Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down is the 11th journal in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. It was released on November 1 2016.

A preview can be read here:

http://www.ew.com/article/2016/07/07/diary-wimpy-kid-double-down

Main Characters

 * Greg Heffley
 * Susan Heffley
 * Manny Heffley
 * Rodrick Heffley
 * Frank Heffley
 * Rowley Jefferson (Main Antagonist)
 * The Heffleys' Pig
 * Maddox Selsam

Plot
The pressure’s really piling up on Greg Heffley. The only thing he’s good at is playing is video games, but his parents want him to broaden his horizons by doing something—anything!—else.

When Greg finds an old video camera in his basement, he thinks he may have discovered just the thing to prove he’s got big-time talent. With the help of his best friend, Rowley, Greg hatches a plan to make a scary movie. . . and to become rich and famous in the process.

But is doubling down on movie-making a smart plan? Or is it just a recipe for doubling Greg’s troubles?

Synopsis
At the beginning of the book, protagonist Greg Heffley can be seen talking about how he thinks his life is a reality TV show, and how he thinks Rodrick, Manny, and all the other people in his life are just actors and robots, similar to the plot of The Truman Show. He later explains how he thinks that Manny was brought in as a new star to replace him. Later, Greg talks about how all of his deceased relatives watch over him in heaven.

The Book Fair is at school, and Greg's mother Susan gives him $20 to spend. He spends all of it on silly and useless items, like a pen that writes underwater and two giant pencils with googly eyes. Susan, not happy with the way Greg spent her money, makes him trade it all in for books. Greg gets the Spineticklers books, which are basically horror novels, which makes Susan more unhappy. Greg then talks about a plan to freeze himself to the future and how Halloween is coming up.

Greg then discusses how the geese are in town and the deals of having a walking pet pig. Then he talks about the school's Balloon Brigade, which is a school contest to see how far a student's balloon can travel, and how the prize is a giant bag of candy corn. The Cheese Touch is also discussed, and how other students keep trying to bring it back in a different form such as a roast beef touch; however, the kids unsuccessfully try to make it work.

Greg later discusses how the Spineticklers books give him nightmares and how he regrets buying them. He later says that he got his balloon back and that the kid who found his balloon, Maddox Selsam, came over for a playdate. It's later revealed that Maddox hasn't played video games or watched TV, and goes crazy when Greg pulls up a computer game. After Maddox leaves, Greg realizes that he forgot to get the balloon. Vice Principal Roy refuses to give Greg the candy corn unless he brings his balloon to school. He asks Susan for a playdate with Maddox, to which she and Mrs. Selsam leave Greg and Maddox behind while they go into town and have coffee. Greg is thoroughly disappointed by Maddox's house, as it is very old fashioned and does not have any electronics or any television. It is revealed Maddox has a Lego City in his room, but only lets Greg use the leftovers. Greg accidentally gets a brick stuck in his arm, which Maddox accuses Greg of stealing, leading to Greg being kicked out. Susan is dissapointed and angry at Greg, as he viewed Maddox as an antisocial nerd instead of a good role model. Susan, now going back to college full-time, has a chore bag where Greg and Rodrick pick chores to do. After finishing his chores, Greg goes to eat his giant candy corn that he won, but finds that the pig has eaten it. After the pig throws up multiple puddles of candy corn, Susan has a talk with Greg about his "pattern of deception" and punishes him by making him take three chores out of the chore bag each night. He then talks about how his brain works and how he has been lied to so many times over the years. Susan keeps putting the pressure on Greg to do something new other than video games while also introducing him to college.

Greg and his friend Rowley later join the school band in order to get invited to Mariana Mendoza's Halloween party. He practices the French Horn but hates it and wants to quit, angering Frank who tells Greg that he can't because that was an expensive instrument and he has to honor his commitment to the instrument. Greg, Rowley, and Susan go to the party, and Greg is later harassed at school about it for leaving early. At the Fall Band Concert, Greg and Rowley get stuck and hide in the music room because the kids dislike and hold a grudge against Greg, causing a huge dilemma that causes the concert to be abruptly canceled. Frank catches them and punishes Greg by taking away TV and video games for 2 weeks.

Greg and Rowley later find a pack of gummy worms and Greg gets the idea for a scary movie. The plot would be about a man who goes to take a shower, only to end up being eaten alive by worms. He and Rowley, while filming it with Susan and Frank's camcorder, make a mess in the furnace room and one of the shelves comes falling down on them. Rowley runs out of the house with barely any clothes just as Frank gets home, and a news crew captures the whole moment. Frank gets mad at Greg for making the mess, and Susan later gets mad at well, because Greg and Rowley filmed right over a tape of Manny's first steps. Greg is additionally grounded for two more weeks, as well as having to clean up the mess and do extra chores. Rowley, on the other hand, drinks in his newfound fame and skips school to attend on-TV interviews with talk shows, much to Greg's dismay that Rowley doesn't mention Greg at all.

Trivia

 * The cover's color is red-orange as revealed in the book's Virtually Live event
 * The words Double Down in the title are written in cheese letters/font, as confirmed during the book's Virtually Live event, which in that event they hinted that the cheese/cheese touch might return in this book.
 * The backpack tipping over Greg on the cover is meant to be an ode to the backpack that makes Greg slouch on the first book's cover.
 * This is the second book that has a reptile skin design.
 * This is the fourth book where Fregley doesn't appear.
 * This is the first time the spine uses two colors (red-orange and yellow).
 * This is the second book to break the 'Odd numbered books starts with 'The''. The first is the first book.
 * This is the first time Greg's tongue is shown on the cover.
 * Jeff Kinney stated in an interview that the book will be about exceptionalism. In an interview, Jeff stated that "Greg always thought he was special in some way, despite lacking any evidence to support that notion. In the 11th book, Greg sets out to discover what makes him unique in order to justify the grand vision he has of himself." Find out more by visiting this link:
 * It Is revealed Greg has more relatives.
 * It is the second book in the odd-numbered book which doesn't have three words in the sub-title, the first being the first book which doesn'y have a sub-title.
 * This is the first time since Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck where Rowley is shown in the character page.

http://www.bustle.com/articles/147083-jeff-kinneys-11th-diary-of-a-wimpy-kid-book-will-drop-this-fall

Cultural References

 * On page 168, there is a girl dressed as Hermione Granger, from Harry Potter.

Errors

 * On page 64 it says Roast Roast Beef when it should say Roast Beef.
 * In the book, Greg says Nana worked her life as a waitress. However, in the preview, he says she worked as a nurse.
 * On the top of page 49, the characters were shown too short.
 * On page 102 and 104, Rodrick's van is colored black and the letters were colored white.
 * Greg thinks that his family are actors/actresses. It is said in the The Third Wheel that he remembered his life before he was born. However he should probably remember how he got sent to the actors/actresses.