Kirkus Review
Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Adults just don't make any sense. They say kids should get more exercise, and then they take away all the playground equipment because they're afraid of getting sued. They allege that they're in charge, yet they have to ask middle-schoolers how to work the microwave. They proclaim kids should read more and then publish books like this! Wait. Well . . . they definitely got that last one right, as everything in this sixth entry will appeal to the very readers who have made this the 'tween series of the decade. This time around, Greg Heffley's can-you-even-believe-it diary entries and comical line art capture a nightmarish month between Thanksgiving and Christmas, during which (among other indignities) a blizzard strands him at home with his family, including two ruinous brothers, all under Santa's watch: If you make a mistake during the first eleven months of the year, it's no big deal. But if you do something wrong during the holiday season, you're gonna pay for it. It's too much pressure to be on your best behavior for a whole month. The most I can handle is six or seven days in a row. Throughout, as Greg expresses his confusion, frustration, and self-satisfaction in his laugh-out-loud voice, Kinney once again taps into kids' everyday emotions with uncanny accuracy and consistency. New and old fans alike will read this, love it, read it again, and start the countdown for the next one.--Medlar, Andrew Copyright 2010 Booklist
