Diary of a Wimpy Kid : Dog Days - Jeff Kinney

Summary: It's summer vacation, the weather's great, and all the kids are having fun outside. So where's Greg Heffley? Inside his house, playing video games with the shades drawn.

Greg, a self-confessed "indoor person," is living out his ultimate summer fantasy: no responsibilities and no rules. But Greg's mom has a different vision for an ideal summer... one packed with outdoor activities and "family togetherness." Whose vision will win out? Or will a new addition to the Heffley family change everything? (Summary and image from Powells.com)

My Review: I actually had higher hopes for this book after reading the 3rd. And it started off making me believe that might be true. That didn't last long. After the first 50 pages the series turned back to the usual 'Greg is better than everyone and no one has figured it out yet' monologue. I was hoping the same humor from book 3 would continue. Nope. It was self-centered middle school thinking again. There are some scenes where it's almost painful to witness Greg's attempts to fulfill his dreams. Maybe people enjoy that kind of humor; I just don't. That said, I believe the author left it open for a couple more books. We may be seeing more Wimpy Kid books in the future.

My Rating: 3 Stars. These ratings are what I think of the books with the slant of a middle school teacher thrown in. For middle school students the rating would probably be higher.

Sum it up: The Wimpy Kid does summer vacation...which was kind of lame.