Is there a better remedy for the back-to-school doldrums than getting to see how Greg Heffley spent his summer vacation? If nothing else, the comedy of errors and indignities he suffers will make readers feel a whole lot better about any family vacation disasters of their own. In the fourth book in Kinney's bestselling Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, Greg has a falling-out with his friend Rowley over a failed lawn-care business, puts up with his parents' attempts to get him out of the house (Mom organizes a book club for boys—who pick out titles like “Sudoku Insanity” and “Ultimate Video Game Cheats”) and tries to shake off the twin horrors of the murderous “muddy hand” from a horror film he watches and the terrifying sights in the men's locker room at the pool. Kinney's gift for telling, pitch-perfect details in both his writing and art remains (such as the cursive script and cutesy content of Mom's photo album captions). No reason to think kids won't devour this book as voraciously as its predecessors. Ages 8–12. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Oct.)

Early in this hilarious what-I-did-on-my-summer-vacation account, Greg Heffley cynically records his clueless mother's promise that despite tight budgets, it would still be "the best summer ever." Boy, was she wrong! Instead, the summer brings a long list of miseries: the anxiety-provoking shower at the public pool, a falling-out between Greg and his best friend, and, worst of all, "family togetherness." Now and then, Greg stumbles across some good times, but they involve things that many middle-school guys would never admit enjoying, such as tabloids, beauty parlors, and soap operas. Kinney weaves in some real-life ironies: Greg, star of one of the best-selling kids' book series in publication, declares, "Anything that doesn't involve reading sounds pretty good to me"; he is bummed that he is not yet a reality-TV star (a real-life blockbuster movie is in the works); and he unsuccessfully attempts to become a cartoonist, which is how Kinney got his start. These nods to reality add humor and depth to this title, consistent in style and substance with previous series entries, which fans new and old will savor.

In this fourth series entry, it's summer, and Greg's mom is determined that the Heffley family will spend some quality time together--bad news for the wimpy kid, who prefers to be "in front of the TV, playing video games with the curtains closed and the lights turned off." As usual, Greg's narration and accompanying almost-stick-figure cartoon illustrations are laugh-out-loud funny.