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Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Wrecking Ball

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Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Wrecking Ball
First edition hardcover
AuthorJeff Kinney
IllustratorJeff Kinney
LanguageEnglish
SeriesDiary of a Wimpy Kid
GenreChildren's
PublisherAmulet Books (US)
Puffin Books (UK)
Publication date
November 5, 2019[1]


January 21, 2021 (paperback re-issue)
Publication placeUnited States of America
Media typePrint (paperback, hardcover)
Pages224[1]
ISBN9781419739033
Preceded byThe Meltdown 
Followed byThe Deep End 

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Wrecking Ball is a children's novel written by Jeff Kinney and the fourteenth book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. It was released on November 5, 2019.[1] In this book, protagonist Greg Heffley's family receives an inheritance and they use the money to renovate their house. Wrecking Ball received positive reviews from critics.

Background

Wrecking Ball's author and illustrator, Jeff Kinney, decided on the book's theme while doing renovations to his own house.[2][3] He realized that he had not yet written a book about Greg moving and considered the idea a good fit for the series.[2] Wrecking Ball's title and cover were revealed on May 14, 2019 on Twitter by Kinney.[4][5]

To promote the book, Kinney hosted a book tour called The Wrecking Ball Show, as a follow-up to the previous book promotion, The Meltdown Show.[3][6] It lasted for 33 days across multiple countries:[6] Italy, Germany, France, Greece, Bulgaria, Spain, and Portugal.[3] The show's activities were decided live through spinning a wheel; activities included a dancing competition,[3] a tower-building contest with foam blocks,[7] and a trivia challenge.[3]

Kinney used systematic inventive thinking to come up with jokes for the book.[6] He elaborated that "[it] helps me generate ideas without having to rely on memories. [...] In it, problem-solving is based on templates. If you can use those templates to harness your creativity, then you can solve problems more quickly than you could another way."[6] Kinney described moments from the book in which a kitchen remodel leads to a larger construction project and a hot tub is lifted over the house as based on true experiences.[3] He concluded by describing Wrecking Ball as his "best-written book."[3]

On the subject of the high amount of illustrations in the novel, Kinney stated that the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series is closer to being "long-form comics" rather than a graphic novel."[2] He described the latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid books as requiring many illustrations due to being more "cinematic," then criticized the earlier books for being "sparse and minimalistic."[2]

Themes

Kinney has stated that the theme of the book is "Greg letting go of his childhood home."[3] He found that the best way to open the book would be to have Greg clean out his closet and try to sell objects at a yard sale, reflecting him "letting go of his childhood possessions."[3] While discussing his overseas book tour, Kinney wrote that he sees the series as "a mirror." He explains that the books are popular worldwide because "childhood is universal" and children around the world all "deal with the same kinds of things."[2]

Reception

In its first week, Wrecking Ball sold slightly less than 200,000 copies.[8] As of February 9, 2020, it has sold over 650,000 copies.[9]

Wrecking Ball received generally positive reviews from critics. Kirkus Reviews commented that "Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs."[10] Carrie R. Wheadon from Common Sense Media gave the book four out of five stars and praised it for having positive messages.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c Kinney, Jeff (November 5, 2019). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Wrecking Ball on Amazon. ISBN 978-1419739033.
  2. ^ a b c d e "INTERVIEW: Jeff Kinney on Wimpy Kid's journey, Wrecking Ball, and the terror of grout". The Beat. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Q&A With 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' Author Jeff Kinney". GeekDad. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  4. ^ "Wimpy Kid 14 Title and Cover Revealed". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  5. ^ Jeff Kinney [@Wimpykid] (May 14, 2019). "Book 14's cover is out! Hope you like it!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. ^ a b c d "The origins of 'Wimpy Kid' and writing at the cemetery: Tales from author Jeff Kinney". Omaha World Herald. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  7. ^ "On Tour with Jeff Kinney for Wimpy Kid #14". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  8. ^ "Print Units Post Solid Sales Gain in Early November". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  9. ^ "Children's Frontlist Fiction". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on February 10, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  10. ^ "Wrecking Ball". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  11. ^ Wheadon, Carrie R. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Wrecking Ball". Common Sense Media. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
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