Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Diper Overlode

Greg's big brother Rodrick is the star of this 17^th outing, and his relentless quest for fame with no talent or marketing budget is a hilarious disaster. Rodrick and Greg have one major thing in common: their persistence. Rodrick hatches outlandish plan after plan when there's absolutely no hope of success. Not when their band's ride is an ice cream truck and the only rock star duds they can afford come from the Halloween store. When they get a track recorded in an actual studio -- after a fistfight and a Heimlich maneuver -- it's a miracle. When they finally book a gig, it's another miracle, followed by a huge mishap involving a mechanical monkey. Readers can follow the monkey's severed paw in the illustrations for the rest of the book and will giggle each time they see it.

Parents reading along: This book will make you want to dig up your dusty This Is Spinal Tap DVD (after the kids go to bed, obviously). There's a clever subplot with a washed-up band named Metallichihuahua. Rodrick idolizes them and continues to do so even when he meets the estranged members and simultaneously sees his own future, sitting at a convention center alone surrounded by dated band merch. Another fun subplot involves a rival band named Stank who have the same stench-focused lyrics but wield them with actual talent. The story culminates in, what else, a battle of the bands. Who will win the prize? You know who won't, but the winner will still surprise you.