Hot Mess

December 1, 2024
A summer vacation turns out to be anything but relaxing for Greg and a teeming horde of Heffleys. Gramma declines the offer of a grand birthday celebration, saying that "what would make her REALLY happy is if everyone else went to Ruttyneck Island"--though she prepares individual packs of her legendary meatballs. ("You knew exactly how much Gramma likes you by how many meatballs you got.") A gaggle of Heffley relatives and a dog stuff themselves into a small beach house, where overcrowding, personality conflicts, and simmering resentments become just some of the ingredients in a rolling boil of sitcom-style catastrophes, not to mention questionable decisions ranging from leaving the kids to make dinner unsupervised to labeling a cooler "HUMAN ORGANS" to keep random passersby from helping themselves. As usual, Greg supplies the setups in poker-faced journal entries interspersed with black-and-white drawings of slouched figures bearing frowny expressions of dismay or annoyance to cue the laffs. Gramma, it eventually turns out, not only (unsurprisingly) has plans of her own, but is also keeping a shocking secret about those meatballs. To go with the knee-slapping set pieces, Kinney slips in a tasty bit of family lore about how Greg's parents met, plus droll takes on such low-hanging comedy fruit as restaurant manners, viciously competitive board games, and social media influencers (Greg being one, albeit with zero followers, and his Aunt Veronica's little dog being another, with 3.8 million). An entertaining take on family values, Wimpy Kid style.(Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-12)

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November 22, 2024

Gr 3-7-When Gramma's only birthday wish is that the entire extended family go on a trip to their childhood vacation spot without her, Greg finds himself crammed into a one-bathroom beach house with 12 people and a very snooty celebrity dog. As Greg's mom tries valiantly to engage everyone in stifling lighthouse tours and heated board game nights, the trip quickly devolves into a literal hot mess of sisterly squabbles, last-ditch sleeping arrangements, food fights, and even a family trip to jail. Kinney's trademark illustrations add comedic subtext to Greg's hapless stream-of-consciousness narration, and readers will both laugh at and sympathize with his plight. Additionally, readers will find plenty of laughs in familiar chaos agents like Uncle Gary, Rodney, and the twins. There's nothing particularly groundbreaking in this latest installment, but why "mess" with a good thing? Kids will be excited to read about Greg's latest woes. VERDICT Keep "Wimpy Kid" on the must-buy list.-Catherine Cote

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