Middle Grade Monday and Review: Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid: Rowley Jefferson's Journal by Jeff Kinney

Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid: Rowley Jefferson's Journal by Jeff Kinney. 218 p. Amulet/ Abrams, April, 2019. 97819740275. (Review of purchased finished copy.)

Middle Grade Monday features Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid: Rowley Jefferson's Journal by Jeff Kinney. Greg Hefley's long-suffering best friend gets his own book but not the spotlight because of course, Greg is mad and jealous. He tries to convince Rowley to make his journal a biography of Greg. Rowley tries. He naively relates stories of memorable times he had at the hands of with his best pal. Fans of the series already know how long-suffering Rowley is. They won't be disappointed with this spin-off.

I've always had mixed emotions about this series. I knew from book one, this would be a hit with my students and am thrilled that they love the books literally to pieces. I love that students who identify as non-readers are faithful fans. I think that Kinney really nails middle school drama. I also think Greg is a bit of a, um, jerk. (That wasn't my initial word of choice.) That said, there are jerks in middle school, so kudos to Kinney for depicting them. Greg also seemed to mature a tad as the series went on. In this book, he's back in jerk-mode. Instead of thinking it humorous, I found it somehow sort of sad and was sadder still at Rowley's naiveté. But, I'm an old fart and the kids won't notice. They are reading! A win.