得獎感言

First of all, I’ll have you know that I’m perfectly aware of the saying: Never judge a book by its cover. So I’m guilty as charged because Diary of a Wimpy Kid’s unconventional title is precisely the reason why it captured my attention. Of course I’ve read classics like: Pride and Prejudice, The Giver, Bridge to Terabithia…and so on, but despite the fact that they’re all very good and absolutely worthy of the numerous awards they’ve won, I’ve always found myself more drawn to adventurous and humorous books, preferably those that have plots which were unheard-of before. It’s not like I don’t appreciate a good old tear-inducing, award-winning classic with loads of character progression, because truth to be told I had actually cried when poor Leslie died in Bridge to Teribithia. However, I’ll take an action packed story with a hopefully very witty main character over it any day, hands down. It was quite tricky of the author to label the Wimpy Kid series as a “graphic novel”, as it was why it had intrigued me and further convinced me into purchasing it. Books are seriously one of the greatest things mankind ever came up with. Readers are able to follow the characters into a completely different dimension, and personally I’d like to thoroughly enjoy the ride as much as I can. That’s why I like books that are amusing. They can have a serious plot but be equally entertaining at the same time, and I think books that managed to nail both of those qualifications are just flat out amazing. Diary of a Wimpy Kid may not be serious, but it certainly fits into the second category. Lastly, I’d like to thank all of the judges who liked my essay. It’s not only a book report to me, but also a chance to express my own opinion on books. There are hundreds and thousands of incredible books out there, but we should choose them wisely. After all, life is too short to read books you don’t enjoy.

Nothing is more alienating than reading about a kid near your age who always has the lesson learned and gets the expected happy ending. Sometimes we just need a book with a protagonist that is a little less perfect, a little more sarcastic, and a lot more oblivious to the point it’s almost endearingly hilarious. Though some might argue this book lacks the character development Newbery Honor books offer, the author still managed to sneak in small snippets of lessons in between the lines while keeping the readers highly entertained, and I personally believe that deserves an award all to itself.

The main character Greg Heffley is a blissfully ignorant and slightly narcissistic pre-teen who just entered middle school. He is either blindly optimistic or just flat out refuses to acknowledge the cold hard reality called life. That might sound like a terrible personality to have, but I think it’s actually one of those tiny lessons the author carefully slipped in. We all have these Greg moments at some point during our life. We daydream, wonder what our future holds for us, even though the chance of your ultimate dream happening might be close to zero. In my interpretation, Greg’s ridiculous amount of confidence in himself is Kinney’s own form of a wake-up call to those who need to tone down on the dreaming and keep both feet on the ground. There’s a reason why God didn’t grant us wings on our back after all.

The book also mentions a lot about school life. Between trying (and failing) to improve his status on the social hierarchy and failing even more spectacularly on attracting female attention, Greg has certainly set himself quite a task. School is basically a miniature version of our society, and Greg’s middle school is no exception. There are the populars, the particular crowd that always seems to shine when they pass by. And then there are the bullies, whom Greg has all conveniently labeled as “morons”. Then last but not least, there are the weirdoes, which in Greg’s case, the Fregleys. Though this setting is a tad stereotypical, readers will be able to relate to the typical teenage dilemmas Greg encounters in his rather unfortunate life. If the ludicrous scenarios failed to provide you a good laugh, it can still serve as a wonderful negative material for you to never imitate.

A favorite part of mine in the book is definitely Greg’s awkward friendship with Rowley. Greg obviously has a lot to learn when it comes to the friendship department. He’s constantly taking advantage of Rowley, who is a genuinely nice guy but admittedly quite thick from time to time. When Rowley and he got into that big fight because he acted like a selfish idiot and blamed the entire fault on Rowley, I legitimately wanted to strangle him for being such an inconsiderate jerk. But at the end of the book, when Rowley is forced to eat the infamous moldy cheese which started the Cheese Touch, Greg finally steps up and acts like the proper best friend he should’ve been all along. (Though of course only after Rowley consumed the disgusting dairy product first.) This is an excellent example of what we should do for our friends. Well, after they did twice as much for us that is, as Greg would say. What can I say? Greg will be Greg.

So maybe Greg didn’t learn any important lessons or redeeming values throughout this book, but reading isn’t all about analyzing every little detail a character does just for some symbolism the author was trying to portray. This book doesn’t discuss any serious issues nor does it try to make you a better person, but let’s face it, we all need that go-to book when you feel like reading something that doesn’t require much focus and attention. I highly recommend this book — nothing quite brightens up your day like a small injection of dry humor.