greg's turn, he claims that he's lactose intolerant and that "he'll die - and [the teens] will go to jail!" - With the emergence of the principal, the teens jump in their pickup and speed off the school property. The other students notice that the cheese is misplaced and is now on the floor in front of Rowley. "Oh my gosh!" Patty Farrel exclaims ruthlessly, "Rowley Jefferson ate the cheese!" And like a hero, Greg steps in and takes the fall, telling everyone that it was him who ate the cheese. Because of this, all suspicion towards Rowley is deflected as Greg takes the fall. Greg delivers a great speech of destroying stigmas and becoming friends with everyone, except it backfires when someone yells "Cheese touch!" and everyone scrams. But all is not in vain as Greg and Rowley realzie their friendship is mended. "Wanna go home and ... play?" Greg asks, and the two walk off together.

Background

In 2005, FunBrain and Jeff Kinney released an online version of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The website made daily entries until June 2005. The book became an instant hit and the online version received about 20 million views as of 2007. Many online readers requested a printed version. At the 2006 New York Comic-Con Kinney proposed Diary to Charles Kochman, Editorial Director of the ComicArts division of Abrams Books, who purchased the rights to the book. According to Kochman, the two initially conceived it as a book for adults, believing it would appeal to audiences similar to that of the TV series The Wonder Years. Kochman brought it before the Abrams publishing board, which convinced Kinney and Kochman that it would be better aimed toward children. In 2007, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, an abridged version of the original online book, was published.

Characters

The main character, Greg, has trouble with family, friends, and his local middle school. He is very concerned about how popular he is at school, and he daydreams a lot about being rich and famous when he grows up. He tries to fit in in his school, but usually he does not succeed. Facing many challenges, Greg attempts to handle them very creatively, but unfortunately his antics often backfire on him.

Greg's best friend has a larger than average frame. He is always willing to do what Greg tells him, including dangerous stunts. Rowley goes on vacations all the time, which annoys Greg. Rowley is a loyal friend, but he sometimes behaves in an immature or childish manner. He also dresses in an unusual way.

Greg's "spoiled" little brother, a three-year-old toddler. He never gets in trouble no matter what, even when he really deserves it. Manny is just getting toilet trained.

Rodrick is Greg's teenage brother and he never misses a chance to be cruel to Greg. He is known for sleeping excessively in the morning and for his rebellious attitude. Rodrick is part of a garage band called "The Löded Diper". Rodrick will do anything to embarrass Greg and will even cause problems for Manny to make everyone's life miserable.

Sequels

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is the first book in an ongoing book franchise. The second, Rodrick Rules was released February 1, 2008 and was listed on the New York Times Best Sellers list for 117 weeks. The Last Straw, the third book in the series, released on January 13, 2009 was on the New York Times Best Sellers list for 65 weeks, peaking at number one. Dog Days was released October 12, 2009 with 217 pages. The book was ranked at number one on the New York Times Best Sellers List for all 25 weeks of inclusion, making Dog Days the #1 Best Selling Book of 2009. The Ugly Truth was released November 9, 2010 with 217 pages. The sixth, Cabin Fever was released November 15, 2011. The seventh, The Third Wheel was released on November 13, 2012. The eighth, Hard Luck was released on November 5, 2013 in the United States and on November 6 in the United Kingdom. The ninth, The Long Haul was released on November 4, 2014 in the US and November 5, 2014 in the UK. The tenth, Old School, was released globally on November 3, 2015.

Awards

The book won the Blue Peter Book Award 2012, revealed live on British kids channel CBBC on March 1, 2012.

Adaptations

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a 2010 American comedy directed by Thor Freudenthal and based on Jeff Kinney's book. The film was released on March 19, 2010. It was released on DVD, iTunes, and Blu-ray on August 3, 2010. The movie stars Zachary Gordon as Greg Heffley, Robert Capron as Rowley Jefferson, Steve Zahn as Frank Heffley (Dad), Rachael Harris as Susan Heffley (Mom), Devon Bostick as Rodrick Heffley, Chloë Grace Moretz as Angie Steadman, and Connor & Owen Fielding as Manny Heffley, Greg's brother.