Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw

US cover
Author	Jeff Kinney
Illustrator	Jeff Kinney
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Genre	Comedy
Publisher	Amulet Books (US) Puffin Books (UK)
Publication date	January 13, 2009 August 6, 2011 (paperback re-issue)
Pages	217
ISBN	978-0-8109-7068-7
Preceded by	Rodrick Rules
Followed by	Dog Days

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw is a novel written by American author and cartoonist Jeff Kinney, the third book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. The book acts as a journal and follows the adventures of Greg Heffley, the narrator of the book, who is in the second half of his seventh-grade year.^[1] This book was released in the US on January 13, 2009. An animated film based on the book is in the works for Disney+.^[2]

Plot

The book begins on January 1, with Greg talking about his family's New Year's resolutions. Life becomes more difficult for Greg and his best friend Rowley when their school bus route is "rezoned" to the Whirley Street neighborhood, so they have to walk over a quarter of a mile to get to and from school.

Greg also deals with being compared to his father Frank's boss's sons, who all play sports and always seem to be outside exercising; Frank is jealous of this. After conflicts over Greg wanting to stay inside and watch TV on Saturdays and Frank stealing his school snacks, Frank makes him sign up for intramural soccer after an incident at church on Easter.

At first, Greg rides the bench but becomes the starting goalie when the main goalie is injured. He takes a break to pick dandelions on the field, which ultimately costs his team the game. Frank is embarrassed by this when his boss shows it to him in the paper.

After this, Frank runs into a neighborhood troublemaker named Lenwood Heath, who has apparently reformed after going to military school. Impressed with his former enemy's turnaround, Frank decides to sign Greg up for a summer program at Spag Union Military Academy (which Lenwood attended), hoping Greg will change for the better, but mostly hoping this will end the embarrassment.

To impress his dad and thereby avoid military school, Greg decides to join the Boy Scouts. However, he gets sick and misses their camping trip, which Frank has to go to anyway (because he agreed to be a chaperone) and has a terrible time. Later, when Greg, Frank, and Rodrick have a camping "do-over", they end up at a hotel after heavy rain, where Rodrick locks Greg out of their room in his underwear.

After this, Greg becomes more resigned to his military school fate, especially after attempting unsuccessfully to make a good impression on Holly Hills, a popular girl in his class, before realising that she is not worth his time. But on what he thinks is his only day of summer vacation, Greg ends up inadvertently saving Frank from making a fool of himself at their neighbor's half-birthday party for their new baby.

The next day, Frank reconsiders his decision to send Greg to Spag Union, which Greg puts down to having saved Frank from embarrassment. The book ends with Greg looking forward to his summer vacation.

Reception

The Last Straw received positive reviews. Positive attention was once again given to the character of Greg Heffley, with him being considered relatable.^[3] The books' style of deadpan humor was also well received.^[4]

Adaptations

On August 3, 2012, a film based on this book, The Last Straw, as well as the subsequent book, Dog Days, was released; the movie starred Zachary Gordon, Steve Zahn, Robert Capron, Devon Bostick, Rachael Harris, Peyton List, Grayson Russell and Karan Brar. Principal photography began on August 8, 2011 in Vancouver and was completed on October 7, 2011.^[5] A poster was leaked in March 2012. A teaser trailer was attached to The Three Stooges.^[6] An advance screening for the film was held on July 31, 2012.^[7] In December 2022, Kinney confirmed an adaptation of The Last Straw is in the works for Disney+.^[2]

References