Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Deep End
Summary:
Diary of A Wimpy Kid: The Deep End follows the Heffleys as they set off on a summer vacation. As usual, everything imaginable goes wrong, and the cross-country adventure turns into a hilarious mistake. The family of 5 struggles to get along at home, and vacation in an RV makes these feuds even worse than before.
Characters:
The Deep End follows the Heffleys during their vacation: the mother known as Mom, the father known as Dad, Roderick the older brother, Greg the protagonist, and Manny the youngest. Greg, as the protagonist, is the classic middle school character; nothing all that special. He is also a middle child, so he doesn’t have the authority of the oldest, or the attention keeping of the youngest.
Nathanyal: 8.0/10
Review:
It has been a while since I read a Diary of a Wimpy Kid book, and boy was this a nostalgic ride. Now, before I get started, I will say that this is a kid’s book. It’s a simple read and the plot isn’t too dense. For most readers out there, this can be read in one sitting within an hour. With that out of the way, I’ll discuss what I thought about this book.
I guess the first thing I’ll mention is that this was a fun read. It’s a simpler book compared to others we have reviewed on this website, but this easy novel still has some charm to it. For one, this novel made me feel nostalgic and it reminded me of simpler times. The Diary of a Wimpy Kid novels usually have crazy and funny things happen to the protagonist, and it isn’t any different here. The events seem borderline insane but are still realistic enough. Besides that, I do enjoy the humor and the small drawings throughout the story. It’s a classic style that I have grown up with.
As for the negatives, as I’ve said, this plot isn’t anything too deep. If you’re trying to find a novel that will engage your brain, this isn’t one. As for characters, most of them are pretty static as well. Granted, this is written from the perspective of a diary or journal, so you can’t expect much there.
Overall, this novel was a fun read. It’s short and entertaining. If you happen to have a free hour, you can pick up this book and give a read and feel entertained by the content. For some of the readers of our website, this can be a trip down memory lane for some of you.
Favourite Moment (Spoilers):
Sebastian: 8.0/10
Review:
I would use one word to describe this book and that is nostalgic. This book brings me back to 8- and 9-year-old me reading these books all the time. Now I’m not trying to say that this is like literature in its purest form but what I can say is that it was fun to revisit these books. Honestly, fifteen entries in and the series has hardly changed which I appreciate as it keeps me in that mindset of reading these as a kid. The humour is still on point especially when it comes to the drawings and the way they match the words. Now this book is really simple and if you’re looking for any sort of character development or even a plot than don’t read this like it’s a kids book through and through. It can be overly childish in my mind and yes, I know I sound hypocritical as I just said this is a kids book but this is meant for 8–12-year-olds and I would say some of the jokes are even more childish than that. I would say that my enjoyment was significantly influenced by nostalgia and without it I would probably not think it’s amazing but even critics can be influenced by their childhoods.
All in all, this is exactly what I expected and nothing more or less. If you are looking for a humorous kids book that only takes about an hour this will do fine, otherwise I would probably look for something else.
Favourite Moment (Spoilers):
My favourite moment was when the Heffley’s had to get on top of their trailer as it went into the river. I thought it was a wild situation that tends to happen to the family and it made me chuckle.
Austin: 7.8/10
Review:
I have different feelings about this book depending on how old you are. If a child is looking to read this book, go for it. It’s got a fun little plot with a ton of laughs and cheeky jokes. It relies pretty hard on situational irony and jokes that are built to make kids laugh. The characters are goofy and there are some good life lessons to be learned along the way. It isn’t much different than previous books, but it’s a quick, simple read built for young readers. This is a great book to learn from.
Alrighty, now my thoughts if you aren’t a child looking to step back into this series. Don’t. There are a ton of books we’ve reviewed that age well, that hold water as a kid’s book and for older audiences but this isn’t one of them. It’s a pretty decent children’s book, but the plot is beyond simple, and the characters are mediocre. I would have loved a little bit more depth in the plot and a ton more development for our main cast of characters, but because this is so clearly a child’s novel, it does fine without it. The illustrations are a nice touch and probably my favourite aspect.
This is a pretty decent children’s book, but if you are looking to catch some nostalgic vibes from a book that’s been around for a while, this isn’t the one for you. Not a ton has changed since this series began, but children will do good with the simple plot and characters matched with a ton of humour.
Favourite Moment (Spoilers):
My favourite moment of this book has to be when the Heffley’s are sprayed by a skunk. It may be a cliche camping trip moment, but I thought it was pretty funny to see our characters struggle through dealing with the nasty spray and the side effects that came with it.
