Just over a week ago, on the 9th of April, a brand-new book with a somewhat different approach was released in the Wimpy Kid world: Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid.
For the past few months, this awaited book had many in excited anticipation, has some shaking their heads and rolling their eyes. Why, you ask? Because this book is the story of Greg and Rowley’s friendship, told from a fresh perspective: Rowley’s.
As you can see from the title, Rowley decided to be very specific about naming his diary. Since his dad often tells him that he is an “awesome, friendly” kid, Rowley decided to use that for his journal’s title.
As a Diary of a Wimpy Kid fan, you might be wondering: “Is Rowley’s Diary very different? Is it as good as Greg’s?” So, let’s start with a few basic comparisons between the two, just so you know what to expect (and what not to expect).
Age group and length:
Rowley’s narration is somewhat simpler than Greg’s and the book overall seems as if it will appeal more to a slightly younger market than Diary of a Wimpy Kid. It is 217 pages long, about the same length as the average Wimpy Kid book. The font choice is different and appear a little bit larger.
Time span:
Rowley’s entries have no indication of days or months (like Greg’s do) and are instead represented as a collection of thoughts.
Drawings:
Unlike Greg’s, Rowley’s characters do not have noses or ears and his drawings, in general, contains less details.
As I said, this book is written more as a recollection of happenings from Rowley and Greg’s friendship, rather than a plotted story. Rowley tells readers how he and Greg became friends, shares some good and bad times from their relationship and – most importantly – reminisce about their sleepovers. Although Rowley comes across as a bit of a goody-two-shoes in this book, he is, at times, surprisingly perceptive.
In order not to spoil anything, I won’t say much about the events Rowley recalls, but I will say that this book had me completely baffled at first (and to some small degree still has). The reason for this, is that some of Rowley’s descriptions of Greg does not quite seem to fit.
Although Greg is not one of those protagonists that one comes to adore and admire, one does develop somewhat of an attachment to him after thirteen installments of family drama, disastrous holidays, school project deadlines and decision making pressures. And, although we got to know him as a cynical kid with an unusually dry sense of humour, he was not portrayed as the deliberately annoying type who is so desperate for attention that you just want to tell him to “cut it out already”. Despite his unpopular outlook on life and somewhat lethargic attitude, we still get to know a boy who has the frightfulness to know when his mom is feeling sad and keeps a concerned eye on his toddler brother playing alone in the pool. And, despite being somewhat of a wise-crack, he is far from an extroverted babble-mouth. Yet, that is exactly the Greg we meet in Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid.
This incongruity simply does not make sense. One can’t help but immediately try to weigh out the explanations for this mystery. Or, should I rather say, weigh out who is to blame? It seems that there can only be three possibilities for this …
Greg:
Could it be that Greg has written his diaries so craftily that he has passed himself off as a skeptic, good-hearted victim of middle school life instead of the mean and annoying boy we meet in Rowley’s diary? A child with his unique sense of humour and drawing skills might be adept at twisting the truth somewhat …
Rowley:
Is Rowley perhaps so immature that his perception of Greg is distorted and exaggerated? Is he secretly flattered by Greg’s attention, but doesn’t want to admit it, so makes Greg out to be the all-time jerk? It IS a bit suspicious that, according to Rowley, the only time Greg “stands up” for Rowley is the time that Greg proves that Rowley deserves to get the best grade in the entire class.
Kinney:
Did the author perhaps not think this one through? Does he secretly hate his antagonist and decided to get his frustrations out of his system?
My solution:
If you are a loyal Wimpy Kid follower and would like to have the best solution to this mystery, I have two suggestions for you:
Firstly, watch the first 40 minutes of the this video, recorded during a talk given by Kinney at his own bookstore on the 12th of April, 2019. Here, Kinney shares a bit of his heart about Greg and Rowley’s friendship. You know by now that Rowley does not draw noses on his characters, to Greg’s great frustration. But, did you know that this was inspired by Kinney’s childhood drawing days with his brother, Patrick, who could not draw noses? 2
Secondly: read Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid and decide for yourself!
But just in case you are curious, I think both Rowley and Greg are both a little to blame for the differences between the two tales. If it wasn’t for the cleverly adjusted, yet very recognisable illustrations, I would never have guessed that this one came from Jeff Kinney’s pen. But, see, it did not – it came from Rowley’s pen, and to be honest, Rowley might not be destined for a career as an author. His sentences are clumsy and his grammar is poor – one almost expects a bit of naivety and exaggeration from him. Despite past books making him seem somewhat pitiful, Rowley appears to have a healthy self-image in his own diary. He is also not shy to make clear his strengths every now and again (with varying success, though).
Greg, on the other hand, writes with excellent grammar and a shrewd sense of humour – which implies he is likely to be skilled at making the story turn out the way he wants to.
And Kinney? Let’s be honest – you can’t foster a character for fifteen years and thirteen installments of chuckles and then suddenly forget how he is supposed to act. The contrasts in these two “diaries” are definitely intentional. However strange it might seem, Kinney must have a plan.
It is hard to be sure where Kinney is headed with Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid, but it is definitely in a somewhat different direction than Greg’s wimpy tales. I am also guessing that it will appeal more to a slightly younger market than Diary of a Wimpy Kid. If you are a die-hard Wimpy Kid fan, do not be surprised if you do not like this and try not to be disappointed. Rather, see this as a related, but different series that caters to a different taste. If that explanation still doesn’t satisfy you (or your children), try to be heartened by the advice of Judy Newman, a big Diary of a Wimpy Kid fan who is currently the Reader-in-Chief at Scholastic Bookclub:1
If you’d like to read more about Judy’s exciting life at Scholastic Bookclub, read her blog here.
I’d love to what other readers are thinking about Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid! Whose diary do you like more, Greg’s or Rowley’s? Let me know!
1. Story Monster Ink. May 2019, pp34-36. ‘Life of a Reader: Diary of a True Kinney Fan.’ https://www.magloft.com/app/story-monsters-ink/#/shelf/23353/default
2. 12 April 2019. Presentation by Jeff Kinney.
https://www.facebook.com/anunlikelystoryplainville/videos/420941892066949/