Review - Diary of a Wimpy Kid 7: The Third Wheel - Jeff Kinney

The Third Wheel (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, #7)Title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel (#7)
Author: Jeff Kinney
Genre: Middle-grade
Publication: November 13 2012, Amulet Books
Pages: 224 pages, hardcover
Source: Thank you to Penguin South Africa for providing me this book to review! :D 
Love is in the air—but what does that mean for Greg Heffley?
A Valentine’s Day dance at Greg’s middle school has turned his world upside down. As Greg scrambles to find a date, he’s worried he’ll be left out in the cold on the big night. His best friend, Rowley, doesn’t have any prospects either, but that’s a small consolation.
An unexpected twist gives Greg a partner for the dance and leaves Rowley the odd man out. But a lot can happen in one night, and in the end, you never know who’s going to be lucky in love.
I, in general, love The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. When my dad bought me the whole collection the beginning of last year, I was really excited and finished the whole series within three days. I find myself enjoying each one and laughing hysterically at the hilarious antics Greg got up to. However, the latest book I just read didn't live up to my expectations. I think the previous books were too good and therefore they set the bar quite high. It had some humour in it, but I didn't find it as side-splittingly funny as the previous ones in the series. It was good, but not great.

The Third Wheel is about Greg, mainly, trying to get a date to the dance. I will admit it was quite hilarious all the tactics that Greg and Rowley did to try and get a date. Greg told Rowley that he should try and be elected for the student council, as then Greg could tell Rowley what to do and say, therefore Greg would be coming up with the ideas and running some of the school. But Rowley isn't always the brightest kid on the block, so that idea of Greg's didn't last long. I also loved the description Greg gave of him still being in his mother's womb, and how she spent endless amounts playing classical music and educational TV shows in hope that Greg would be born a child genius. 


When Greg manages to go on a date as just friends, with popular Abigail and Rowley, Greg couldn't believe his luck! When they all went to eat out though, of course, things didn't run quite as smooth as Greg had hoped. Him, Abigail and Rowley were going to eat out at a fancy restaurant, but Greg's jacket had been messed up, therefore he had to borrow one from the restaurant, which smelt of hectic under-arm odour. He then decided to take his date to Corny's, a cheap restaurant that is always over-run with whiny, sticky kids and the seating arrangement always has left over food messed on the upholstery. They eventually get to the dance, things finally go smoothly...or so we think. When Abigail's boyfriend walks through the door with another girl, after he saying he wouldn't be able to attend the dance, Abigail runs crying into the bathroom, when she walks out and talks to Greg, well, it doesn't end well :p

In The Third Wheel, and from the previous two in the series, we see that Greg Heffley is growing up and acting more mature than in the previous books. He's becoming interested in girls and becoming more aware of his looks and even sometimes, who he hangs out with. And although I enjoy reading about Greg growing up and the hilarious situations he gets into, I think if Jeff Kinney does want to write a long series about Greg that he needs to make the events that happen more interesting. 


I lent The Third Wheel to the ten year old boy living next to us who enjoys reading, after a few days he handed the book back to me and I asked him if he finished it and he said, "No, its boring" and I was quite surprised. I thought he would've enjoyed it but he found it boring compared to other books he has read. Its not that I found it boring, its just nothing much happens over almost three hundred pages, its just drawings and ramblings, and I think the author needs to create a better, well-structured plot.

This was a good installment to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, but I do think that it could have been slightly better. There were still laugh out loud moments that Diary of a Wimpy Kid would not have been complete without. If you are a Diary of a Wimpy Kid fan (like I), this would be fabulous to add to your collection,  with guaranteed laughs, an arrogant yet loveable main character, you will enjoy most of it, even though its not the best :)


I give it: 3/5