Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw

"Well, the problem is, it's not easy for me to think of ways to improve myself, because I'm already pretty much the best people I know."
-Jeff Kinney in The Last Straw.

I'm on a quest to finish all of The Diary Of A Wimpy Kids books in adulthood because I wasn't encouraged to read them as a kid and The Last Straw might just be my favorite one so far. Greg Heffley is still a miserable brat but ultimately The Last Straw was about an offbeat son trying to connect with his dad. In it's core, it was really sweet, despite Greg being the offbeat son. There were times I laughed and plenty of times where I related in one way or another to Rowley, the parents, or even the monster Greg himself.

That being said, I understand why I wasn't encouraged to show more read these books. This would've definitely given my underdeveloped mind some really bad ideas. Rowley deserves a better friend. show less

Greg Heffley continues with his hilarious journal. It seems that he has now become accustomed to writing it, because there are no gripes about that in this book. Or maybe it is because he has much more serious things to worry about... like the school soccer team and military school.

Dad is determined to make a man out of Greg. Greg is quite happy to stay a wimp, playing with the latest video games and trying to impress the beautiful Holly Hills. However, being the kind of person he is, Greg finds it difficult to attack the problem outright. The only method open to him is subterfuge.

Two-thirds of the book recounts Greg's ineffectual attempts to get out of the soccer team and his equally ineffectual attempts to befriend Holly Hills. He show more uses Rowley quite shamelessly whenever he feels it would give him an advantage: however, Rowley almost always comes out on top without even trying! We cannot blame Greg for feeling that life is unfair to him.

Towards the last third, soccer moves to the backstage as military school moves into the limelight. Dad sees the wonders it has done for teenage troublemaker in the neighbourhood: if it can work so well on a hooligan, what will it not do for a good boy? Greg is in immediate danger of being sent to boot camp for his summer holidays. None of his stratagems, like joining the Boy Scouts, seems to have any effect in forestalling the inevitable...

However, fate takes a hand, and Greg escapes by a hair's breadth. How that happens is narrated in his own inimitable way by Jeff Kinney, and is the highlight of the book. It is guaranteed to leave you in stitches.

In this novel, we see Greg slowly forming a bond with his Dad, who we find is not very different from his son. It is quite possible that Greg will grow up to be just like his father. And for a change, the novel ends on a happy note, because Greg has run out of pages immediately after being befriended by the gorgeous Trista, the new girl in the neighbourhood. And we are also happy, because despite all his cowardly traits, Greg Heffley is a lovable kid.

As humorous and warm as the first two books: highly recommended. show less

I'm very glad to say that this series has started to grow on me. The first one left kind of....just eh. I didn't find much good about it to be honest. Wasn't one of the best books I've ever read or anything. Still isn't, but the series is definitely fun and worth reading. It was much better getting to see more of the characters and adjust to the style.

The main thing about these books is that they're easy to read, funny, and relatable. We know what these characters are experiencing. Even if we know better, we can't help but enjoy their torment and hardships and silliness. The way Greg thinks is just hilarious to me. That kid things he's the greatest thing since sliced bread.

This book has: New Year's resolutions, walking to school because show more the bus no longer stops in the neighborhood, super jumps, laundry, Valentine's Day cards, crushes, a school dance, soccer, camping...lots of interesting ways for Greg to find trouble and have misfortune. I was laughing like crazy many times throughout this book.

It isn't the greatest book ever, but it definitely is fun and worth taking a glance through. All the characters are interesting. show less

I suppose I could use the excuse that I'm previewing the Wimpy Kid books to see if my niece might like a copy of them for her upcoming birthday.

Or I could just admit that I like the darn things and I don't care who knows it.

Greg Hefney is back and just as self-centered and wimpy as ever. He's also as hysterically funny as ever. After stumbling a bit with the second book, the Wimpy Kid series returns to the form that made the first book so much fun. Greg's adventures playing soccer (well, going to the soccer field), trying to get by in school and being forced to do his own laundry for the first time in his life all add up to some seriously funny and heartfelt moments. Jeff Kinney wisely keeps Greg from becoming too unlikeable through show more his self-deprecating humor and his lack of ability to see beyond the end of his own nose.

Of course, all of this adds up to Greg's father deciding to send him to military school--a fate Greg finds worse than death because it means he'll have to get up early.

A lot of fun and a fast read for me. And I can finally come out and say it--I'm a Wimpy Kid fan. Whew...I feel a lot better.

Now, if I could get the librarian to stop giving me funny looks when I check them out. show less

Hilarious, unique, and stunning - what fun. I'm a huge Diary of the Wimpy Kid fan and it's fun to bond with my son over these books. The drawings are simple but serve their purpose, wouldn't work so well otherwise. The writing is fresh and genuinely tickles my funny bone.

Greg just can't catch a break. As a skinny unpopular 7th grader, he's picked on by older kids and ignored by girls, especially Holly Hills. His best friend is more of a loser than he is, as he is the only 12 year old in the neighborhood who still has a babysitter. He is constantly tormented by both his younger brother, who has ratted him out since he was born, and his older brother, who plays tricks on him at every opportunity. Worst of all, his father is eager to enlist him in a military academy, to make a man out of him.

Jeff Kinney perfectly captures the horrors of the pre-teen years in this first of a series of cartoon novels. Although written for older kids, adults will find plenty to laugh -- and cringe -- at in this book.

The third installment in the series, "...The Last Straw" continues the hilarious struggles of Greg, a tween trying to survive school and home life. Through great drawings and honest writing, Kinney captures what it's like to be a boy stuck in junior high school. I found myself cackling during many parts of the book, especially Greg's ongoing struggle with avoiding the laundry. And when Greg puts on his mother's bathrobe and stands over the heat vent in the floor? That was exactly what I did when I was his age.