Diary of a Wimpy

Kid: The Last Straw

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]
 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

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 is 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
1. Kinney, Jeff (2011). Diary of a Wimpy Kid:
The Last Straw (https://archive.org/detail
s/diaryofwimpykidc00kinn) . Diary of a
Wimpy Kid. Amulet Books (published
January 2009). ISBN 9781419702235.

2. " 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw'

Film Adaptation in the Works for Disney+
(Exclusive)" (https://onetakenews.com/20
22/12/01/wimpy-kid-last-straw-film-exclu
sive/) . One Take News. December 1,
2022. Retrieved December 1, 2022.

3. Kennedy, Elizabeth (May 30, 2019). "Diary

of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw" (https://w
 ww.thoughtco.com/diary-of-a-wimpy-kid-t
he-last-straw-627442) . ThoughtCo.
Retrieved April 22, 2020.

4. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid #3 - The Last Straw"

(https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-
0-8109-7068-7) . Publishers Weekly.
January 1, 2009. Retrieved April 22, 2020.

5. "Film List" (https://web.archive.org/web/2

0110928103848/http://www.bcfilmcommi
ssion.com/database/rte/files/August%20
9%202011.pdf) (PDF). British Columbia
Film Commission. August 9, 2011.
Archived from the original (http://www.bcf
ilmcommission.com/database/rte/files/
August%209%202011.pdf) (PDF) on
September 28, 2011. Retrieved August 14,
2011.
6. "Recently Classified Trailers, Commercials
and PSAs" (http://www.albertafilmratings.
ca/recentclasstrailers.aspx) .
AlbertaFilmRaings.ca. Archived (https://w
eb.archive.org/web/20120412075952/htt
p://www.albertafilmratings.ca/recentclass
trailers.aspx) from the original on April
12, 2012. Retrieved April 10, 2012.

7. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days" (http://a

dvancescreenings.com/movie/diary_of_a
_wimpy_kid_dog_days/.html) .
AdvanceScreenings.com. Archived (http
s://web.archive.org/web/2018051920003
9/http://advancescreenings.com/movie/d
iary_of_a_wimpy_kid_dog_days/.html)
from the original on May 19, 2018.
Retrieved June 27, 2012.

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