The Fun Continues

Diary of a Wimpy Kid #5:  The Ugly Truth by Jeff Kinney

Adolescent Graphic Novel

The story of Greg Heffley never gets old and never ends since each book is only a couple of months long.

So, what is the ugly truth in this book?  Adolescence is no fun.  Face it; you're not a cute kid anymore.  Not like your little brother who gets everything he wants.  Being a middle-schooler is tough.  If pimples aren't enough to deal with, try adding in voice changes and body hair.  GROSS!  Greg longs for his younger years when his cuteness alone allowed him to rake in loads of Christmas presents.  Now, he gets socks.  Or, books.  

What makes it even worse is that Greg's bromance with his best friend Rowley is over.  No big deal.  Rowley was just slowing Greg down, anyway.  Right?

This book is one chuckle after another at the wonderful ironies of growing up.  The funniest part, for me, was the school sleepover which was so exactly what middle school boys do when left to their own devices!  And, what do the teachers do to get them to calm down and actually go to sleep?  Turn off the heat on the coldest night of the year!  My heroes--brilliant!  The best graphic was seeing Greg in his headgear after his first trip to a 'grown up' dentist.  Torture device!

As always, it was a fast and hilarious read.  You could easily finish the whole book in little over an hour.  This series is so good for reluctant readers in middle school.  My books are always checked out with requests to buy more than one of each title.  Music to my reading teacher ears.