The Last Straw

The Last Straw, published by Amulet Books in 2009, is an illustrated middle grade novel by Jeff Kinney and the third installation in the best-selling Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. The series follows the everyday life of middle schooler Greg Heffley as he writes in his diary and illustrates his adventures, reflecting Kinney’s signature humorous cartoon style.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid has grown into a media franchise with multiple film and television adaptations and over 250 million books sold. Kinney, once an aspiring cartoonist, began publishing web comics from Greg’s perspective and sold the concept as a novel series.

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series touches on common experiences related to adolescence, including family conflict, burgeoning romance, facing bullies, exploring identity, and seeking social acceptance.

This guide refers to the 2009 e-book published by Amulet Books, an imprint of Abrams.

Plot Summary

For New Year’s, sixth-grader Greg Heffley resolves to help his family members stick to their resolutions. As school starts up again, Greg begrudgingly faces new chores; he has to do his own laundry from now on. Greg and his best friend, Rowley, discover that their bus route has been rezoned and begrudgingly walk to school. Greg also worries that his backpack will give him a slouch like his older brother, Rodrick, and the neighborhood troublemaker, Lenwood Heath.

Greg notices that his little brother, Manny, always gets special treatment from their parents, and he resents that he can’t watch the TV shows that he wants to watch with Manny around. One day, Greg’s dad, Frank, kicks him out of the house, encouraging Greg to exercise. Greg convinces Rowley to help him try to dig a hole to practice jumping in and out of, but the ground is too frozen. Greg and Rowley make a time capsule instead, and Greg buries $3.

The next week, Greg convinces his mom, Susan, to drive him to school, but she embarrasses him in front of Holly Hills, the girl he likes. Greg hopes to impress Holly with his sense of humor and practices telling jokes with Rowley as his comedy partner. Greg also starts taking naps after school, which takes a toll on his grades. One day at school, somebody steals the teacher’s dictionary, and she keeps the class inside for recess until the thief confesses. Greg pays Alex Aruda, a “nerdy” classmate, to solve the case. Alex reveals that he was the thief but pockets the money.

Somebody steals the sweet snacks from the laundry room at home, causing Greg to receive subpar snacks in his lunch. Greg’s report card comes in the mail, and he invites his Gramma over to be a buffer between him and his angry parents. The next day, Greg ends up in detention for falling asleep in class and feels that he does not belong with the troublemakers. In his desperation for sugar, he digs up the time capsule and uses the money to buy snacks. He starts hiding in the laundry bin at night and catches his dad stealing the sweet snacks.

Valentine’s Day gives Greg a new chance to impress Holly. He tries to dance his way over to her at the painfully awkward school dance but misses his chance when Fregley, a classmate whom Greg considers socially beneath him, ambushes him. At home, Manny starts calling Greg “Ploopy,” and Greg resents that his parents do not intervene.

On Easter Sunday, Greg accidentally wears stained pants to church and has to wear his mom’s sweater as a skirt. He whispers “Ploopy” to Manny, which causes Manny to throw a tantrum. The Heffleys slink out of church, embarrassing Greg in front of Holly and embarrassing Greg’s dad in front of his boss. Greg’s dad punishes him by making him sign up for soccer, which Greg immediately hates. Rowley tries to cheer Greg up by inviting him to a sleepover, but Greg is disappointed by the immaturity of Rowley’s guests and their disinterest in girls. Greg usually sits on the bench during soccer games but finally has to play, which excites his dad. Greg steps in as back-up goalie and loses a game for his team when he abandons the goal to pick dandelions. At the movies, Greg’s dad runs into Lenwood Heath, who has turned his life around ever since attending Spag Union Military School. Greg’s dad signs Greg up for military school.

Greg tries to come up with new ways to impress his dad and avoid military school. He signs up for Boy Scouts, which works at first. After Greg’s dad has to chaperone a disastrous father-son campout that Greg is too sick to attend, the benefit of Boy Scouts wears off. Greg resigns himself to a future at military school and resolves to try talking to Holly before he leaves. He and Rowley follow Holly to the roller rink, where Greg tries to talk to her, but she confuses him for Fregley. Greg decides to give up on girls.

The Heffley family attends a party at the Snellas’, which Greg’s dad dreads because all the adults have to perform funny antics for the camera. Because he has yet to do his own laundry, Greg has run out of clean clothes and borrows Rodrick’s pants, which fall down to reveal embarrassing underwear. Greg’s dad thinks that Greg planned the stunt to save him from having to perform for the camera. Greg’s dad rethinks military school, and Greg feels like things are finally going his way.