Sponsored by ABRAMS Books. All opinions expressed about Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Wrecking Ball are 100% my own.
I know I have said this many times, but my oldest daughter LOVES to read. She always has her nose in a book, just like I did when I was her age. She breezes through series, and one of her favorites is the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. So she was thrilled when a copy of book #14, Wrecking Ball, showed up on our front step.
The more we read this book together, the more we realized we had a similar experience as the Heffley family. In Wrecking Ball, the Heffley’s make a lot of home improvements — which is something we have done many times. And, most recently, in our house that we moved to just a couple of months ago.
Our New Home Story
When we moved into the city just 4 years ago, we told ourselves we would never move again. We loved our house — especially my daughters. There were many improvements that we made including adding on a back patio, remodeling a shower, and building window seats for some of the windows in the home.
But then fate tempted us with a house that we always had our eyes on — one that we had actually looked at when it was totally gutted. It had been redone by some good friends of ours, so we knew the house well. And when the opportunity to purchase it arose, we knew we had to jump at it.
We Really Lucked Out…
Something we are grateful for is how much we lucked out with this house. Because it had just been redone — inside and out — we haven’t dealt with remodeling (yet). However, we are the type that love a project, even though we often end up with a lot more than we bargained for.
There have been many times that my kids have had to live in a home going through construction, so we are happy to not be dealing with that for this house. However, unpacking and getting settled in itself is time consuming and stressful. My daughters finally have their bedrooms just how they want them — about a month after moving in.
I loved watching my daughter read Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Wrecking Ball and chuckling away because some of the things really resonated with her. She is only 8 years old, but she has lived through a lot of construction in her time. Not to the extent of the Heffley family, of course. She did say she liked that she could understand what they were going through while reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid #14!
Her Dream Home
My daughter has all sorts of ideas for home renovations that she wants to do in our new house. We have a giant 3rd floor that is open and filled with toys — but she wants to add her own bowling lanes up there. As much fun as I am sure that would be for her and her friends, it isn’t something we want to tackle (just yet anyways).
However, we do have a foosball table and popcorn machine up there. She has asked if we can add an arcade or two, and that is something we might be able to make happen sooner than later!
About Diary of a Wimpy Kid #14 Wrecking Ball
The new, must-have book in the SMASH hit Diary of a Wimpy Kid series!
In Wrecking Ball, Book 14 of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series—from #1 international bestselling author Jeff Kinney – an unexpected inheritance gives Greg Heffley’s family a chance to make big changes to their house. But they soon find that home improvement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Once the walls come down, all sorts of problems start to crop up. Rotten wood, toxic mold, unwelcome critters, and something even more sinister all make Greg and his family wonder if the renovations are worth the trouble. When the dust finally settles, will the Heffleys be able to stay . . . or will they need to get out of town?
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Wrecking Ball is recommended for kids ages 8 – 12, and is published by Amulet Books, an imprint of ABRAMS.
This would make a great holiday gift for any young reader — just ask mine!
About The Author – Jeff Kinney
Jeff Kinney is the #1 USA Today, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and a six-time Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award winner for Favorite Book. The Meltdown, book 13, was published in October 2018, and was a #1 bestselling book.
His latest book, Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid: Rowley Jefferson’s Journal, was published in April 2019. Jeff has been named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. He is also the creator of Poptropica, which was named one of Time’s 50 Best Websites.
He spent his childhood in the Washington, D.C., area and moved to New England in 1995. Jeff lives with his wife and two sons in Massachusetts, where they own a bookstore, An Unlikely Story.
You Might Also Enjoy...
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. She is also a Freelance Writer. Tessa has been in the Entertainment writing business for ten years and is a member of several Critics Associations including the Critics Choice Association and the Greater Western New York Film Critics Association.