Booksy Book Reviews: Honest book reviews written by a kid, for kids – Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid: Rowley Jefferson’s Journal

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Swindon Travel Hub

‘Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid: Rowley Jefferson’s Journal’ is written by Jeff Kinney, the author of the hugely popular ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ book series.

There was a lot of excitement about the release of this book as it is the first book in Kinney’s spin off series based on Rowley Jefferson who is the ‘awesome friendly kid’.

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For those that don’t know Rowley is also the best friend of the ‘wimpy kid’ Greg Heffley.

Being a ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ fan myself, I really wanted to love this book but to be completely honest, it was just average for me. There were some aspects I enjoyed and some I didn’t.

The positive points about ‘Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid: Rowley Jefferson’s Journal’ are as follows: The book mostly recounts several of Greg and Rowley’s previously unknown adventures, but this time from Rowley’s point of view. We get to find out a bit more Rowley and actually a little more about Greg too, which is great. Also, although it’s a new spin off, it still has an element of nostalgia for ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ fans.

However, I disliked some of the adventures of Rowley and Greg that this book details because they were far too predictable. You just knew what was about to happen next. Perhaps we now know the characters so well that nothing surprises us? Or maybe we are too familiar with Jeff Kinney’s writing? I think the author should’ve attempted to make the stories a little more unexpected.

In addition to this problem, the stories were lacking the excitement that you would expect from the author of ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’.

Also, many of the incidents that take place in ‘Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid: Rowley Jefferson’s Journal’ simply aren’t as relatable as the ones in ‘Diary of Wimpy Kid’. As the reader you could often picture yourself involved in some of the situations (crazy as they were!) that the characters got themselves into in the ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ series but the adventures in ‘Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid: Rowley Jefferson’s Journal’ are too far-fetched and take away from the enjoyment of the book.

I know it’s a little unfair to compare ‘Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid: Rowley Jefferson’s Journal’ to a powerhouse like ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ but it is difficult not to draw comparisons with any kind of spin off.

I’ll end on a positive note and tell you that the second book in this new spin off series, ‘Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome and Friendly Adventures’ (confusingly, a very similar title to the first one!), is a lot better than the first. It was quite enjoyable and was rated above average by myself on my YouTube channel, Booksy Book Reviews. So please don’t be put off the whole Rowley Jefferson series by this one book review.

Additionally, I have to say that despite the problems with ‘Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid: Rowley Jefferson’s Journal’, you will find many laugh out loud moments so if it is just jokes that you’re looking for in a book, you’re in find plenty here, especially if you are aged between 8-12.

I am going to rate this book a 5/10. My rating system is set out below.

To hear more from me or to listen to my short, sharp and snappy book reviews, visit my YouTube channel (Booksy Book Reviews) and Instagram (Booksy_Book_Reviews).

Until next time, happy reading!

Booksy x

Swindon Travel Hub

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