Difference between revisions of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down"

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*[[Greg Heffley]]
*[[Greg Heffley]]
*[[Susan Heffley]]
*[[Susan Heffley]]
*[[Rodrick Heffley]]
*[[Frank Heffley]]
*[[Frank Heffley]]
*[[Rowley Jefferson]]
*[[Rowley Jefferson]]
*[[Maddox Selsam]]
*[[Manny Heffley]]


== Plot ==
==Plot==
The pressure’s really piling up on Greg Heffley. His mom thinks video games are turning his brain to mush, so she wants her son to put down the controller and explore his “creative side.
[[File:Actually kind of cool.jpg|thumb|Greg imagines a family watching him on TV.]]
[[Greg Heffley]] believes that his life is being broadcast on TV, and that his deceased relatives are watching over him from Heaven. When a school book fair starts, he writes about how [[Susan Heffley|Susan]], his mother, wants him to be more creative. Greg buys various trinkets, and Susan makes him return them and buy books, so he chooses the ''[[Spineticklers]]'' series. One book gives him a plan to freeze himself and be thawed out in a hundred years.


As if that’s not scary enough, Halloween is just around the corner and the frights are coming at Greg from every angle.
As Halloween approaches, Susan sends [[Rodrick Heffley|Rodrick]] to buy decorations, and he buys a noisy plastic witch that scares Greg. Greg then talks about the [[geese]] that have flocked to the neighborhood, and then his family's pet [[pig]]. Greg wants Halloween candy, so he joins the school's [[Balloon Brigade]], the prize being a jar of candy corn. He then suspects that his ''Spineticklers'' books are giving him nightmares, and that adults are trying to get them banned.


When he discovers a bag of gummy worms, it sparks an idea. Can Greg get his mom off his back by making a movie...and will he become rich and famous in the process? Or will doubling down on this plan just double Greg’s troubles?
Greg's balloon is received by [[Maddox Selsam]], a teen who is not allowed to play video games and has bad social skills. Susan thinks Maddox is a good role model for Greg and sets them up on a playdate, ending with Maddox accusing Greg of having stolen a [[LEGO]] brick. After, Susan goes back to college to finish her master's degree. Greg turns in his balloon and gets the candy corn, which is eaten by the pig.


==Synopsis==
Susan is disappointed in Greg for his "pattern of deception" about the supposedly stolen LEGO brick, reminding Greg of lies he has told and has been told. Susan enjoys college and tries to get Greg and Rodrick interested, although Greg still plans to be a video game tester or a garbage collector. Susan takes Greg to the college campus and he helps a girl study for her psychology test, but is disappointed when he learns that she already has a boyfriend.


===October===
[[File:Brass section.jpg|thumb|left|Greg in the school band]]
Greg hears about [[Mariana Mendoza]]'s Halloween party and wants to attend, but hears that she is only inviting people who are in the school band. To get invited, he takes up playing the French horn. He then learns that Mariana is inviting only the woodwind section and decides to go with [[Rowley Jefferson|Rowley]], who plays the flute, as a two-headed monster. Susan attends the party as well, and sets up party games, which Greg ends up enjoying. He leaves the party early when Rowley needs to go to the bathroom.


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 Heffley|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 says his Nana is watching him from heaven, and he's got a lot of issues with it.
Greg gives up on playing the French horn, but his father, [[Frank Heffley|Frank]], refuses to let him leave the band. At the Fall Concert, he and Rowley are locked in the band room. Greg rips his pants and has Rowley color his underwear with marker, at which point Frank comes in and accuses them of "goofing off," grounding Greg. Greg gets hungry and looks for candy, finding a bag of chocolate chips. He calls Rowley, and while going to get paper towels to clean up the now-melted chocolate chips, Greg finds bags of gummy worms and gets the idea to make a horror movie with them.


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.
[[File:Greg and Rowley shot the skeleton scene in the kitchen.jpg|thumb|Greg and Rowley film their movie]]
Greg writes the script for the movie, titled ''[[Night of the Night Crawlers]]'', and has Rowley storyboard it. Greg records the scenes, with Rowley being the only actor in the movie, and spreads gummy worms outside for a scene in which a man looks outside to see the night crawlers in his yard. He finds the pig eating his gummy worms, and Rowley notices the geese outside, so they plan to get Rodrick's wolf mask out of the basement. The electronic witch is activated, and Rowley runs out of the house in fear and climbs up a tree, then Frank arrives home.


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.
A few weeks later, Greg writes that Rowley has gotten famous and been on the news and talk shows. Greg is upset that Rowley hasn't given any credit to him for coming up with the idea for the movie, and writes that he would never "make a fool out of himself to get a cheap laugh from the people watching at home."
 
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 play-date. 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 play-date 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 disappointed 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 finds videos of a high school girl practicing the french horn, which makes Greg glad. However, Greg finds out Mariana didn't invite the entire school band, only the woodwind section. Greg gets in the party by making a "Two-Headed Monster" costume. When the party is about to hit the next level, Rowley has to use the bathroom. Susan then decides for them to leave early.
 
===November===
Greg is later harassed at school about it for leaving early. At the Fall Band Concert, Greg gets stuck in the music room because Jake McGough gave him a flat tire. Rowley notices him in there, when he came in the room, he ended up getting locked in too. Causing a huge dilemma. Greg rips hips pants by trying to open the door. Greg tries Mrs. Graziano's black binder, which worked, but it was stiff he couldn't sit down. He finds a black marker and gets Rowley to color the part of his underwear which is showing. Frank then comes in the room. Frank thinks they were goofing off 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, Greg tries to get more worms from the laundry room to get more, but the pig is eating them. Greg tries to figure out what to do, but hears Rowley screaming to the geeses. Greg remembers about Rodrick having an wolf mask he wore one Halloween, and he and Rowley go to the furnance room to get it, while trying to, the witch goes off 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 Heffley|Frank]] gets mad at Greg for making the mess, and [[Susan Heffley|Susan]] later gets mad, because Greg and Rowley filmed right over a tape of Manny's first steps. Greg is additionally grounded for two 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 Jefferson|Rowley]] doesn't mention Greg at all.


==Trivia==
==Trivia==
* This is the second red book. The first is the [[Diary of a Wimpy Kid|first book]].
* This book contains multiple pop culture references:
* This is the second book where Rowley doesn't wear his usual outfit in the character page. The first book is [[Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck|Hard Luck]].
** This is also the first book since Hard Luck where Rowley is shown in the character page.
* This book contains a notable amount of pop culture references:
**The entire introduction where Greg thinks his life is a TV show is a parody of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Truman_Show The Truman Show]. It is mentioned from Pages 1 to 15.
**The entire introduction where Greg thinks his life is a TV show is a parody of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Truman_Show The Truman Show]. It is mentioned from Pages 1 to 15.
**Spineticklers is a parody [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinetinglers Spinetinglers], by M.T. Coffin.
**Spineticklers is a parody [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinetinglers Spinetinglers], by M.T. Coffin.
Line 54: Line 46:
**There is a girl dressed like [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermione_Granger Hermoine Granger] from the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter Harry Potter] franchise at the Halloween party. She is first shown on Page 168 if you see good.
**There is a girl dressed like [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermione_Granger Hermoine Granger] from the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter Harry Potter] franchise at the Halloween party. She is first shown on Page 168 if you see good.
**Maddox enjoys playing with [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lego Lego].
**Maddox enjoys playing with [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lego Lego].
* Greg rarely wears shorts in this book, usually appearing in long pants or jeans.
* The backpack tipping over [[Greg Heffley|Greg]] on the cover is meant to be an ode to the backpack that makes Greg slouch on the first book's cover.
* The backpack tipping over [[Greg Heffley|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. The first is [[Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School|Old School]].
** This is also the first book with the new Amulet logo.
* On Page 35, in the background, a group of kids are playing what may be "Girls Chase Boys".
* This is the fourth book where Fregley is absent.
* This is the first time the spine uses two colors (Red-Orange and Yellow). The second is [[Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Getaway|The Getaway]] (which uses the following two colors: Azure and Yellow Green).
* This is the second odd-numbered book to not have it's title start with "The." The first is the first book.
** However, [[The Getaway|its successor]] ''does'' have it's title start with "The."
*** This is also the second odd-numbered book which doesn't have three words in its title (this book only has two words in its title). The first is also the first book, which doesn't have a title.
* This is the first time Greg's tongue is shown on the cover.
* It Is revealed Greg has more relatives. It also shows that [[Peepaw]] could possibly be dead, or he’s still alive.
* This is the first time since [[Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck|Hard Luck]] where the months don't skip from the previous book.
* This is the first book since [[Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever]] where the month in the beginning is the same as the month in the end from the previous book.
* This is the second book where [[The Heffleys' Pig|the pig]] has a role where he's in the [[Heffley family]]. The first is [[Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School|Old School]].
** The Pig eats candy twice in this book. He ate candy corn on Page 99. Then, he ate gummy worms on Page 210.
*** This book reveals that the Pig can get sick if he eats candy corn, but doesn’t get sick if he eats gummy worms.
* This is the first book in which the color of the spine is different than that of the cover. The second is [[Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Getaway|The Getaway]].
* Despite Manny appearing on the title page, he only appears on a few pages.


==Errors==
==Errors==
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Frank Heffley gets washed by Greg Heffley.jpg
Frank Heffley gets washed by Greg Heffley.jpg
Aliens spying.jpg
Aliens spying.jpg
Who left this window open.jpg
Flies around dog poop.jpg
Nana Heffley watching Greg in the bathroom.png
Nana Heffley watching Greg in the bathroom.png
Here I go, Nana!.jpg
Here I go, Nana!.jpg
Nana in Heaven.jpg
Greg flying around in Heaven.jpg
Descendants.jpg
Descendants.jpg
Nana Heffley and Greg's Relatives are watching Greg during the test.png
Nana Heffley and Greg's Relatives are watching Greg during the test.png
Susan puts the items using Poetry Anthology as stairs.jpg
Susan puts the items using Poetry Anthology as stairs.jpg
Alex Aruda stayed behind during Recess.jpg
Alex Aruda stayed behind during Recess.jpg
The Champs at the playground.jpg
The Champs throwing papers.jpg
Rat rock restroom rainbow rattle.jpg
Tucker Remy at the soccer game.jpg
Spineticklers.png
Spineticklers.png
SpineticklersRipoffs.png
SpineticklersRipoffs.png
Line 124: Line 106:
Spineticklers 48.jpg
Spineticklers 48.jpg
Albert Sandy telling Greg and Rowley about a old billionare who is really sick and freeze himself.jpg
Albert Sandy telling Greg and Rowley about a old billionare who is really sick and freeze himself.jpg
Get off my lawn!.jpg
Ok, let's do this thing!.jpg
Crivello.png
Crivello.png
BullyDoubleDown.png
BullyDoubleDown.png
Rodrick with the plastic witch.jpg
Plastic witch cackling.jpg
Witch cackling downstairs as Greg and Frank are scared.jpg
Geese 1.jpg
Geese 1.jpg
Frank is ready to arm himself just to go out and check the mail.jpg
Frank is ready to arm himself just to go out and check the mail.jpg
Line 139: Line 126:
Tinkle Seat.jpg
Tinkle Seat.jpg
Children releasing balloon on Balloon Brigade.jpg
Children releasing balloon on Balloon Brigade.jpg
Spineticklers 67.jpg
My dentist is the devil.jpg
Greg with a tail playing basketball.jpg
Not really.jpg
Greg sneezes his teeth out.jpg
Greg sneezes his teeth out.jpg
Spineticklers 71.jpg
Spineticklers 71.jpg
Line 159: Line 150:
Grayden Bundy pulling his big French horn.jpg
Grayden Bundy pulling his big French horn.jpg
Annabelle Grier whistling.jpg
Annabelle Grier whistling.jpg
GeorgeDeveney.png
George Deveney.jpg
Greg sees the guys in brass section.jpg
Greg sees the guys in brass section.jpg
Mariana Mendoza and Rowley in woodwind section.jpg
Mariana Mendoza and Rowley in woodwind section.jpg

Revision as of 04:08, 22 December 2019

Template:Book infobox Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down is the 11th book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. It was released worldwide on November 1, 2016.

Main characters

Plot

Greg imagines a family watching him on TV.

Greg Heffley believes that his life is being broadcast on TV, and that his deceased relatives are watching over him from Heaven. When a school book fair starts, he writes about how Susan, his mother, wants him to be more creative. Greg buys various trinkets, and Susan makes him return them and buy books, so he chooses the Spineticklers series. One book gives him a plan to freeze himself and be thawed out in a hundred years.

As Halloween approaches, Susan sends Rodrick to buy decorations, and he buys a noisy plastic witch that scares Greg. Greg then talks about the geese that have flocked to the neighborhood, and then his family's pet pig. Greg wants Halloween candy, so he joins the school's Balloon Brigade, the prize being a jar of candy corn. He then suspects that his Spineticklers books are giving him nightmares, and that adults are trying to get them banned.

Greg's balloon is received by Maddox Selsam, a teen who is not allowed to play video games and has bad social skills. Susan thinks Maddox is a good role model for Greg and sets them up on a playdate, ending with Maddox accusing Greg of having stolen a LEGO brick. After, Susan goes back to college to finish her master's degree. Greg turns in his balloon and gets the candy corn, which is eaten by the pig.

Susan is disappointed in Greg for his "pattern of deception" about the supposedly stolen LEGO brick, reminding Greg of lies he has told and has been told. Susan enjoys college and tries to get Greg and Rodrick interested, although Greg still plans to be a video game tester or a garbage collector. Susan takes Greg to the college campus and he helps a girl study for her psychology test, but is disappointed when he learns that she already has a boyfriend.

Greg in the school band

Greg hears about Mariana Mendoza's Halloween party and wants to attend, but hears that she is only inviting people who are in the school band. To get invited, he takes up playing the French horn. He then learns that Mariana is inviting only the woodwind section and decides to go with Rowley, who plays the flute, as a two-headed monster. Susan attends the party as well, and sets up party games, which Greg ends up enjoying. He leaves the party early when Rowley needs to go to the bathroom.

Greg gives up on playing the French horn, but his father, Frank, refuses to let him leave the band. At the Fall Concert, he and Rowley are locked in the band room. Greg rips his pants and has Rowley color his underwear with marker, at which point Frank comes in and accuses them of "goofing off," grounding Greg. Greg gets hungry and looks for candy, finding a bag of chocolate chips. He calls Rowley, and while going to get paper towels to clean up the now-melted chocolate chips, Greg finds bags of gummy worms and gets the idea to make a horror movie with them.

Greg and Rowley film their movie

Greg writes the script for the movie, titled Night of the Night Crawlers, and has Rowley storyboard it. Greg records the scenes, with Rowley being the only actor in the movie, and spreads gummy worms outside for a scene in which a man looks outside to see the night crawlers in his yard. He finds the pig eating his gummy worms, and Rowley notices the geese outside, so they plan to get Rodrick's wolf mask out of the basement. The electronic witch is activated, and Rowley runs out of the house in fear and climbs up a tree, then Frank arrives home.

A few weeks later, Greg writes that Rowley has gotten famous and been on the news and talk shows. Greg is upset that Rowley hasn't given any credit to him for coming up with the idea for the movie, and writes that he would never "make a fool out of himself to get a cheap laugh from the people watching at home."

Trivia

  • This book contains multiple pop culture references:
    • The entire introduction where Greg thinks his life is a TV show is a parody of The Truman Show. It is mentioned from Pages 1 to 15.
    • Spineticklers is a parody Spinetinglers, by M.T. Coffin.
    • Spineticklers #48, “Wake Me Up In The Year 3000” is a parody of Futurama. It was first mentioned on Page 41.
    • The controversy surrounding Underpants Bandits is a parody of the controversy surrounding Captain Underpants, by Dav Pilkey.
    • "Night Of The Night Crawlers" is just Squirm, but with gummy worms, instead of real life worms. The movie poster is shown on Page 194.
    • There is a girl dressed like Hermoine Granger from the Harry Potter franchise at the Halloween party. She is first shown on Page 168 if you see good.
    • Maddox enjoys playing with Lego.
  • 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.

Errors

  • On page 64, the word "roast" in "roast beef" is duplicated, making it "roast roast beef." This error was fixed in reprints.
  • In the book, Greg says his Nana worked as a waitress. However, in the preview, he says she worked as a nurse.
  • On the top of page 49, the characters appear too short.
  • On page 94, Mrs. Selsam's leg is in a humanly impossible position, and her skirt is shown as only covering that one leg.

References

Gallery

Illustrations

Names in other languages

Language Name Meaning
Japanese いちかばちか、やるしかないね!
Ichi kaba Chika, yaru shika nai ne!
I Have No Choice But To Do It!
Spanish !A Por Todas! For All!
French Double peine Double Trouble
Dutch Drie keer niks Nothing Three Times
German Alles Käse! All Cheese!
Italian Avanti tutta! Full Speed Ahead!
Polish Ryzyk-fizyk Risk Physicist