Title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul
Author: Jeff Kinney
Publisher: Amulet Books
I don’t think anyone wants to go on long, boring and exhausting road trips. But there was no choice for Greg Heffley as his mum insisted on going for a “fun” trip. What’s the worst that could happen?
The story is about Greg and his family. Greg’s mum wanted to go on the road trip to many different places. The title “The Long Haul” perfectly describes the story. It’s a long trip with quite a lot of Inconveniences. From eating at low-rated restaurants to sleeping with cockroaches, and even getting all the money stolen, you name it! What makes ‘The Long haul’ the perfect title is also because Greg had no words. He had to sit through all of it. And in the end, none of these would have happened if the family had just decided to stay in and if mum hadn’t listened to that sketchy magazine. What this means is that sometimes it is better to listen to ourselves instead of listening to others.
Greg was an ordinary middle school student. Because of that, I’m guessing he was bombarded with homework and assignments on a daily basis. And the one time he got a chance to rest, his mum decided to interrupt. During the whole trip, Greg was oddly quiet. He didn’t talk unless he needed to. This resulted in chaos. What I learnt from this is that we should talk out more. Giving out our thoughts and ideas can not only help others learn more about you, but can also help yourself by becoming more outgoing. Greg wasn’t a jock or are bully. He has less hair and a fragile body. He is also very shy and timid. However, he likes to write and read story books. This is what makes him unique. Everyone is unique; you have just got to sound it out.
The story is very fun to read and it’s opposite to how the characters felt in the book. What I liked them most about this story was that it kept making me want to read more. What was going to happen next? This story has a trend when a problem occurred, then they managed to solve it. Afterwards, Greg’s mum would give us a suggestion on what to do next, but when they tried it, it all went downhill. Towards the end of the book, this trend seemed to have risen. With that being said, the pacing of the book is quite strange. At the beginning, they were playing games in the car. And then out of nowhere, the baby started crying. Towards the end it all descended into chaos. I think it would have been better if the end part was put more into the middle of the book. There were some flashback sequences which I think are unnecessary. There was one part where Greg was trying to get a book to read. He explained the content and also told us about an incident at school. I think it’s quite annoying to read some pages that do not help with the actual plot.
Nonetheless, this book is outstanding. It describes the pain of a poorly-planned trip. I have past experiences with road trips that I don’t want to recall. This book is also funny with its jokes. But I also think it is relatable to many people. I definitely recommend this to you!