Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Meltdown {Kids Book Review}

I’m taking a bit of a breather with the adult book reviews this week and bringing you something for the pre-teens! If you have a kid over the age of 7 or 8….chances are you’ve heard about The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. I first heard about the series many many moons ago, when my niece, Alyssa, was obsessed with the series. Birthday, Christmas…she wanted the books or money for the books. I’d go searching at CNA for the books in the series to add to her collection at the time. I have always loved reading (yes you’re sick of READING this I know…lol) and I love love love reading kids!

When Addison was about 8, she said she HAD to have the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books…so what did mama do? I went out and bought her the box set. She just has to look at a book and I would buy it. I have literally spent my petrol money on books for my child. #TrueStory. When I saw the latest book, The Meltdown, being released…I knew we had to have it. I hoped to receive a PR copy, but alas I did not. Pretty sure they didn’t need to send out any PR copies…these books kind of sell themselves!! When Addison spotted it out on a stationery run at CNA last week, she was not leaving the store without it, so I got it for her.

Okay, without further ado, let’s get into it.

Quote from one of the books

“It’s not easy to writing thank-you notes for the stuff you didn’t want in the first place.”
― Jeff Kinney, Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Ain’t this the truth????

What is the Series about?

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a series of fiction books written by the American author and cartoonist Jeff Kinney. All the main books are the journals of the main character, Greg Heffley. Befitting a teen’s diary, the books are filled with hand-written notes and simple drawings of Greg’s daily adventures.

Since the release of the online version in May 2004, most of the books have garnered positive reviews and commercial success. As of January 2019, more than 200 million copies have been sold globally.

Taken from Wikipedia.

What is The Meltdown about?

When snow shuts down Greg Heffley’s middle school, his neighbourhood transforms into a wintry battlefield. Rival groups fight over territory, build massive snow forts, and stage epic snowball fights. And in the crosshairs are Greg and his trusty best friend, Rowley Jefferson.

It’s a fight for survival as Greg and Rowley navigate alliances, betrayals, and warring gangs in a neighbourhood meltdown. When the snow clears, will Greg and Rowley emerge as heroes? Or will they even survive to see another day?

The Meltdown is the 13th book in the series.

Our thoughts

Addison absolutely LOVED this book. We bought it around 10am at the mall and went for brunch around 12pm at Wimpy. She started reading it at Wimpy….fitting. Addison could not put it down. She was so sad, because she literally did not want to finish it. We went home and by 4pm she was done with the book. Addison says the book is ‘funny and easy to read.’ She has asked me to please get her the 2 books she is still missing in her collection, so I’ll do that soon. Anything to get her to read…who needs petrol money?

Jeff Kinney obviously has a winning recipe with this series! I love the illustrations and just the character of Greg himself. The way Jeff has brought him to life makes for entertaining reading for kids between the ages of 7/8 – 12…. I personally love sneaking a peek and reading the odd page while they’re reading.

The book has a rating of 4.4/5 stars on Goodreads and Addison gives it a solid 5 stars, so the rating is quite accurate! The Meltdown is available at all leading book retailers and I’ve seen the price range from R189 to R229.

Are your kids fans of this series?