I have read all of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books thus far written by Jeff Kinney. The Ugly Truth is the fifth book in the series, and was released November 9, 2010.
Once again, the line-drawn Greg Heffley amuses with his unique perspective on the world. Adults reading this book may recognize parts of their own children in Greg as he struggles to fathom the situations–and the trouble–he always seems to land in. But although the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books can be fun for parents to read, they are marketed primarily to ages 9-12. (But I can tell you, I’m going to keep reading them, because they’re a lot of fun. 🙂 )
From a young person’s perspective, Greg Heffley is just plain funny. Part of his charm comes from the way he thinks of the things that happen to him. At times, he’s confused. Other times, he thinks he knows exactly what’s going on–except that readers can tell he’s come to the wrong conclusion based on the comic illustrations.
In The Ugly Truth, some of the issues Greg encounters, and must deal with, include:
- suffering the aftermath of a serious argument with a long-time best friend
- things to consider when “choosing” a new best friend
- health class, when things are revealed about the human body that no kid wants to know (puberty!)
- the depths to which Grandmas will sink to lure family members to their homes
- mom getting a job outside the home–and dad trying his best to take over her household responsibilities
- getting invited to a first boy-girl party–but having to ditch it to attend a family wedding
- giving an old friendship one more try
There’s a lot more, but these are some of the main ideas.
For any parents who are nervous about how much detail The Ugly Truth goes into about health class–it’s nothing to worry about. When I heard the title of the book, I was a bit apprehensive, myself–especially considering the cover art of Greg staring at an egg. But it wasn’t what I feared it would be.
The Ugly Truth seems to brush on a lot more topics than previous books. So the pacing felt faster when compared to the first book, which seemed to focus more on a single, more tied-together plot line. The Ugly Truth almost felt more “pieced together.” But the book was as funny as any of Kinney’s works.
An Excellent Book for the Reluctant Reader
As a comic novel, The Ugly Truth has a ton of comic-style drawings throughout, and plenty of white space on the page–so less confident readers should have an easier time making it through the novel without frustration. And the humor doesn’t hurt, either~!
Amazon.com has the best prices I’ve seen on the Diary of a Wimpy Kid novels.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Box of Books
(A nice box set of hardback Diary of a Wimpy Kid books 1-4)
Book 1–Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Book 2–Diary of a Wimpy Ki: Rodrick Rules
Book 3–Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
Book 4–Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
Book 5–Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth
There’s also a special book based on the film Diary of a Wimpy Kid that came out Summer 2010. This book reveals info about the making of the film: The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary (Diary of a Wimpy Kid)
One more special book is a kind of workbook for kids to write their own journal entries: 
Be sure to read my review on Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 1 and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 2 – Roderick Rules.
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