Well, this can also happen with books.
Thankfully, for the irrepressible Mr Kinney, this doesn't appear to have happened with No. 2 in the Wimpy Kid series - Rodrick Rules. Because, you see - Rodrick DOES rule. Alas for Greg Heffley.
In this second book, we learn Greg has indeed carried the Cheese Touch with him into the new school year, only this time Greg actually catches a lucky break (one of very few, it would seem) and manages to slap it onto an unsuspecting newcomer pretty quick smart, leaving Greg free to resume his typical year-long quest for popularity, the opportunity to skive, and the attainment of 'cool'.
Alas (yet again), Greg's reputation is once again balancing on a precipice of teen despair... Rodrick knows all about an intensely humiliating secret Greg needs to keep under lock and key - a secret not easy to keep, especially when a diary is involved. Can Greg cope with another year of psychological (and physical) torture at the hands of his older brother? Will his relationship with best mate Rowley continue to be strained by Rowley's knack for impressing the girls?
But most importantly, can Greg turn his humiliating secret on its head and come out on top?
On a never-ending quest to be 'cool', our wimpy hero continues to delight, with guffaw-out-loud antics (like wrapping himself in toilet paper to stave off hypothermia in the swim team's locker room) and that typical woe-is-me, life's-not-fair, how-can-I-get-out-of-that demeanour that makes Greg's journey so funny, so relatable, so typical.
If you're a parent and need a humorous hour over a cuppa that will leave you with a feel-good haze regarding your errant teen, dive into Wimpy Kid post-haste. If you're a kid, I know you're already onto it.
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Title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
Author/Illustrator: Jeff Kinney
Publisher: Penguin, $14.95 RRP
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780143303848
For ages: 7+
Type: Junior Fiction
