In 2007, author-illustrator Jeff Kinney tapped into something big. With digital technology booming and reluctant readers on the rise, the first edition of Diary of a Wimpy Kid managed what other young adult books were struggling to: it got kids to read. Twelve books, four films, and one musical later, ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ is a phenomenon shaping the landscape of children’s literature. The 13th book in the comic-strip-style series, The Meltdown, released in October last year, is keeping the pace.

The Meltdown opens on our beloved misfit narrator Greg Heffley sharing his frustrations about the irregular weather patterns in his home town. Nobody else seems to mind the winter warmth, but Greg’s got global warming on the brain – ‘Don’t blame ME,’ he says of imminent climate disaster. ‘I just GOT here.’ Greg is also bummed out by his mum’s newly enforced ‘screen-free weekends’, which has him looking for other ways to entertain himself.

Then a snowstorm hits. This is where the book really takes off, as Greg’s mum banishes him outside telling him that video games don’t teach kids how to interact. In the afternoon of snowy mayhem that follows, kids all along the street get together to build forts, form teams, make and break alliances, cooperate and strategise.

The Meltdown is a wonderful and witty addition to a growing trend of ‘mis-fit lit’ – books that create unlikely heroes out of the lanky and the loser-ish, rather than the Chosen Ones/Harry Potters that so often forefront the YA genre.

Reviewed by Emma Harvey
Age Guide 7+