Difference between revisions of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel"

From Diary of a Wimpy Kid Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
imported>CoolBigLogos
 
(219 intermediate revisions by 54 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Infobox
{{italic title}}
|Box title = <font color="peru">The Third Wheel
{{infobox book
|image = [[FIle:200px-The Third Wheel Cover.jpg|250px]]
|image=[[File:Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Third Wheel cover.jpg|300px]]
|caption = "Love is in the air, but what does that mean for Greg Heffley?"
|number=7
|Row 1 title = Author/Illustrator/Cover Artist
|release date={{date|13|November|2012}}
|Row 1 info = Jeff Kinney
|author=[[Jeff Kinney]]
|Row 2 title = Publisher
|illustrator=Jeff Kinney
|Row 2 info = Abram Books (Amulet Books)
|preceded by =''[[Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever]]''
|Row 3 title = Release Date
|succeeded by=''[[Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck]]''
|Row 3 info = November 13th, 2012
}}
|Row 4 title = Pages
|Row 4 info = 217  (234 including activity pages)
|Row 5 title = Preceded by
|Row 5 info = ''[[Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever]]''
|Row 6 title = Followed by
|Row 6 info = ''[[Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck]]''
|Row 7 title = Color
|Row 7 info = Brown|Row 8 title =
|Row 8 info = }}


'''''Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel''''' is the 7th book in the ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' series. The book was officially released on November 13, 2012. The book covers the months from January to Febuary. The book's 7 page sneak peek was released in September 2012. Gary Heffley was the main antagonist, this is one of the only books to based on a specific event, its main event is the Valentine's Dance in the gym.
'''''Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel''''' is the 7th book in the [[Diary of a Wimpy Kid (series)|''Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' series]]. It was released on {{date|13|November|2012}}. ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel'' succeeds ''[[Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever]]'' and precedes ''[[Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck]]''.


==Characters==
==Main characters==
<span style="font-size:16px;">Main and Major Characters</span>
*[[Greg Heffley]]
 
*[[Greg Heffley]] (Main Character)
*[[Rodrick Heffley]]
*[[Rowley Jefferson]]
*[[Rowley Jefferson]]
*[[Gary Heffley]]
*[[Gary Heffley]]
*[[Frank Heffley]]
*[[Manny Heffley]]
*[[Manny Heffley]]
*[[Susan Heffley]]
*[[Susan Heffley]]
*[[Mad Pantser]]
*[[Rodrick Heffley]]
*[[Abigail Brown]]
*[[Frank Heffley]]
*[[Eugene Ellis]]
*[[Ruby Bird]]
===Minor Characters with big roles===
*[[Laurel Stringer]]
*[[Mr. Stringer]]
*[[Wesley Stringer]]
*[[Mrs. Stringer]]
*[[Vice Principal Roy]]


==Synopsis==
==Plot==
{{Spoiler}}
===January===
===January===
[[Greg]] talks about his baby days and explains that before being born, he was in a dark place swimming and napping anytime he wanted, until being woken up by classical music that his mother [[Susan]] would send through the prenatal speakers. Susan would also tell Greg about her life through the speakers too and [[Frank]] would also tell him about his day at work. Greg then got tired of it and got out three weeks early. Then he explains how everything he got was a hand down from his elder brother Rodrick. Susan used to not let Greg crawl a lot and that resulted in Greg being way behind his playmates in the physical stuff. Greg finally learned to walk, but was in pre-school by the time and was still quite behind his classmates. His classmates could do things like use zippers and buttons and many other things Greg was unable to, so he tried to slow them down by giving them wrong information. However the teacher thought he wasn't learning well and called Susan and told her. Susan made him skip to kindergarten, but he was behind there so he went back again.
[[File:Greg's Preschool.png|thumb|left|Greg in preschool]]
[[Greg Heffley|Greg]] talks about his baby days and explains (probably from his imagination) that before being born, he was in a dark place swimming and napping anytime he wanted, until being woken up by classical music that his mother [[Susan Heffley|Susan]] would send through "parental speakers". Susan would also tell Greg about her life through the speakers too and [[Frank Heffley|Frank]] would also tell him about his day at work. Greg then got tired of it and got out three weeks early. Then he explains how everything he got was a hand down from his elder brother [[Rodrick Heffley|Rodrick]]. Susan used to not let Greg crawl a lot and that resulted in Greg being way behind his playmates in the physical stuff. Greg finally learned to walk, but was in preschool by the time and was still quite behind his classmates. His classmates could do things like use zippers and buttons and many other things Greg was unable to, so he tried to slow them down by giving them wrong information. However, the teacher thought he wasn't learning well and called Susan and told her. Susan made him skip a grade to kindergarten, but he was scared there so he went back again.
 
Greg then explains whatever Susan did for Greg would not work for [[Manny Heffley|Manny]] as she uses a different technique. [[Manny Heffley|Manny]]'s social skills are a bit bad, he also watches [[The Snurples]], a show in which the characters have their own gibberish language and he also made imaginary friends escape danger, have fun and get extra dessert. Greg's mother starts a Family Night thing where they go out or play games rather than watch TV, Greg then talks about the family restaurant, [[Corny's Family-Style Restaurant|Corny's]]. Greg is doing house chores until he heard a knock and finds his [[Uncle Gary]] at the door. Uncle Gary had bought some Boston counter shirts after loaning some of Frank's money, but the shirts have a typo and he needed a place to stay in. Living with Gary is bad for the Heffleys, his nightmares make [[Manny Heffley|Manny]] shift his bed away from the wall and whenever Rodrick is kicked out of bed in the morning, he has to sleep on the up part of the couch.


Greg then explains whatever Susan did for Greg would not work for [[Manny]] as she uses a different technique. [[Manny]]'s social skills start to drop as he watches [[The Snurples]], a show in which the characters have their own gibberish language and he also made imaginary friends to escape danger and get extra dessert. Greg's mother starts a Family Night thing where they go out or play games rather than watch TV then talks about the family resturant, Corny's. Greg is doing housely chores until he heard a knock and finds his [[Uncle Gary]] at the door. Gary had bought some Boston counter shirts after loaning some of Frank's money, but the shirts have a typo and he needed a place to stay in. Living with Gary is bad for the Heffleys, his nightmares make Manny shift his bed away from the wall and whenever Rodrick is kicked out of bed in morning, he has to sleep on the up part of the couch.
Greg explains how [[Gary Heffley|Gary]] has been trying to get a job, but whenever he gets one, he quits after a few days. One of Greg's teachers, [[Mrs. Moretta]] announces in Phys Ed that the ballroom dancing unit is starting and people should find a partner by writing their names in slips and submitting them. Greg explains he will be fine with pairing with anyone except for [[Ruby Bird]], a girl in Greg's school who has a bad habit of biting people and was suspended for biting [[Mr. Underwood]] in the elbow. On the partner announcement day, in Greg's favour [[Ruby Bird|Ruby]] is paired with [[Fregley]], but Greg and four other kids were partnerless. The teacher paired them up with each other.


Greg explains how Gary has been trying to get a job but always quits after days. One of Greg's teacher, Mrs Moretta announces in Phys Ed that the ballroom dancing unit is starting and people should find a partner by writing there names in slips and submitting them. Greg explains he will be fine with pairing with anyone except for [[Ruby Bird]], a girl in Greg's school who has a bad habit of biting people and was suspended for biting Mr. Underwood in the elbow. At the partner announcement day, in Greg's favor Ruby is paired with [[Fregley]], but Greg and four other kids were partnerless. The teacher paired them up with each other. An assembly by [[Vice Principal Roy]] and [[Mrs. Birch]] announces new members for the Student Council. Greg cannot sign up due to him having 3 detentions, but sees Rowley could be perfect. Rowley signs up to be Social Chairperson. The winner of the President voting is [[Eugene Ellis]] who promised to replace the school's toilet paper with quilted toilet paper the teachers use.
An assembly by [[Vice Principal Roy]] and [[Mrs. Birch]] announces new members for the [[Student Council]]. Greg cannot sign up due to him having three detentions, but sees Rowley could be perfect. [[Rowley Jefferson|Rowley]] signs up to be Social Chairperson. The winner of the President's voting is [[Eugene Ellis]] who promised to replace the school's toilet paper with quilted toilet paper the teachers use. At Greg's house in his room, Uncle Gary played a future game when you are an adult, but Uncle Gary buys scratch tickets.


===February===
===February===
The school introduces a program where students can bring in their own toilet paper, but kids are only allowed bring in 5 after kids started a toilet paper fight in the cafeteria. A Valentines Day dance becomes a school fundraiser, Greg tries to find a date, but it starts to fail. A pantsing fever starts in the school which is quickly stopped by Roy, but a kid named the [[Mad Panster|Mad Pantser]] quickly pantses him and escapes. Greg finds an old leather jacket his Dad owned, but in school it is confisticated by his mother as it is not a warm jacket. Greg and Rowley find a date after [[Abigail Brown]]'s boyfriend breaks up with her. 
[[File:Mrs. Birch tells Eugene Ellis and student councillors about the toilet paper campaign.jpg|thumb|The Student Council]]
[[Javan Hill]] found that Pillow Soft Ultra toilet paper was being used by the teachers, not the kids. So Eugene went to the lounge and showed Mrs. Birch. The school introduces a program where students can bring in their own toilet paper. However, the plan backfired when some of the boys started a toilet paper fight in the cafeteria. The school then set a rule that kids are only allowed to have five squares of toilet paper, much to Greg's dismay because he brought in twenty rolls. Now that the staff is checking peoples' bags and lockers to see if they had more than five, Greg decided to have his own bathroom stall to keep all of the toilet paper, but that backfired when people founded out that Greg was hoarding toilet paper. After this whole toilet paper experience, students learned that they are going to raise money of their own if they want something.  
 
The [[Student Council]] brainstormed ideas for a fundraiser, but most of the boys in the council decided on a mixed motocross/wrestling event. The fundraising community was formed, and, in the end, the [[Valentine's Day Dance]] becomes a school fundraiser. Greg tries to find a date, but it starts to fail. A pantsing fever starts in the school which is quickly stopped by [[Vice Principal Roy|Roy]], but a kid under the bleachers quickly pantses him and escapes. Now he (or she) is dubbed as the [[Mad Pantser]]. Greg found a leather jacket of his Dad's, but in school, it is confiscated by his mother who said it was not a winter coat. [[Abigail Brown]]'s boyfriend breaks up with her, and after that Greg and Rowley decide to go with her for the school dance. Greg heads to Rowley's house but he sees two bumps on his chin that looked like mosquito bites, but he realizes it's chickenpox. He tries to cover it up since chickenpox has been contagious in school. 


Greg goes with Rowley and Abigail to Spriggo's, but before he goes there he tries to cover up 2 pimples on Rowley's chin which he thinks are chicken pox, which has been contaigous in Greg's school. At Spriggo's he has to wear a smelly sports suit which makes them go to Corny's due to the dessert bar, however Rowley and Abigail order expensive desserts which makes Greg fib that it's Rowley's birthday to make him gets a free cake. At the dance the theme is Midnight in Paris but old people take one half of the hall for their meeting. Later Uncle Gary tries to sell the Botson t-shirts, but people want their money back after seeing the typo. Greg sees pimples on Abigail which he thinks are chicken pox, causing them to leave the dance later.
[[File:Rowley and Abigail having a conversation.jpg|left|thumb|Greg, Rowley, and Abigail at Corny's]]
Greg goes with [[Rowley Jefferson|Rowley]] and [[Abigail]] to [[Spriggo's]]. The host at Spriggo's tells him that gentlemen have to wear sports jackets. Greg has to wear a smelly sports suit which makes them go to Corny's due to the dessert bar, however, Rowley and Abigail order special desserts which makes Greg fib that it's Rowley's birthday to make him get a free cake. At the dance, the theme is [[Midnight In Paris]] but old people take one half of the hall for their meeting. Later [[Uncle Gary]] tries to sell the [[Boston Souvenir T-Shirts|Botson T-shirts]], but people want their money back after seeing the typo. Greg sees pimples on Abigail which he thinks is chickenpox. Later they head home, Greg realizes the "chickenpox" on Abigail was actually a pimple. He doesn't think Abigail saw it that way, because she wasn't chatty with him on the way home.


At the end, Gary moves out after he wins $40,000 on a scratch card which he wasted a lot of the Heffleys money on to buy scratch cards. Greg ends up getting the chicken pox, but he gets a free bath but the experience isn't like how he lived before he was born.
In the end, [[Gary Heffley|Uncle Gary]] moves out after he wins $40,000 on a scratch card which he wasted a lot of the Heffleys money on to buy scratch cards. Greg ends up getting chickenpox, but he gets to take a bath in peace, but the experience isn't like how he lived before he was born and when he opens his eyes, the towel next to the bathroom was gone. Greg says either someone's messing with him, or either [[Johnny Cheddar]] is at it again.
==Extract quotes from the book==
*''I looked for a way to escape, but I was trapped. Luckily, Abigail walked out of the bathroom at that exact moment and I grabbed her hand just before Ruby got to me. Abigail's makeup was a mess from all of the crying, but I didn't really care. I was just happy to have an excuse to get  away from Ruby. And to be honest with you, I think Abigail was happy to see me, too, so I led her to an empty spot on the dance floor.''


*''I'd never slow-danced with a girl before, So I didn't know where I was supposed to put my hands. She put hers on my shoulder, and I put mine in my pockets, but that kind of felt dumb. So we met in the middle, and that seemed about right.''
==Background==
In writing the book, [[Jeff Kinney]] based it on "a kid’s initial feeling of 'betrayal' when his childhood friend chooses a love interest over him." He continued, "You feel broken up with. You’ve put a ton of time into this friendship, you think you know them better than anybody else, and suddenly they're changing into a different person."<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/soloish/wp/2015/07/21/are-you-a-third-wheel-navigating-that-other-kind-of-threesome/ Washington Post]</ref>
 
==Gallery==
{{main-gallery|Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel}}
<gallery position="center" widths="280">
File:I wonder where this thing goes.jpg
File:Susan reading Bad Bradley to Manny.jpg
File:You may now kiss the bride!.jpg
File:Rowley and Abigail looking into the desserts menu.jpg
File:Greg photo.PNG
File:Screenshot 2022-03-12 135055.webp
</gallery>


*''And speaking of Rowley and Abigail, I heard that the two of them are a couple now. All I can say is if that's true, it makes Rowley 'the worst wingman in history.'''
==Errors==
*''Im supposed to stay home from school for at least a week. The good news is that with everyone out of the house, I can take a long bath without anyone bothering me.''
*This is the second book to have an error in the length of a month. February had 5 weeks instead of 4. The first was Dog Days' June.
*''Or at least I THINK I'm alone. Today I had a fresh towel next to the tub, and when I open my eyes it was gone. So either somebody's messing with me or Johnny Chedder is at it again.''
*On Page 102, when Greg states the "motocross/wrestling event somehow morphed into a VALENTINE'S DAY DANCE", the capital "V" in "Valentine's" looks slightly different from other capital V's in the books.
*''Everything probably would've been just fine, but at lunch someone threw a roll of toilet paper at somebody else, and within about fifteen seconds it was a total madhouse.''
*On Page 172, Abigail appears to be taller than average when she touches the sixth line unlike the other scenes that appeared are even mid or low five lines or high four lines.
*''I couldn't find any cologne in Rodrick's junk drawer, but I DID find a bottle of that body spray they're always advertising on TV. I was a little nervous about using it, though, because if that stuff really works like they say in the ads then tomorrow night could be a nightmare.''
**These mistakes are usually not uncommon and happen in many other books.
*''I just watched everything play out from my spot against the back wall,wondering why I'd wanted to go to the dance in the first place. I was also to regret not wearing body spray in Rodrick's junk drawer, because Great Uncle Bruce's colonge was attracting people outside my age group.''
*Rodrick is shown much skinnier than he is in other books.


==''Gallery''==
==Names in other languages==
''<gallery columns="dynamic" spacing="medium" widths="208">
{{foreign names
Baby Greg.PNG|Greg as a baby.
|Jap=どんどん、ひどくなるよ
Rowley Wingman.PNG|Rowley become's Greg's Wingman.
|JapR=Dondon, hidoku naru yo
Pacifier.PNG|Rodrick loses his pacifier
|JapM=It Gets Worse and Worse
Manny Birth.PNG|Manny is born.
|Spa=Tres no es compañía<br>Buscando plan...
Greg in Playgroup.PNG|Greg with his playgroup.
|SpaM=Three is Not Company<br>Looking for [a] Plan...
Child Alley Seatings.PNG|The seatings at Children's Alley at Corny's
|Fre=Un coeur à prendre
Sweetie Manny.PNG|Manny locks himself in Sweetie's excersise pen to keep all the toys to himself.
|FreM=A Heart to Take
Greg meet gary.PNG|Greg finds Uncle Gary at the door.
|Dut=Zwaar de klos!
Amazing Jerk.PNG|Amazing Andrew hyptonizes a bunch of kids.
|DutM=Heavy Duty!
Greg's Preschool.png|Greg, in the past, enters preschool, only to discover his worst nightmare: kids who are smarter than him.
|Ger=Dumm gelaufen!
Third Wheel signature photo.png|The signature picture for the book.
|GerM=Gone Stupid!
Disgusting.PNG|Young versions of Greg's parents kissing, which Greg finds disgusting
|Ita=Guai in arrivo!
Cover up.PNG|Greg and Rodrick cover Gary with a sheet when Stringers are coming for dinner.
|ItaM=Trouble Incoming!
Gregs2.PNG|Greg forced to dance a walt with Carlos Escalera
|Pol=Trzeci do pary
Eugene 2.PNG|Eugene gives his speech
|PolM=Third to Pair
Selected.PNG|Eugene Gets Elected.
|Wel=Y Gwsberan
candy grams.PNG|Candy Grams
|WelM=The Summit
Greg's note.PNG|Greg's love letter gets scribbled by a random kid from detention
|Bul=
Jamar 2.PNG|Jamar Law gets his head stuck inside a chair.
|BulR=
Greg Heffley.PNG|Greg's relationship chart
|BulM=
Evan.PNG|Evan and Julia in the book.
}}
abigail.PNG|Abigail, Greg, and Rowley.
Greg photo.PNG|Greg's Valentine's day photo.
Gary.PNG|Uncle Gary as the DJ of the dance.
Seniors.PNG|Seniors Overrun the dance
Crazy.PNG|The Kids cut loose at the dance and become crazy.
Abby.PNG|Abigail finds that her boyfriend Michael cheated on her.
Chicken Pox.PNG|Greg ends up getting chicken pox.
Scream.PNG|Greg mistakens Abigail's pimples for chicken pox and screams and freaks out.
7.PNG|The teaser picture.
A3zqeaXCYAA7sfr (1).jpg|A teaser picture.
back ttw.PNG|The back of the book.
</gallery>''


==<span style="font-size:18px;">Sneak Peek</span>==
==References==
This is a small 15 page sneak peek into the book given by Diary of a Wimpy Kid Wiki. You might need to click on the images to view them more clearly. No more pages will be given. There was also a 7 page sneak peek if you had pre ordered the book from Scholastic.<gallery type="slideshow" position="center" widths="492">
<references/>
Wimpy7 FirstDay-1.png|the 1st page
The Third Wheel page 2.PNG|The 2nd page.
The Third Wheel Page 3.PNG|3rd page
The Third Wheel page 4.PNG|Page 4
The Third Wheel Page 5.PNG|Page 5.
The Third Wheel page 6.PNG|Page 6.
The Third Wheel page 7.PNG|The 7th page
The Third Wheel page 8.PNG|Page 8
The Third Wheel page 9.PNG|Page 9
Page 10.PNG|Page 10
The Third Wheel Page 11.PNG|Page 11
The Third Wheel page 12.PNG|page 12
The Third Wheel Page 13.PNG|Page 13
The Third Wheel page 14.PNG|Page 14
The Third Wheel page 15.PNG|page 15
</gallery>


==<span style="font-size:18px;">Major Events and Moments</span>==
{{navboxes|
*Greg talks about the days when he was a baby.
{{DoaWKTTW nav}}
*Gary Heffley moves in with the Heffleys.
{{DoaWK series}}
*Rowley becomes the Social Chairperson.
}}
*[[Eugene Ellis]] becomes the President of Student Council.
*[[Javan Hill]] becomes the Treasurer.
*[[Hillary Pine]] becomes the Vice President. 
*[[Olivia Davis]] becomes the Secretary.
*The formation of the Dance Committee.
*Greg tries to get a date for the Valentine's Dance.
*Greg goes to the Valentine's Dance with Abigail and Rowley as a group of "friends".
*Gary Heffley wins $40,000 from his scratch card and moves out of the house.
*Greg gets chicken pox in the end.
*Rowley and Abigail possibly became a couple.


==Trivia and Goofs==
[[Category:Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel]]
*Holly Hills was rumored to be Greg's partner for the dance by many fans, but she wasn't even mentioned and only appeared in Greg's relationship chart as liking Bryce Anderson. This could mean Greg has given up on Holly. At the end of The Last Straw it was hinted after Greg wrote the fake letter from Holly Hills that he gave up on her due to being too hard to reach.
**However, in the Movie Dog Days, Holly might have did became couple with Greg; in the book they didn't become couples which might explain why Holly picked Bryce Anderson.
*The Mad Pantser's identity is unknown.
**He could be [[Anthony Renfrew]] since Anthony was the starter of Pantsing fever, but it could also be somebody else.
*There is an exclusive version of this book, which has Fregley's secret note in the back. It's a poem by Fregley that shows why girls (specifically Ruby Bird) must go with him to the dance.
*Rodrick is shown much skinner then he is in other books.
*Rowley closes his mouth for the second time in the books on page 166 while eating chocolate.
*It was revealed that Rodrick might hate Greg because Susan gave Rodrick's pacifier to Greg and Rodrick never wanted to give his pacifier up, but this might not be true because Rodrick doesn't act childish and Greg is not always true.
*It is unknown what happened to Greg's towel at the end of the story, it might be revealed in the eighth book.
*Rodrick has a much shorter role in this book, in most of the parts when the family gathers together Rodrick is not there.
**Also, Rodrick doesn't bother Greg, making it the first book to not have Rodrick bully Greg.
**Rodrick also does not have any dialogue in this book.
*Greg claims to remember stuff before he was born. However, doing so is biologically impossible. He is most likely writing what he thinks has happened. 
*Greg has his covers yanked off the bed by his father to wake Greg up for school. This is the second time this has happened in the series, the first being The Last Straw.
*Greg weighed only 5 pounds and 7 ounces at birth - the average is 7 pounds and 8 ounces, meaning he was two pounds lighter than average, this hints why he was so thin and another hint is that he was born 3 weeks premature, as well as Greg mentioning that he never met Rodrick until a few days after he was born.
*The book's title was originally '''Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Odd Man Out''', but Kinney changed it to The Third Wheel.
*This is the second book to have an error in the length of a month. February had 5 weeks instead of 4. The first was Dog Days' June.
*Rowley and Abigail remain couples in Hard Luck, marking the first time either Greg or Rowley has had a relationship and even more remarkably over more than one book.
*In this book even in the flash-backs Greg doesn't has buck teeth, this is the first book to feature a very young or baby Greg without buck teeth.
*It covers the months of January and February.
*On Page 102, when Greg states the "motorcross/wrestling event somehow morphed into a VALENTINE'S DANCE", the capital V in Valentine's looks slightly different from other capital Vs in the books.
[[Category:Books]]
[[Category:Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series]]
[[Category:Jeff Kinney]]

Latest revision as of 22:39, 20 November 2022

Template:Italic title

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel
Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Third Wheel cover.jpg
Number 7
Release date November 13th, 2012
Author Jeff Kinney
Illustrator Jeff Kinney
Preceded by Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever
Succeeded by Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel is the 7th book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. It was released on November 13th, 2012. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel succeeds Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever and precedes Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck.

Main characters

Plot

January

Greg in preschool

Greg talks about his baby days and explains (probably from his imagination) that before being born, he was in a dark place swimming and napping anytime he wanted, until being woken up by classical music that his mother Susan would send through "parental speakers". Susan would also tell Greg about her life through the speakers too and Frank would also tell him about his day at work. Greg then got tired of it and got out three weeks early. Then he explains how everything he got was a hand down from his elder brother Rodrick. Susan used to not let Greg crawl a lot and that resulted in Greg being way behind his playmates in the physical stuff. Greg finally learned to walk, but was in preschool by the time and was still quite behind his classmates. His classmates could do things like use zippers and buttons and many other things Greg was unable to, so he tried to slow them down by giving them wrong information. However, the teacher thought he wasn't learning well and called Susan and told her. Susan made him skip a grade to kindergarten, but he was scared there so he went back again.

Greg then explains whatever Susan did for Greg would not work for Manny as she uses a different technique. Manny's social skills are a bit bad, he also watches The Snurples, a show in which the characters have their own gibberish language and he also made imaginary friends escape danger, have fun and get extra dessert. Greg's mother starts a Family Night thing where they go out or play games rather than watch TV, Greg then talks about the family restaurant, Corny's. Greg is doing house chores until he heard a knock and finds his Uncle Gary at the door. Uncle Gary had bought some Boston counter shirts after loaning some of Frank's money, but the shirts have a typo and he needed a place to stay in. Living with Gary is bad for the Heffleys, his nightmares make Manny shift his bed away from the wall and whenever Rodrick is kicked out of bed in the morning, he has to sleep on the up part of the couch.

Greg explains how Gary has been trying to get a job, but whenever he gets one, he quits after a few days. One of Greg's teachers, Mrs. Moretta announces in Phys Ed that the ballroom dancing unit is starting and people should find a partner by writing their names in slips and submitting them. Greg explains he will be fine with pairing with anyone except for Ruby Bird, a girl in Greg's school who has a bad habit of biting people and was suspended for biting Mr. Underwood in the elbow. On the partner announcement day, in Greg's favour Ruby is paired with Fregley, but Greg and four other kids were partnerless. The teacher paired them up with each other.

An assembly by Vice Principal Roy and Mrs. Birch announces new members for the Student Council. Greg cannot sign up due to him having three detentions, but sees Rowley could be perfect. Rowley signs up to be Social Chairperson. The winner of the President's voting is Eugene Ellis who promised to replace the school's toilet paper with quilted toilet paper the teachers use. At Greg's house in his room, Uncle Gary played a future game when you are an adult, but Uncle Gary buys scratch tickets.

February

The Student Council

Javan Hill found that Pillow Soft Ultra toilet paper was being used by the teachers, not the kids. So Eugene went to the lounge and showed Mrs. Birch. The school introduces a program where students can bring in their own toilet paper. However, the plan backfired when some of the boys started a toilet paper fight in the cafeteria. The school then set a rule that kids are only allowed to have five squares of toilet paper, much to Greg's dismay because he brought in twenty rolls. Now that the staff is checking peoples' bags and lockers to see if they had more than five, Greg decided to have his own bathroom stall to keep all of the toilet paper, but that backfired when people founded out that Greg was hoarding toilet paper. After this whole toilet paper experience, students learned that they are going to raise money of their own if they want something.  

The Student Council brainstormed ideas for a fundraiser, but most of the boys in the council decided on a mixed motocross/wrestling event. The fundraising community was formed, and, in the end, the Valentine's Day Dance becomes a school fundraiser. Greg tries to find a date, but it starts to fail. A pantsing fever starts in the school which is quickly stopped by Roy, but a kid under the bleachers quickly pantses him and escapes. Now he (or she) is dubbed as the Mad Pantser. Greg found a leather jacket of his Dad's, but in school, it is confiscated by his mother who said it was not a winter coat. Abigail Brown's boyfriend breaks up with her, and after that Greg and Rowley decide to go with her for the school dance. Greg heads to Rowley's house but he sees two bumps on his chin that looked like mosquito bites, but he realizes it's chickenpox. He tries to cover it up since chickenpox has been contagious in school. 

Greg, Rowley, and Abigail at Corny's

Greg goes with Rowley and Abigail to Spriggo's. The host at Spriggo's tells him that gentlemen have to wear sports jackets. Greg has to wear a smelly sports suit which makes them go to Corny's due to the dessert bar, however, Rowley and Abigail order special desserts which makes Greg fib that it's Rowley's birthday to make him get a free cake. At the dance, the theme is Midnight In Paris but old people take one half of the hall for their meeting. Later Uncle Gary tries to sell the Botson T-shirts, but people want their money back after seeing the typo. Greg sees pimples on Abigail which he thinks is chickenpox. Later they head home, Greg realizes the "chickenpox" on Abigail was actually a pimple. He doesn't think Abigail saw it that way, because she wasn't chatty with him on the way home.

In the end, Uncle Gary moves out after he wins $40,000 on a scratch card which he wasted a lot of the Heffleys money on to buy scratch cards. Greg ends up getting chickenpox, but he gets to take a bath in peace, but the experience isn't like how he lived before he was born and when he opens his eyes, the towel next to the bathroom was gone. Greg says either someone's messing with him, or either Johnny Cheddar is at it again.

Background

In writing the book, Jeff Kinney based it on "a kid’s initial feeling of 'betrayal' when his childhood friend chooses a love interest over him." He continued, "You feel broken up with. You’ve put a ton of time into this friendship, you think you know them better than anybody else, and suddenly they're changing into a different person."[1]

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel.
  • I wonder where this thing goes.jpg
  • Susan reading Bad Bradley to Manny.jpg
  • You may now kiss the bride!.jpg
  • Rowley and Abigail looking into the desserts menu.jpg
  • Greg photo.PNG
  • Screenshot 2022-03-12 135055.webp

Errors

  • This is the second book to have an error in the length of a month. February had 5 weeks instead of 4. The first was Dog Days' June.
  • On Page 102, when Greg states the "motocross/wrestling event somehow morphed into a VALENTINE'S DAY DANCE", the capital "V" in "Valentine's" looks slightly different from other capital V's in the books.
  • On Page 172, Abigail appears to be taller than average when she touches the sixth line unlike the other scenes that appeared are even mid or low five lines or high four lines.
    • These mistakes are usually not uncommon and happen in many other books.
  • Rodrick is shown much skinnier than he is in other books.

Names in other languages

Language Name Meaning
Japanese どんどん、ひどくなるよ
Dondon, hidoku naru yo		 It Gets Worse and Worse
Spanish Tres no es compañía
Buscando plan...		 Three is Not Company
Looking for [a] Plan...
French Un coeur à prendre A Heart to Take
Dutch Zwaar de klos! Heavy Duty!
German Dumm gelaufen! Gone Stupid!
Italian Guai in arrivo! Trouble Incoming!
Polish Trzeci do pary Third to Pair
Welsh Y Gwsberan The Summit

References

  1. ↑ Washington Post

Template:DoaWKTTW nav

Diary of a Wimpy Kid series
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Diary of a Wimpy Kid • Rodrick Rules • The Last Straw • Dog Days • The Ugly Truth • Cabin Fever • The Third Wheel • Hard Luck • The Long Haul • Old School • Double Down • The Getaway • The Meltdown • Wrecking Ball • The Deep End • Big Shot • Diper Överlöde No Brainer
Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid Rowley Jefferson's Journal • Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Adventure • Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories
Films Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010 · 2021) • Rodrick Rules (2011 · 2022) • Dog Days (2012) • The Long Haul (2017)
Retrieved from "https://wimpykidwiki.com/w/index.php?title=Diary_of_a_Wimpy_Kid:_The_Third_Wheel&oldid=81299"