Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck

First edition hardcover
Author	Jeff Kinney
Illustrator	Jeff Kinney
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Genre	Child, Young Adult
Publisher	Amulet Books
Publication date	November 5, 2013 (United States) November 6, 2013 (United Kingdom)
Media type	Print (paperback, hardcover)
Pages	217
ISBN	978-1-4197-1132-9
Preceded by	The Third Wheel
Followed by	The Long Haul

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck is a children's novel written by Jeff Kinney and the eighth book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.^[1][2] The book's existence was announced at the end of the previous book in the series, The Third Wheel. Hard Luck was released on November 5, 2013 in the United States with a print run of 5.5 million copies and on November 6 in the United Kingdom, where it had a printing of 800,000 copies.^[3][4]

Plot

Following the conclusion of The Third Wheel, Greg Heffley finds himself facing a streak of bad luck. His best friend, Rowley Jefferson, has abandoned him for his new girlfriend Abigail, and Greg is finding it extremely hard to find new friends in middle school. His mother tells him that friends come and go, but family is forever. Greg, though, believes that he and his family weren't meant to live together.

Greg is upset that activities that he and Rowley like to do are now over because Abigail disapproves Rowley of doing them. Things like the Five-Second Rule and French Fry Fridays cause Abigail to move to the Couple's Table (and take Rowley with her), which is mostly empty, now that nearly every couple at the school that went to the Valentine's Dance together (in the previous book) have broken up. Rowley, though, believes Greg is just jealous. And now, Greg needs a friend who can write in cursive and scout for a Rottweiler named Rebel. Greg tries to find a friend, but fails, so Mr. Nern, not wanting Greg to be alone, plays checkers with him. At one point, Greg steps in poop on the way to school that was left by Rebel, much to the dismay of Greg. So much to Greg's dismay again, Mr. Nern lends him his giant shoes. Greg also attempts to befriend Fregley so he can mould him into an ideal sidekick as he tries to copy a popular guy Bryce Anderson who always has a bunch of sidekicks doing everything he says. Bryce keeps a sidekick just for comic relief. Greg tries to use Fregley in exactly the same way but his plan backfires as Fregley's quirks make him extremely popular with a few kids.

Greg needs a good friend who carries his books, but, since Rowley is carrying Abigail's books, Greg uses his father's roller bag. He has to avoid Mr. Sandoval and the Mingo Kids, though. His mother tells him that childhood friends don't always last forever, but Greg wants one friend to stay with to appreciate him when he gets older. The Slumber Party Pals books just tell him guy and girl friendships are different.

Different clubs are introduced, all of them trying to make recess the best they can. The game, Girls Chase Boys, and its opponent, Boys Chase Girls, is also shown. Hero Points are also shown, but are crossed out very early, because Erick Glick and his gang get a hold of them, and create copies for kids to buy.

Susan's family meet up with them for the annual Easter visit. During their visit Greg's Aunt Gretchen brings her twin sons Malvin and Malcolm. They bag Greg's room and for two nights he has to sleep on a leaky air mattress. One day Greg remembers that the family had a huge fight after great grandmother Meemaw's diamond wedding ring (which was in the family for three generations and worth a fortune) went missing at her funeral, with many blaming each other for pocketing it for themselves. At one point of the visit the relatives rifle through photo albums because Aunt Audra's psychic said the ring was in one, with them first taking it literally, and then figuring that it meant there was a clue in the pictures. Uncle Larry (who is actually merely a friend) spots a picture that suggests the ring is in a plastic egg for one of the famous Easter egg hunts, causing everyone, including Greg, to search wildly for an egg. Mom gets fed up and takes them home.

During the visit of Susan's family, Greg sleeps in Rodrick's room on the ground. There he finds Rodrick's old Magic 8-Ball. That changes his life. Later, Greg, who hasn't turned in homework for three weeks due to Fregley ditching his textbooks, while they were being chased by the Mingos. He learns that he may have to go to summer school if his grades do not improve, much to his shock. Also, Greg joins the Yearbook Club to avoid the Mingo Kids, but he resigns after having to take the cutest couple photo, which, unfortunately, to Greg's anger and dismay, was Rowley and Abigail.

Later, Greg considers buying a science fair project (since he has no idea on what to do) from Erick Glick and his gang, who made themselves a shop at the storage room where they sell old book reports, history projects, etc. but Greg changes his mind once he thinks about the possibility of getting caught. Also, Abigail breaks up with Rowley one week after they were voted Cutest Couple, for Michael Sampson, her old boyfriend. Greg is glad he avoided the group of Erick Glick, because someone apparently ratted the kids out and the teachers raided the storage room. The consequences for the kids involve detention every school day for the rest of the year, and possibly an automatic trip to summer school. The next day, not only does Greg finally enjoy himself at school and turn in his science project, Rowley is on the playground with a dazed look. Greg goes over to the Find-A-Friend station to talk to him, but Mr. Nern beats him to it and plays checkers with Rowley. Greg decides they shouldn't be friends anymore, but seeing Rowley playing with Mr. Nern makes him feel really guilty.

At the end of the book, Greg breaks his Magic 8 Ball and finds Meemaw's ring inside an Easter Egg, but doesn't want to break up the family, so he hides it away for a while. Greg, seeing Rowley in the back of the hallway alone, gives up his lunch seat and sits with Rowley. Greg and Rowley become friends again, or at least until another fight starts up down the road, but for now, things are back to normal. The last scene shows Greg and Rowley being chased by Meckley Mingo, getting ready to hurt them with his belt buckle.

Development

Plans for an eighth entry in the series were announced in the final pages of 2012's The Third Wheel. Teaser artwork for the then-unnamed book was released in March 2013, which depicted central character Greg Heffley holding an umbrella while Magic 8-Balls fall around him.^[5] On August 8, 2013 the book's cover and official title, Hard Luck, was revealed, along with the release date of November 5, 2013.^[6] Kinney also announced that he would begin a book tour that same month to encourage pre-sales of the book.^[7]

Kinney later stated that he found it challenging to write for one of the book's characters, Rowley's girlfriend Abigail, as she was "meant to be a placeholder for a girlfriend rather than a fully developed character" and that "It was a little tricky trying to figure out how to write for a character that hardly has any dialogue and not much of a personality. She's just a stand-in for a threat to Greg's and Rowley's friendship."^[8]

Reception

Booklist gave a positive review for Hard Luck, commenting that "Kinney strikes his comic target in the bull’s-eye, exaggerating the trials of adolescence just enough to make them real while deftly exposing the insecurities behind Greg’s bravado with his super, simple drawings".^[9] Publishers Weekly wrote that the book's formula was similar to Kinney's prior books and that fans of the series would likely enjoy this one as well.^[10]

References

External links

• Official website