Discussion: Is the quality of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books declining?

By: Dilan Mehta

Ok, first off, I really like the Wimpy Kid Books. This post is not to say they are garbage. They are funny and unconventional, and millions of kids around the globe love reading about the hilarious antics of Greg Heffley.

But I think the quality of the books are declining. Books 12-15 so far have not been as good as the other ones. One of the main reasons is the story isn't as good. The first 11 books are so are clever in story and character arc, and we see Greg in his daily, humorous life. You never know what to expect. But the newer books follow the same basic plot: Something happens that is supposed to be good, but things get complicated, and a bunch of crazy stuff happens. The one that is kind of an exception is the Meltdown, #13, but even that didn't have a story as good as the first ones. Another thing is that they aren't that funny anymore. I've noticed a lot of the jokes have been reused and there isn't a lot of witty, sarcastic humor we expect from Greg anymore, and it's replaced with cheesy slapstick. The artwork isn't as good too. A lot of characters are blackened out as silhouettes. This is ok if it's a large crowd, but a lot of times the main characters are just silhouettes. The artwork has mainly stayed consistent, though, and I don't have that much to complain about there. It's also worth mentioning that Jeff Kinney has started a new series starring Rowley. The first, Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid, is where Rowley is the narrator and it's HIS journal this time. The second is where Rowley tells a story about a kid named Roland, who Rowley bases off himself. The third book is a collection of "spooky stories" written by Rowley. The second two books show Rowley's naïve, child like nature, and how he tends to keep child-like habits like riding a spaceship at the mall, and his characters often are based on himself. These books are pretty good, but they don't really have the same charm and appeal as the Wimpy Kid books. Again, I really like these books, and I get that it's really hard to make a great, quality book each year. So hopefully Wimpy Kid 16 is good. Have an opinion on this? Type in the comments!

(All the books so far):

(Plus a Do-It-Yourself book, a few special editions, and two movie companion books)